Star Trek shares whimsical peek at two new Short Treks animated tales

It’s not often we get to see the Star Trek universe stretch its legs as freely as it does with CBS All Access’ Short Treks. But in a pair of new previews beaming up first looks at two upcoming animated episodes, Short Treks is boldly going into whimsical, even cute, territory.

Two new animated installments in the Short Treks series are set to debut this week, with "The Girl Who Made The Stars" and "Ephraim and Dot" broadening the show’s frontiers with smaller, more intimate tales that aren’t afraid to chase down new ideas with the wide-eyed wonderment of a child.


In “The Girl Who Made the Stars,” a young Michael Burnham gets a storytime adventure from her dad, hoping to ease her fears during a lightning storm in space. And what better story is there to ease her fears than a tale about a brave young girl who learns to conquer the mythical things that scare her?

In “Ephraim and Dot,” we get a lighthearted greeting from DOT, a repair drone aboard the Enterprise, and Ephraim — “a humble tardigrade.” Ephraim’s just minding her own business on a flight through the mycelial network, when an “unexpected encounter takes her on a bewildering adventure through space,” according to the episode’s setup.

The Short Treks series brings bite-sized adventures into the Star Trek universe with standalone episodes that typically span 10-15 minutes apiece. This month’s pair of Short Treks installments both arrive this week: “Ephraim and Dot" is available now, while “The Girl Who Made the Stars” makes its debut on Dec. 12.