Star Trek: Lower Decks is an instant hit for CBS All Access. The animated series centering on the crew of the USS Cerritos comes from Rick and Morty’s Mike McMahan. New episodes debut every Thursday. Supervising Director Barry J. Kelly shares what makes this new ST installment special. (This interview was conducted as an email Q&A.)

Jackson Murphy: Are you a life-long Star Trek fan?

Barry J. Kelly: Star Trek may just be the greatest TV franchise of all time. Anything sci-fi intrigued me as a kid, and still does today. All I wanna make is sci-fi stuff. Star Trek was a huge influence. I was 5-years-old when The Next Generation aired, which my brother and sister watched along with the movies starring the The Original Series cast. That’s my era, and now I’ve developed an even greater appreciation for Star Trek as an adult. Within its sci-fi candy coating, the nature of stories they were telling were really groundbreaking for network TV at the time.

JM: How do you feel about this being one of the first major original animated shows on CBS All Access?

BK: It’s exciting! I’m eager to prove that animation is the timeless powerful medium that is just as effective as live-action storytelling. With CBS All Access embracing animation into their lineup they’ve put a lot of trust in us to deliver a quality show that exceeds the expectations of primetime animation.

JM: Did you decide out of the gate that you wanted to direct the first episode, “Second Contact”?

BK: When I heard the words Star Trek sitcom, I was like ‘How’s that supposed to work?’ Then I read the show bible and was convinced in 30 seconds. It’s a brilliant take, and in reading the first scene in the script, which is the first scene in episode one — you get it. Instantly. And it immediately established the characters and tone effortlessly. (But it took a lot of effort!)

JM: How has the reaction been to the series (and your first episode) so far?

BK: Positive, I think! These big established franchises have fans from all generations spanning decades. I just came off a Star Wars project which has an equally passionate fan base, and they love the universe so much it can be hard to win them over. I’m used to pushing fans out of their comfort zones; we need that push to boldly go into unexplored territory. These characters are genuine and endearing, just get to know them! After this first season ends, people will have the real idea of the show and see that we’re making it out of love for Star Trek. We’re never making fun of Star Trek, the characters are funny, the stories funny, much like many episodes of Star Trek! If you’re not into Star Trek you’ll enjoy a funny cartoon, and if you love Star Trek, you’re in for some fun Star Trek episodes. Enjoy them!

JM: Spock, Kirk and Sulu are mentioned at the end of the episode. Was it a risky/difficult decision to do that?

BK: That’s Mike McMahan’s doing right there. Our Lower Deckers might not think much of the bridge crew, but they secretly want to be them someday. In the Star Trek world, Kirk, Spock and Sulu are the inspiration to our Lower Deckers much like Neil Armstrong or Sally Ride to aspiring astronauts of today. Mariner and Boimler wouldn’t be who they are if it weren’t the heroes they looked up to, so of course we have to mention the great Star Trek heroes.

JM: Are there other nods to the old show and movies that you intentionally incorporate throughout the season – and others that you intentionally avoid?

BK: We avoid nothing! That’s not true, we try to avoid breaking continuity. Fans love their continuity and we try to tell the best stories that add to the universe, not break it. As for nods to previous series, I love that we can connect to the original Animated Series, our medic Dr. T’ana is a Caitian, a species introduced back in the old cartoon! And in episode two we get a cameo from a creature from the animated series and it was fun to recreate the effects they did in the Filmation series.

JM: How important was the set design of the ship; what efforts went into making it perfect?

BK: The ship is the hero of the show. It took a very long time to find the right design, the ship becomes an icon that represents the show so all parties involved weighed in on finding the proper look. We’re in a ‘90s era of Star Trek, so we want to fit right at home with the technology of that era. We didn’t want the ship to look like a cartoon version of a Star Trek ship; it should look like a ship you could easily translate to the live action world. In the world we’ve made, you should be able to imagine our ships on screen next to the enterprise on The Next Generation, and vice versa.

JM: What have been some of the highlights of working with Mike McMahan?

BK: Mike writes exactly what I wanna make, fun sci-fi stuff. Stories that are genuinely motivated by the characters. Nothing happens for no reason, the stories drive themselves to these chaotic heights and we all go on a ride with the fun scripts. He’s super collaborative and wants us as artists to contribute to the show and make it as much ours as much as it is his. When doing board handouts, it’s a meeting with myself, the episode directors and board artists. It’s always a treat to have Mike walk us through an episode, he really gets us to the point of a story and makes us all want to make the best damn show we can.

JM: I’ve met Jerry O’Connell a few times – very nice guy. What makes him right for Jack Ransom?

BK: Like Riker, he’s a very handsome man with dreamy eyes so he’s already got the job. What’s great about the cast on our show is their voices come through as the characters, not a stunt cast. You want the audience to believe them as characters not checking out to guess who’s voice that is. The actors genuinely capture the tone of the character, if you didn’t tell me beforehand, I would not know that’s Jerry O’Connell, only Ransom. O’Connell could be Ransom in the live action world too! It’s voices like his that capture a personality that feels believable, he’s fantastic and will make a great captain someday.

JM: You initially received a two-season order. Are you currently working on Season 2?

BK: By the time this article comes out we may have just started storyboards for season 2! It’s gonna be amazing! When starting a brand new show, it’s hard to see the ultimate scope of the show. With season one under our belts, we know where we’ve been and now we can push ourselves farther and make the show even better!