Salem’s most legendary psychiatrist is trading a fictional Illinois town for outer space. Deidre Hall is making her “Star Trek” debut with a guest role in “Strange New Worlds” season 4.
Hall, best known to millions of fans as Dr. Marlena Evans on “Days of Our Lives,” will guest star in episode 7: “Like Chronitons Through the Hourglass.” The episode will air on September 3 as the seventh installment of the season’s 10-episode run. The title is a clever nod to the soap opera’s opening line about sand slipping through an hourglass.
A Tailor-Made Role
If the episode title wasn’t a clear enough reference to “Days of Our Lives,” there’s an even clearer twist. Hall will play a psychiatrist aboard the Enterprise, essentially bringing her decades’ experience as daytime television’s most trusted therapist directly into the Star Trek universe. Hall teased the role months before the season premiered. She coyly said in an interview, “Ask me what I play on ‘Star Trek’… It’s not who, it’s what!”
The casting makes a lot of narrative sense given where “Strange New Worlds” has taken Captain Christopher Pike, played by Anson Mount. Pike has spent much of the series grappling with the knowledge of a devastating accident in the future, first revealed back in “Star Trek: Discovery.” That psychological toll would absolutely warrant the sort of seasoned counsel Hall has spent nearly 50 years portraying on “Days of Our Lives.”
Deidre Hall’s Unexpected Detour
Hall first revealed the secret role in an interview with The TV Watercooler alongside “Days” castmate Eric Martsolf, casually mentioning she had recently been filming in Toronto. Both “Strange New Worlds” and “Starfleet Academy” were shooting there. Martsolf, by Hall’s account, was stunned by the reveal. That detail certainly added a bit of color to how tightly under wraps the role had been kept.
The timing lines up neatly for a big year for Hall and the “Star Trek” franchise. She is celebrating her character’s 50th anniversary on the show alongside the 60th anniversary of “Star Trek,” giving Hall a rare opportunity for a crossover moment between two of the most enduring franchises during milestone years.
Legacies Colliding
For longtime “Days of Our Lives” fans, watching Dr. Marlena Evans’ real-life actor step into a starship setting is a delightful bit of stunt casting. For “Star Trek” fans, it’s another example of the franchise’s long tradition of bringing recognizable faces from outside the sci-fi world into the fray for a memorable guest run.
Hall will not be the only daytime star to grace the screen on “Strange New Worlds” season 4. Paul Wesley, playing James T. Kirk on the show, is an alum of “Guiding Light.” He was cast in the role during his junior year of high school, portraying Max on the show.
Anson Mount also revealed that Hall’s episode was a “heavy lift,” possibly giving fans an idea of what they may be in for. If anything, “Strange New Worlds” has not held back when it comes to its writing. Fans will have to see on Thursday, September 3, just what they’re in for.
