Hit it. By all accounts, “Strange New Worlds” is living up to the hype so far, with five total episodes made available to the press ahead of time and all of them displaying the strengths and core appeal of “Star Trek” with a refreshing blend of tradition and progressiveness. If you haven’t yet jumped on board for various reasons, be it an (understandable) wariness of fan-service or fatigue over the endless commodification of IP, let this be just the latest attempt to disabuse you of that notion when it comes to “Strange New Worlds.”

Even setting aside its impressive Rotten Tomatoes score, “Strange New Worlds” has earned the benefit of the doubt through its ability to channel classic “Trek” while resisting the urge to simply become a “The Original Series” redux.

Thanks to Anson Mount’s portrayal of Captain Pike (who has a long and complicated history in the series, despite remaining on the sidelines for so long until now), this feels like a very different character than someone like William Shatner’s Kirk or Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard. Picking up the loose threads from “Discovery,” where Pike was cursed with his preordained fate as laid out in “The Original Series,” the initial episodes of “Strange New Worlds” have each found clever and meaningful ways to depict the Captain’s struggle in coming to terms with the dark path ahead of him and his mortality. But in a change of pace from “Discovery,” each of the Enterprise’s supporting crew members all feel like natural and purposeful extensions of every (thankfully episodic and self-contained) story told. Combine the sheer “watchability” of these new characters with the loose tone and adventurous spirit of the series, and it’s clear why even just the premiere has fans so excited about the show’s future.

“Strange New Worlds” airs new episodes on Paramount+ every Thursday.