Paramount+ to Celebrate ‘Star Trek’ First Contact Day on April 5

Following up on the success of CBS All Access’ Star Trek Day event last year, Paramount+ will be celebrating “First Contact Day” on April 5 with a host of online panels, curated episode marathons, and some news about the future of the franchise.

In Star Trek lore, First Contact Day is April 5, 2063, the day humans first made contact with Vulcans and discovered there was much more life in the universe than they were aware of, leading to the formation of the Federation and, you know, all those TV shows and movies. It’s also the name of 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact, which is one of the most beloved movies in the franchise and the subject of just one of the panels being streamed on First Contact Day this year.

Hosted by Wil Wheaton and Mica Burton, the three-ish hours of virtual panels and programming will include a Star Trek: First Contact reunion, themed panels on diversity in Star Trek, all leading up to a panel focusing on the new, animated Star Trek: Prodigy (and perhaps a first look at the series?). The panels will all stream on a special landing page, StarTrek.com/FirstContact, as well as on PlutoTV and Paramount+’s Twitch page in the US. After that, they’ll be available on-demand on Paramount+’s YouTube Channel and on Paramount+.

In addition, viewers in the US only will be able to view a curated list of “First Contact” themed Star Trek episodes free on that same landing page, before and after the panels. And as with the first Star Trek Day, on April 5 for every person who tweets the hashtag #StarTrekUnitedGives, “Paramount+ will donate $1 to organizations who do the real-world work of championing equality, social justice and the pursuit of scientific advancements.”

Here’s a full list of the panels and the “First Contact” episode marathon, per a press release provided to Decider:

FIRST CONTACT DAY GLOBAL PANELS (12:00-2:45 PM, PT/3:00-5:45 PM, ET)

Star Trek: First Contact 25th Anniversary Panel: Featuring cast members Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner and Alice Krige as they discuss behind-the-scenes memories and the film’s importance 25 years after its premiere.

“Creating First Contacts” Panel: Costume Designer Gersha Phillips (Star Trek: Discovery), Senior Concept Designer Neville Page, VFX Supervisor Jason Zimmerman and Make-up & Prosthetics Department Head James Mackinnon (Star Trek: Picard) come together in conversation about creating the incredible worlds of Star Trek.

“Women In Motion” Panel: Featuring Star Trek: Discovery‘s Sonequa Martin-Green, Star Trek: Picard‘s Michelle Hurd and Isa Briones, and Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Dawnn Lewis as they look back at how Star Trek: The Original Series actress Nichelle Nichols helped pave the way for women of color on television and overall, her lasting impact on not only Star Trek, but science and culture.

“Second Contact” Panel: Mike McMahan, the creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Paul F. Tompkins, the co-host of “Star Trek: The Pod Directive” and Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek: The Next Generation discuss how some of the hilarious B-stories from past series like Star Trek: The Next Generation paved the way for new iterations of Star Trek.

Star Trek: Prodigy Panel: Series executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman are joined by Captain Kathryn Janeway herself of Star Trek: Voyager, Kate Mulgrew, who is reprising her role in animated form in Prodigy, as they talk about the highly anticipated upcoming CG-animated kids series from Nickelodeon and CBS Studios.

“BEST OF FIRST CONTACTS” EPISODIC STREAMING MARATHON, PRESENTED BY PARAMOUNT+ (9:00 AM, PT/12:00 PM, ET)

9:00 AM, PT/12:00 PM, ET – “Best of First Contacts” Star Trek Episodic Marathon, Part 1 begins

12:00 PM, PT/3:00 PM, ET – Part 1 of Marathon Concludes; First Contact Day panels begin

2:45 PM, PT/5:45 PM, ET – “Best of First Contacts” Star Trek Episodic Marathon, Part 2 begins

6:00 PM, PT/9:00 PM, ET – Marathon concludes; First Contact Day panels replay

The Star Trek episodes included in the “Best of First Contacts” streaming marathon are as follows:

Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 1, Episode 18 – “Arena”

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 1, Episode 1 – “Second Contact”

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season 4, Episode 7 – “Little Green Men”

Star Trek: Short Treks: Season 2, Episode 6 –“Children of Mars”

Star Trek: Voyager: Season 4, Episode 1 – “Scorpion, Part 2”

Star Trek: Discovery: Season 2, Episode 2 – “New Eden”

Star Trek: The Animated Series: Season 1, Episode 7 – “The Infinite Vulcan”

Star Trek: Enterprise: Season 1, Episode 6 – “The Andorian Incident’

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 4, Episode 15 – “First Contact”

Star Trek: Picard: Season 1, Episode 8 – “Broken Pieces”