Is Star Trek: Discovery woke?

Star Trek: Discovery has a woke score of 78/100, which means it is heavily driven by woke themes. Star Trek: Discovery follows the USS Discovery crew, starting with Commander Michael Burnham during a Klingon war in the 23rd century and later jumping to a fractured 32nd-century future after a galaxy-wide disaster called the Burn. The five-season series mixes space exploration, personal trauma recovery, and rebuilding efforts with a focus on crew bonds and diplomacy. It features a Black female lead who rises to captain, a main gay male couple, and later non-binary characters, alongside creator statements stressing diversity and inclusion as central to the storytelling.

Is there DEI in Star Trek: Discovery?

The biggest factors in our score are Anti-woke backlash / 'too woke' complaints, Representation / casting choices, Creator track record context. Follow the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.

TV Show review

Star Trek: Discovery

Woke Score

78/ 100

Lower is better

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Breakdown

Factors & Ratings

These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Star Trek: Discovery.

Representation / casting choices

Prominent Black female lead and captain, main gay couple with visible relationship focus, later non-binary character, and marketing that spotlighted diversity as a strength; visible to audiences even in futuristic setting.

60 / 100

Political / ideological dialogue

Some scenes and arcs stress empathy, unity across differences, and tolerance; season 4 includes a clear partisan cameo; not constant preaching but noticeable in character moments and creator framing.

35 / 100

Identity-driven story themes

Burnham's personal growth centers on identity and belonging; queer relationships integrated into main plots; recurring acceptance of "the other" with modern inclusion language in later seasons.

45 / 100

Institutional / cultural critique

Critiques of war, bureaucracy, and exploitation appear through Federation struggles and Mirror Universe; some progressive takes on cooperation, but mostly standard sci-fi conflict rather than targeted modern activist attacks on patriarchy or Western norms.

Star Trek: Discovery

Factors & Ratings

Summary

Main Cast

Director & Crew