Rachael Harris & Joe Lo Truglio Are Honored To Be Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Puppet Episode Villains (Exclusive)

Image credit: Paramount+ Published Aug 24, 2026, 10:10 AM EDT John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 5 - "Level-Five Transporter Accident"Rachael Harris and Joe Lo Truglio understood the assignment and brought the perfect amount of comic menace to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' puppet episode. As Captain Ch'Rol (Harris) and her henchman, Ejachi (Truglio), they play Orion pirates who hijack the USS Enterprise from its puppet crew. “We're happy to be here. This is a big honor for both of us," Truglio told ScreenRant's John Orquiola in our interview about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' puppet episode. "Two comedians on a canon show like this is super special." Harris, who portrayed Dr. Linda Martin in Lucifer, describes their "emoji-like feeling of ‘oh my gosh!’ when we realized that they had never done an episode with Muppets, and specifically the Jim Henson method." Rachael remembers when she and Joe saw each other on set: "We were both like little kids, like ‘I'm gonna pee my pants’ excited. And realizing that we were getting to do something extraordinarily special.” Best known as Detective Charles Boyle in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Joe describes himself as "a gigantic horror and science fiction fan. So, although I never watched Star Trek religiously, I always had a lot of respect and reverence for the show, what it gave, what it did, the community it has. So, it was an incredible honor to be on the show, without a doubt." Rachael Harris Guest Starred In Star Trek: Voyager Before Strange New Worlds Strange New Worlds' puppet episode is Rachael Harris' comeback to the Star Trek universe after almost 30 years. Rachael played Martis, the mother of Kes (Jennifer Lien) in 1997's Star Trek: Voyager season 3 episode, "Before and After." "I love you," Harris beamed. "You're the first person that’s figured that out. Yeah, I did way back in the day." Voyager was "one of the very first things that I did" and "life-changing" as a young actress starting out. We shot it at Sunset and Gower, and that was massive back then because my brother, who's a very similar age, was a huge Star Trek fan. So when I got to do that, and I got to play Martis and have a baby, was amazing. I'm very honored that I got to do something else in a different entity. It's very exciting. What It Was Like Filming With Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Puppets & The Jim Henson Creature Shop Image credit: Paramount+ Joe Lo Truglio calls being part of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' puppet episode, and working with the artists from Jim Henson Creature Shop, was "super, super special" and made him feel "like I was eight or nine years old." I remember the table read was really great. The cast was so welcoming, and they're so spot-on. They know their stuff so, so well. And they had the rack of the Muppets there. The cast was, I think, seeing them for the first time, and it was just mind-blowing. You knew immediately how special the episode was going to be. It was truly an honor to be working with those artists, the Muppet artists, who had their lines, were rolling around on their little seat dollies on the floor, and they're just on it. And immediately, it was apparent that we were going to be part of a really great and special episode. Rachael Harris was amazed at the skill and dexterity of the Henson people, especially considering Strange New Worlds' sets weren't changed or elevated to accommodate the puppeteers. "They didn't change anything," Harris raves. "You should see how the puppeteers position themselves, like pretzel themselves, into the most insane positions to get the right shot and to have the puppet be in the right space. Look at how good they are.” It’s a walk and talk, and just underneath me is the Muppeteer not getting in the way and dollying with me as I go. Trugilo recalls the scene when “Ejachi comes in with T’Pring [the puppet]. And I'm walking behind the bar now; it’s a walk and talk, and just underneath me is the Muppeteer not getting in the way and dollying with me as I go. They're super, super good at what they do, and then, of course, I'm just hoping I don't step on them or trip over them or something. They were just terrific. Great talent.” Rachael Harris & Joe Lo Truglio Filmed R-Rated Content Cut From Star Trek's Puppet Episode Image credit: Paramount+ Harris and Truglio were amazed at how Star Trek: Strange New Worlds allows actors to improvise and go off-script. The guest stars had the freedom to push the envelope with their Orion pirate villains. Star Trek's Orions are a culture where women are the dominant sex. Joe and Rachael admit that they performed R-rated things on set as Ejachi and Captain Ch'Rol, knowing that they wouldn't make it into the family-friendly puppet episode. Joe Lo Truglio: I suggested to Rachel, and she was really receptive to it, that we really enhance and amplify the kind of dominatrix-submissive relationship between the two. And you know, the script was terrific, and some of that was there. But I'm like, let's really kind of work that. And