"Lower Decks" Makes History at the Hugo Awards and Warp Your Own Way Warps Into the Spotlight

The crew of Strange New Pod could not be more thrilled today. Star Trek: Lower Decks  has officially made history, taking home not one but two Hugo Awards this year. An unprecedented win for both the show and the franchise.

Our friends at TrekMovie.com reported earlier today that Lower Decks won the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for the series finale, “The New Next Generation.” Even more impressively, the tie-in graphic novel Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way claimed the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. These are the first Hugo wins for Star Trek since The Next Generation’s series finale in 1994, making this a truly historic moment.

"The New Next Generation:" A Landmark Win

“The New Next Generation” was created by series creator Mike McMahan and directed by Megan Lloyd. The episode beat out competition from across the sci-fi and fantasy world, cementing Lower Decks as not just a fan-favorite, but a powerhouse entry in modern Trek.

McMahan celebrated the win on Bluesky, saying:

"An army of talented people made Lower Decks possible, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished. Thank you to everyone who has watched and shared and said kind things about the show."

For those of us who’ve championed Lower Decks from day one, it’s hard not to get emotional right along with him. This is recognition that validates what fans already knew: Lower Decks is smart, heartfelt Trek at its very best.

Jon Curry as Ma'ah, Jerry O'Connell as Jack Ransom, Fred Tatasciore as Lieutenant Shaxs, Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman and Gillian Vigman as Doctor T'Ana in episode 10, season 5 of Lower Decks streaming on Paramount+, 2024. Photo credit: Paramount+. 

Warp Your Own Way: Choose Your Own Lower Decks

The celebration didn’t stop with the television series. The graphic novel Star Trek: Lower Decks – Warp Your Own Way, written by Ryan North with art by Chris Fenoglio, also won big at the Hugos. The book is a hilarious and inventive Choose Your Own Adventure-style story where readers guide Mariner and the crew through multiple possible paths, many of them deadly.

Heather Antos shared her excitement after the win:

“I’m truly speechless, guys. Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way took home the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Novel last night!!!”

Writer Ryan North was just as thrilled, posting:

“Team LOWER DECKS COMICS won a Hugo last night for Warp Your Own Way! I was very happy to accept it — and to wear the appropriate cufflinks for the occasion.”

Artist Chris Fenoglio summed up the moment perfectly, with a perfectly placed, "No...f*cking...way."

Why This Matters

Strange New Pod and Lower Decks kind of grew up together. It was always the scrappy underdog of modern Trek, the animated series that many underestimated before it debuted (including myself). Now it holds two Hugos and a place in the franchise’s history books.

Warp Your Own Way also proves something we’ve long believed: Trek comics are an essential part of the storytelling universe. Ryan North, Chris Fenoglio, Heather Antos, and the entire IDW team didn’t just adapt the show’s humor and heart; they expanded it in ways only comics can.

Final Thoughts

From the bottom of our warp cores, congratulations to Mike McMahan, Megan Lloyd, Ryan North, Chris Fenoglio, Heather Antos, Charlie Kirchoff, IDW Publishing, and the ENTIRE Lower Decks team. The Strange New Pod crew is so excited for all of you beyond words. We have friends who worked on this show, and also work on the comics, and it's incredibly awesome to see their hard work pay off in such a big way. 

Star Trek hasn’t taken home a Hugo since the days of Picard and Data on the bridge of the Enterprise-D. Now, thanks to a group of brilliant creators, it’s Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford, and Tendi carrying that torch forward.

Lower Decks is no longer just “the little animated show that could.” It is award-winning Star Trek, boldly going into history. Also, bring it back you cowards. We said what we said.