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For Sale Mar 30, 2026 at 7:16 PM

‘Project Hail Mary’ Author Andy Weir Apologizes to ‘Star Trek’ Boss After Saying the ‘Shows Are S—‘: ‘I Was Trying to Be Funny’

Posted by pepperbet1

‘Project Hail Mary’ Author Andy Weir Apologizes to ‘Star Trek’ Boss After Saying the ‘Shows Are S—‘: ‘I Was Trying to Be Funny’
Variety
‘Project Hail Mary’ Author Andy Weir Apologizes to ‘Star Trek’ Boss After Saying the ‘Shows Are S—‘: ‘I Was Trying to Be Funny’
The "Project Hail Mary" author took the new 'Star Trek' seres to task.
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chicagoredditer1 Mar 31, 2026 +277
> feel like my quotes were taken out of context as salacious sound bytes. I know that's the go to PR line, but his quotes were *in context* everywhere I saw them.
277
edelweiss_pirates_no Mar 31, 2026 +48
Andy Weir is a moron. Just giving people the lowdown now.
48
OwnLobster1701 Mar 31, 2026 +5
He said exactly what he meant to say. He was being a complete d***. He sounded bitter because they rejected his script idea. Period.
5
sgthombre Mar 30, 2026 +1102
Dang does Kurtzman have dirt on him too?
1102
ParkerLewisDidLose Mar 30, 2026 +652
No, but I’m sure he cares about his reputation and not getting blackballed.
652
DBones90 Mar 30, 2026 +302
Yeah it’s not even about Kurtzman. If other producers and directors and such know that working with Weir increases their chances of getting shit on by Weir, fairly or not, they’re going to be less likely to work with him.
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sheJaMyMorant Mar 30, 2026 +122
lol I said this exact thing in the thread when he first took the shots and people tried to pretend that because he wrote two movie worthy novels he was immune to any sort of pushback from these types of statements
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ComicCon Mar 30, 2026 +71
Was that the thread where people were claiming he had “F*** You Money”? Because that was very funny. He’s a successful writer, not a Rockefeller.
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McBonderson Mar 30, 2026 +65
He's not a Rockefeller, but he has said a number of times in interviews the reason he was able to dedicate more time to writing novels was because he made good investments in the past and didn't have to work. That was before the books and movies. He is independently wealthy, he doesn't need to work. But I'm sure he would very much like to keep writing and having those books make movies.
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InnocentTailor Mar 30, 2026 +23
Pretty much. Weir seems to want to move up in the world and doing inflammatory statements like this aren't wise for that upward trajectory.
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SomberXIII Mar 30, 2026 +7
Was surprised he said it in the first place. I'd agree with his sentiment personally but it is not something to be said carelessly, especially for someone who's in the business
7
Traditional_Bug_2046 Mar 30, 2026 +30
Fair but apparently he's worth $55M. Idk where the cut off for f*** you money is tho haha. He probably doesn't have to work again if he doesn't blow it.
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wkgko Mar 30, 2026 +29
People retire on much much much less, so in that sense he has more than "f*** you money".
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Ok-Sea9612 Mar 30, 2026 +10
At that point he has f*** you money in the sense no one can make him do something he doesn't want to. But he is clearly enjoying the ability to be in Hollywood and the media and the f*** you threshold there is own a studio/be able to finance your own movies which he does not have.
10
Traditional_Bug_2046 Mar 30, 2026 +31
Exactly. I agree with him on his trek views, but you can't just say that in public when you get to that level. Even if it doesn't cost him jobs, it's a small industry where everybody knows everybody.
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toughtacos Mar 30, 2026 +60
Got to take into consideration the audience he was speaking to. He was talking to The Critical Drinker, a culture warrior of the anti-woke persuasion, and shitting on nu-Trek in that community garners a lot of points. He probably forgot the echo chamber isn't air tight or sound-proof.
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WySLatestWit Mar 30, 2026 +49
The biggest issue of the story is Weir lending credibility to that loser by being on his podcast.
49
Traditional_Bug_2046 Mar 30, 2026 +11
Fair point. I don't know critical drinker so can't speak to that. The quotes didn't mention anything about wokeness, and he named several shows he liked out of nu trek. Tbh the fact that he lists Enterprise as nu trek really makes me feel like he is in fact a Trekkie lol.