they were kind enough to let us improv some stuff, which we understood probably wasn’t going to make it into the show, and didn't really. And it shouldn't have. It's The Muppets in Star Trek. But it did help us inform each other. Just being able to have that back and forth, it really helped the performance. Rachael Harris: I know what it's like to be a woman that's in charge, but to really look at the role reversal of the way it's been in our world… I should say that in this universe [Orion culture], men are subservient to women. It was great to just embody [an Orion captain] like a man - how did a guy talk through this? - and dive in there. So that was really exciting. And it was great to be part of a story that was so indicative of how progressive and on the edge Star Trek always is with its ideas, its social issues. And to be part of the Orion Pirates, where, in that community, there is a flip-flop of gender roles, was also what made it really special for us to be part of. Strange New Worlds' Puppet Episode Was A Dream Come True For The Producers Image credit: Paramount+ Harris is effusive in her praise of writer-producers Henry Alonso Myers and Dana Horgan, and director Jordan Canning. "Everybody felt very passionate about it," Harris says. "I know, in particular, for Dana, she wore a Muppet shirt every single day to the set. This was a dream for her to write this episode, and then Henry said, "Yeah, let's do it.” And then they just went off, and she said it's taken several seasons for them to okay it. So I think it's going to be wildly, wildly received, just wildly received and loved so much because of the fandom of The Muppets and then also, the fandom of Star Trek.” Truglio was surprised and delighted by how versatile Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is at leaping between genres, and how "the series allowed for that type of liberty to really indulge, let the writers and producers indulge. [To be like] ‘What if we did a musical episode?’ Which I know was a big, very popular episode, and then a horror episode." That was something I feel like only the Star Trek franchise really has the ability and capacity to do on any successful level. I thought that was so cool. That was something I feel like only the Star Trek franchise really has the ability and capacity to do on any successful level. So it was really cool to see, like Rachel said, the love for Muppets from not only those producers, but I'm sure the cast. Everyone in that show has to be able to give a nod to that and be inspired to do a whole episode showing that love. Rachael & Joe Would Return If Lucifer Or Brooklyn Nine-Nine Get Revivals ScreenRant: Has there ever been talk about reviving either Lucifer or Brooklyn Nine-Nine? Is that something you'd be down for if that ever came about? Rachael Harris: I can say for myself, there has never really been talk about it. They were saying they wanted to finish [Lucifer] the way that they did. But I would love to do anything. If they wanted to reboot it, I'd be like, “I'm there.” If they wanted to reboot Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I'd be like, 'Can I be part of that as well?' Joe Lo Truglio: I mean, I would love for that to happen. I certainly would want to be a part of that. There hasn't been any word or whispers about that. But that show is beloved, and I would, in a heartbeat, jump in on something like that if it were to happen. ScreenRant: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, for me, felt like a Star Trek show in a lot of ways. You guys were a crew. Holt was the captain. You guys did crazy stuff like Strange New Worlds. Joe Lo Truglio: Well, I think they're very different shows, but I'll say that one thing that is similar between them is that in both Brooklyn and Star Trek, I think there's this idea that, despite our flaws, and we're all quite diverse, accepting who you are and using that as your strength, I think, is a very similar theme in both shows. Rachael Harris: That's a very, very similar theme with Lucifer. It's all about: be your authentic self, and be proud of it. Brooklyn Nine-Nine had its own captain, Captain Holt, played by Andre Braugher, who passed away in 2023. Truglio remembers Braugher as "such a powerful, dedicated man, and artist, and father, and husband." He was always singing. Sometimes between takes, but often at lunch, we would hear this beautiful velvet voice of his singing. So that's one memory that I'll keep with me. People know him as this very intense, dramatic actor. Of course, now they see how incredibly talented he is in comedy as well. But he also was a terrific singer. He just had a really lovely voice, and he was a curious and dedicated person. And it was truly an honor that we all had so much time with him. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is streaming on Paramount+. Check out our other Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 interviews: Anson Mount Dave Foley Celia Rose Gooding Release Date 2022 - 2027-00-00 Network Paramount+ Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman Directors Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman Writers Onitra Johnson Franchise(s) Star Trek Creator(s) Akiva Goldsman, Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet