Kate Mulgrew is ready for liftoff — though maybe just the fake kind.
Mulgrew, who played Captain (and later Admiral) Kathryn Janeway in the 1995 to 2001 series “Star Trek: Voyager,” will reprise her resolute role — with a twist — in the new animated, kid-friendly show “Star Trek: Prodigy,” premiering Thursday, Oct. 28, on Paramount+.
But in light of the recent skyward sojourn by 90-year-old “Star Trek” icon William Shatner — who emerged “stiff and sore” following his historic Oct. 13 journey on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket — Mulgrew is content to keep her feet firmly planted on Earth.
Mulgrew, 66, told The Post that she encountered Shatner backstage at New York Comic Con earlier this month, right before his buzzy blastoff.
“I ran into him and said, ‘You old devil. What are you up to now?’ Why on Earth do you want to do this, Bill? Is your doctor saying that it’s OK to do this?’ ” Mulgrew recalled via phone from London, where she is filming Showtime’s upcoming alien visitor series “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”
“He said, ‘I’m absolutely terrified, but I feel that I’m up to it,’ ” she recalled of Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk in the original “Trek” series and sequel films. “You know, there’s a lot to be said for his legacy, his relevance and his captaincy. God bless him for it. I admire him. I thought he showed real guts.”
The new show, “Prodigy,” has its own gutsy goal: to expand the universe to a younger fanbase with a message of trust, honor and friendship. It follows a group of lawless teens exiled on a far-flung alien mining colony who stumble on an abandoned Starfleet ship and plot an escape. Of course, none of the kids is actually capable of flying the vehicle — but they’re aided by the ship’s holographic training adviser, Mulgrew’s now-digital, interactive and even motherly Janeway.
“It was aglow with the possibility that it would finally be introduced to the one demographic that apparently had been overlooked in the history of ‘Star Trek,’ which was children, who would be hopefully wildly seduced by the animate idea of ‘Star Trek,’ ” she said of the project.
The new CGI series at times has a somewhat dark feel, at least in the hourlong premiere screened by The Post, but Mulgrew didn’t think it would scare off younger viewers, drawing a parallel to a piece of classic literature of the 1800s. She mentioned that, on the day of this interview, she went to London’s Charles Dickens Museum and marveled that the “high jinks of Oliver Twist” were also “very dark,” which she said actually drew kids in.
She expects the same for the new series.
“Children have an instinctive understanding of what is dangerous,” she said. “They have an instinctive longing to get through the danger, to prove their courage and to go towards the light.”
Potential new fans aside, while she’s in London she’ll also beam into next month’s Destination Star Trek convention, along with some of her former “Voyager” castmates. Also on hand will be a rabid fanbase of Trekkies with an “unflagging and almost fierce loyalty” to the franchise, said Mulgrew. She will additionally be among the numerous “Trek” stars interviewed for “The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek,” a behind-the-scenes docuseries about the original show’s anniversary that will premiere at 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5, on the History channel.
The franchise’s five-decade reign has exploded in recent years with other CBS and Paramount “Trek” projects, including “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Star Trek: Picard,” the animated “Star Trek: Lower Decks” and the upcoming series “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”
“Their vast intelligence about science — I mean, it’s all rooted in science,” she said of “Trek” fans, an audience she embraces. “I’ve always enjoyed the conversation with this fanbase. I interned. I recognize its international scope. Without this fanbase, we don’t have the work — and without the work, there’s no ongoing ‘Star Trek.’ “
Depending on one’s generational skew, Emmy nominee Mulgrew is often remembered for roles in everything from the Netflix dramedy “Orange Is the New Black” (which aired from 2013 to 2019) to the soap opera “Ryan’s Hope” (1975 to 1989). But it was her seven seasons as Captain (and later Admiral) Kathryn Janeway on “Voyager” that put her on the map. Plus, beyond her “Star Trek” voyages, Mulgrew’s acting résumé is peppered with projects with sci-fi leanings, including this year’s film “The Magnificent Meyersons,” the 2009 to 2014 Syfy series “Warehouse 13” and the 1990s animated show “Gargoyles.”
“Evidently, the oracles are saying that it would be so because everything in my life seems to be science-fiction related or associated,” she said, adding that she was “surprised and delighted” to be approached for the new cartoon. “I mean, I certainly never expected to play Captain Janeway in a ‘Star Trek’ series, let alone all of the other things that have followed. And now here we are with ‘Prodigy’ to sort of put the cherry on top of it all.”
Of course, “Voyager” isn’t the only “Trek” experience in Mulgrew’s past; she also briefly popped up in the 2002 “Star Trek: The Next Generation” sequel film “Star Trek: Nemesis,” starring Sir Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. That raises the question of whether she might show up in a future season of Stewart’s “Next Generation” sequel series “Star Trek: Picard” — which includes Mulgrew’s former “Voyager” castmate Jeri Ryan, reprising her role as ex-Borg drone Seven of Nine. (Season 2 will premiere in February 2022.)
While Mulgrew is mum on whether she has been contacted about making a cameo, she admitted she would be open to it if the story is “very compelling.”
Back in the real world, though, Mulgrew herself prefers to stay grounded, watching the stars from afar.
“I see the moon. I see the constellations. I understand the magnitude of it,” she said. “It’s like God — space is infinite. So I’m sort of actually comfortable being dazzled by that on a daily basis.”
She did, however, see one touching scenario in which she might book a Shatner-worthy trip: at the request of a terminally ill person through an organization like the Make-A-Wish foundation.
“I think if one of those people were to express a wish to go to outer space with Captain Janeway, I would oblige — with humility and a certain grace. That would be my pleasure,” she said.