11
Impressive-Potato Mar 31, 2026 +4
The entire podcast is about wokeness and by that I mean the host just complains whenever he sees a black person in a movie.
4
LarkinEndorser Mar 30, 2026 +19
Saying Star Trek shouldn’t be political is like saying the Bible shouldn’t be religious. Hell the original series was so progressive republicans in congress tried to ban it for showing a mixed race relationship.
19
InnocentTailor Mar 30, 2026 +23
Pretty much. Kurtzman is one thing - execs above the franchise head are another. I wouldn’t be surprised if this blacklisted the author to a degree from working with Star Trek for the near future. That and other creators have called out Weir for his unprofessionalism. Having opinions is one thing - talking about them on effectively a press tour with a media personality is another.
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Enchelion Mar 30, 2026 +26
Weir doesn't really have a lot to offer to Star Trek regardless. His style of writing is pretty far removed from Star Trek's (of any era) and he's not a script writer or producer.
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InnocentTailor Mar 30, 2026 +15
…and a skilled sci-fi author doesn’t assure you get a grand slam hit, even with this franchise. See what happened with Chabon and the pretty mixed Picard Season 1 as a recent example.
15
smelltogetwell Mar 31, 2026 +15
He also said in the past that he doesn't think Star Trek should have any social commentary and should just be about fighting aliens, so I would agree that he doesn't have anything to offer Star Trek.
15
Toby_O_Notoby Mar 31, 2026 +4
Yeah, there's not a whole lot in Andy Weir's writing that makes me think he pull off a successful Star Trek show. His two most famous novels are about men alone in space doing highly technical problem solving. On Star Trek, Ron D. Moore said the scripts would read, "Captain, if we [technology] we could escape their tractor beam!" And later they'd get some ST nerd to come up with something that wouldn't work in real life but at least doesn't break canon.
4
JessieJ577 Mar 30, 2026 +9
Kurtzman has got to be well connected with how his career is not over despite how may franchises he imploded.
9
nickpsych Mar 30, 2026 +25
It might be that, but he might also have noticed how his "f*** them" comment was misinterpreted in the trades and just generally felt bad. We'll never know whether he's covering his butt or whether he legit wanted to clear the air.
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OrionsBra Mar 31, 2026 +10
The full comment was pretty damning. Not misinterpreted at all.
10
Tymareta Mar 31, 2026 +9
Especially given the podcast he chose to air them on, really removes any tiny scrap of plausible deniability he might have had.
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nickpsych Mar 31, 2026 +6
The bit where he called most of Kurtzman Trek shit was certainly damning, but the f*** em comment was certainly misrepresented by the trades. It was clearly in jest in the video.
6
Marauder_Pilot Mar 30, 2026 +153
No, I just suspect that after PHM doing very well in theaters his odds at actually getting to do Star Trek in the future have jumped dramatically and he wants to kiss the relevant ass.
153
Quixotic_Seal Mar 30, 2026 +76
It’s not just kissing ass. He’s trying to salvage any kind of professional rapport he may have had with Paramount. Even if someone else took Kurtzman’s place(we can only hope), do you really think they would want to work with a writer who publicly airs their personal resentments about professional decisions like this? His comments did not come across as a professional way of discussing creative differences, and if we’re being honest he’s one person in a sea of creatives out there who would crawl over broken glass to even just write an episode for a Star Trek show. If he has any hope to work with them, he kinda has to apologize and try to step back what he said.
76
InnocentTailor Mar 30, 2026 +15
Yup. Sci-fi writers and creators aren't exactly rare in this day and age, whether they're in the United States or across the globe. The execs running Star Trek have their pick of the world and Weir, though profitable right now, is merely one of many overall.
15
WySLatestWit Mar 30, 2026 +7
Dan Brown was the most popular author in the world at one point. A writer's popularity can dry up in a heartbeat
7
InnocentTailor Mar 30, 2026 +3
Very fair point. He owned the 2000s and 2010s, but now is grinding away as a moderately respected writer. I mean...that isn't horrible, but is definitely a far cry from the Da Vinci Code madness that took the world by storm in the past.
