It was likely a dream come true for the self-professed “Star Trek” nerd, but Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams had to treat her surprise cameo as president of United Earth on the season four finale of Star Trek: Discovery like a state secret.
That was until Thursday night when, in a scene positioned near the end of the episode, “Coming Home”, the cast of Discovery (and the many fans at home watching) were introduced to the President of United Earth in the 32nd century, or rather the woman who hopes to become Georgia’s next Democratic governor.
Ms Abrams’ scene includes several lines of dialogue, with one line in particular being delivered with a kind of enthusiasm and optimism that could easily be lifted from one of her own rallies for Georgia governor, a seat she narrowly lost to Brian Kemp in 2018.
“United Earth is ready right now to rejoin the Federation, and nothing could make me happier than to say those words,” Ms Abrams says during the closing scene about Earth rejoining the Federation.
The Georgia politician’s deep admiration of Star Trek has been cited multiple times throughout her political career, most notably during a New York Times interview where she explained how she’d not only seen every iteration of Star Trek, but also had devoted favourites: "I love Voyager and I love Discovery and of course I respect the original, but I revere The Next Generation," Ms Abrams told the Times.
In fact, upon being contacted by a representative from the show to offer her the gig, Ms Abrams reportedly began quoting dialogue from the franchise.
Cast members from the show told Deadline that while they maintained professional candour onscreen, behind the scenes they were hardly able to contain their excitement that the lawmaker had graced their set.
“We spent so much of our time fanning out and pretending to be cool in her midst,” Discovery star and Walking Dead alum Sonequa Martin-Green told Deadline. “She’s a legend in the making and a civil hero, and she was an absolute delight to work with.”
Fans online similarly could hardly contain the thrill of seeing the face of the woman that many have lauded as saving democracy in America be transposed as a comparably uniting figure, the United President, in their favourite show.
