Strange New Worlds: Melanie Scrofano on Marie Batel and Star Trek Legacy

Melanie Scrofano has done it all – from action, comedy, drama, horror and thrillers, and has even been part of major franchises since her debut in the MTV TV series Stripped nakedShe appeared on The CW’s Supernatural, The Children in the Hall: Death Comes to Town, Saw VI (2009), SYFY’s Warehouse 13 And refuge, Degrassi: The Next GenerationSony’s RoboCop (2014), Emergency Department DamienABC/Netflix’s Designated Survivorand Hulu’s Letterkenny. While promoting her upcoming Tubi Original 90-minute TV special Wynonna Earp: Revengewho continues SYFY’s supernatural action series that ran for four seasons from 2016 to 2021, Scrofano spoke to Bleeding Cool about her recurring role as Captain Marie Batel, who served on the USS Cayuga, on Star Trek: Strange New Worldsher favorite moment, and helped build the franchise legacy.

The season two finale, “Hegemony,” shows the Cayuga destroyed by a Gorn attack as its remains float in space above Parnassus Beta and Batel, one of the remaining survivors as part of the away team sent to help vaccinate the Federation colony. Mortally wounded in a separate Gorn attack on the planet, Batel faces an uncertain fate and tells her boyfriend, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mountain) from the USS Enterprise, when she is too far gone to kill her before she enters a status field, setting up season three as part of the series’ cliffhanger.

Melanie Scrofano as Captain Batel from the Paramount+ original series STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS. Photo Cr: Marni Grossman/Paramount+

Melanie Scrofano on Her Favorite Captain Marie Batel Moment in Strange New Worlds and Her Star Trek Legacy

Bleeding Cool: I know you can’t say anything about the fate of your character in season three of Strange New Worlds. I wanted to ask you what your favorite Marie Batel moment is and how you feel about being part of the Star Trek legacy.

My favorite Batel moment… that’s a tough one. I like episode one (“Strange New Worlds”). I like that we didn’t know if she was going to stay, but she was there to be like, “Listen! (Turns on table) Cheer up! Get your shit together.” She’s the one who gave Pike the talk that he needed to get back on the ship and I love that she’s so supportive, and then she’s like, “Anyway (waves), I got my own ship. See you! (laughs).” I also love that she came back. Because I was a part of that, I grew up watching (Star Trek) at home. My dad and my stepdad were both like huge Trekkies, so it was real, and it was like, “Finally!” and “Oh, I get what you’re doing. You’re an actor. You should have said that,” and like a validation, I felt not just from them, but from everybody. It felt good to be a part of that universe.

L-R Melanie Scrofano as Batel, Anson Mount as Capt. Pike and Dan Jeannotte as Sam Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo credit: Michael Gibson/Paramount+

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns to Paramount+ in 2025. Created by Emily Andras, Wynonna Earp: Revengein which the leading role is also reserved Tim Rozon, Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Katherine Barrell, And Baye McPhersonpremieres on Tubi on September 13.