3
InnocentTailor Mar 30, 2026 +10
This isn't kissing arse - this is a half-baked attempt at doing public relations damage control. His apology isn't even really sincere anyways since it comes across as a "sorry you're offended" sort of statement.
10
grafxguy1 Mar 30, 2026 +4
Release the Kurtzman Files.
4
Enchelion Mar 30, 2026 +35
Weir was being an a****** on a right-wing podcast for no particular reason. Shitting on other people in the industry isn't going to make him friends regardless.
35
_Middlefinger_ Mar 31, 2026 +38
He's sorry he said it, not that he was wrong. The problem with Starfleet Academy isnt that there's social commentary, it's that there isn't anything else. It's so thick it drags down the rest of the show. Everyone is something on that show, and often more than one thing. Jay-Den for example isn't just a gay Klingon he's also from a poly family, a pacifist, and cross dresses. Im sure the 4 people on the planet like him feel represented, but as a fairly average guy that happens to be gay I dont feel represented just because he's gay. Its all just too much and worse the writing generally isn’t good enough to present all this in an interesting way. Star Trek always had commentary, but it was usually an episode here and there, and well written and it was a good space adventure. The rest of the time the characters were just allowed to be there doing a great job which was often social commentary enough. This isnt that, its extremely unsubtle to the point that a lot of liberals are wincing.
38
snowhawk04 Mar 30, 2026 +264
>For instance, as a lifelong 'Star Trek' fan, it's always bothered me that there is a presumed 'responsibility' within 'Star Trek' shows to talk about social issues. I just want to watch Romulans and the Federation shoot at each other. Bruh...
264
WienerJungle Mar 31, 2026 +77
Im just laughing at the idea of him having to watch like 4 hours of dialogue about philosophy, diplomacy, or technical analysis of some kind of space anomaly just to get to 3 minutes of a Star War
77
cabose7 Mar 31, 2026 +9
Andy Weir in a fit of rage watching *Duet*
9
edelweiss_pirates_no Mar 31, 2026 +4
Grown man just wants to watch car chases.
4
VoyeurBarelyKnowEr Mar 30, 2026 +111
There's absolutely no social or political issues involved in two rival factions maintaining a tenuous and contentious relationship, especially when it involves shooting at each other. Nope, none at all.
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CliffMcFitzsimmons Mar 31, 2026 +80
I hate metaphors. That's why my favorite book is Moby D***; no froo froo symbolism, just a good simple tale about a man who hates an animal
80
Spugheddy Mar 31, 2026 +3
I was born in 1984 and after I read the book, didnt seem like a good year. My brother stole my chocolate, too.
3
Maverick1172001 Mar 31, 2026 +3
Now tell me more about how you hate Europeans and bicycles
3
Kimbolimbo Mar 31, 2026 +6
Weir seems to have the depth of a puddle. 
6
emptyhellebore Mar 30, 2026 +40
Yeah, my guess is he’d be thrilled if the show promoted his political beliefs. How so many people don’t see the politics of the original series is baffling to me.
40
ChainsawSnuggling Mar 31, 2026 +43
"THEY MADE STAR TREK WOKE" Fellow Citizen of the Federation, the woke is load bearing.
43
The_Flurr Apr 1, 2026 +3
Weir seems like the kind of guy who doesn't really *get* that his beliefs are political. "That's not politics it's just common sense" type of guy. Even something as simple as "it's good for scientists worldwide to ignoral nation agendas and work together for humanity's survival" is politics.
3
Death_Binge Mar 31, 2026 +6
Star Trek fans who hate seeing politics in it are my favourite.
6
jackofslayers Mar 31, 2026 +4
The more I learn about Weir the more I dislike him.
4
PunyParker826 Mar 31, 2026 +12
My publisher said I have to say:
12
WeAreVenom2212 Mar 30, 2026 +1025
He shouldn’t need to apologise for telling the truth
1025
British_Commie Mar 30, 2026 +303
Worth noting that at no point in his apology did he walk back calling NuTrek shit, he just apologised for saying “f*** ‘em” for not picking up his Star Trek pitch
303
Traditional_Bug_2046 Mar 30, 2026 +113
I was expecting something controversial, and I agree with his assessment completely
113
Sonichu- Mar 30, 2026 +61
He also doesn't actually walk back calling the shows shit > I feel like my quotes were taken out of context as salacious sound bytes. I hope you saw the other parts where I said how much I like you as a person and what a nice guy you are. Also how I like SNW and LD.
61
Deadlocked02 Mar 30, 2026 +24
Yeah. Creatives are also consumers, in the end of the day. Better this than pretending everything is good.
24
Dark_Shade_75 Mar 30, 2026 +29
SNW is mostly decent. Lower Decks is great. Aside from that, yeah.
29
homewil Mar 30, 2026 +42
Strangely enough Weir said he only liked those two in particular.
42
StarWars_and_SNL Mar 30, 2026 +11
So by process of elimination, is he basically just shitting on Discovery then?
11
Dark_Shade_75 Mar 30, 2026 +30
Prodigy, Academy, Discovery, Picard?
30
magus-21 Mar 31, 2026 +8
I'm not sure he watched Academy or Prodigy, the former because it's brand new and these have probably been the busiest weeks of his life, and the latter because it was buried on Netflix unless you had kids.
8
Muad-_-Dib Mar 30, 2026 +18
Discovery, Picard, Prodigy, Academy and if you include the movie then Section 31 too.
18
veryverythrowaway Mar 30, 2026 +3
And Prodigy was the best of the bunch. Tragic.
3
scottishdrunkard Mar 31, 2026 +3
I shit on Discovery, because Star Trek shouldn't be a grimdark.
3
Moonson90 Mar 31, 2026 +9
Discovery started promising only to devlove to the bridge crew solving the problems they have created themselves in the first place through the power of crying.
9
Dark_Shade_75 Mar 31, 2026 +4
The first season wasn't the worst thing ever. It wasn't great, but it at least had promise, and ST often starts a bit weak. The idea of the ship's drive was cool, if a bit silly. But after season 1 it just went further and further downhill.
4
Relevant-Ad2254 Mar 30, 2026 +22
The Orville is pretty awesome 
22
steveatari Mar 30, 2026 +4
Not even "new" sadly. Wish there was more, it was so good.
4
Relevant-Ad2254 Mar 30, 2026 +5
They’re coming out with a new season!
5
steveatari Mar 30, 2026 +4
Whaaaa? Yayyy
4
NeedleworkerOld4696 Mar 30, 2026 +22
Yeah, Kurtzman is a hack.
22
Aliensinmypants Mar 30, 2026 +8
Ummm have you seen The Mummy??  Genuinely asking because I don't think anyone did
8
Chaos_Dunks Mar 30, 2026 +3
The Tom Cruise one? I lasted about 9 minutes.
3
tedfundy Mar 30, 2026 +12
I love strange new worlds.
12
jyanjyanjyan Mar 30, 2026 +8
Weir said he liked SNW as well, and Lower Decks. He just (rightfully) doesn't like most of the other NuTrek shows.
8
Oddmob Mar 30, 2026 +7
Season 3 was a bit of a letdown especially the finale. But the first two seasons were great.
7
Anomalous_Pulsar Mar 30, 2026 +10
SNW and Lower Decks are solid. SNW feels like a love letter to TOS kitbashed with the more lighthearted episodes of TNG. Do I like all the changes? No, not really. But I like Pike, I like that they aren’t afraid to be silly as a palate cleanser to some of the more grave episodes. I love that Lower Decks absolutely lampoons everything. Nothing is safe, while also just kind of playing in the trek universe in a way that felt just…kind of nice while not forgoing character growth. Mariner is easily one of my favorite characters. >!The crossover episode was on point, and both the actors for Mariner and Boimler did fabulously bringing their characters to life on the soundstage.!<
10
veryverythrowaway Mar 30, 2026 +7
SNW feels like a teenager who had only heard their dad talk about Star Trek and tried to make their own. Yikes. They made The Vulcans into the Ferengi (comic relief) and the Gorn into xenomorphs (oh, except that one episode that ripped off Enemy Mine).
7
UsualResult Mar 31, 2026 +39
I think they are shit, and I won't apologize.
39
Special-Equivalent97 Mar 31, 2026 +8
DAMAGE CONTROOOOOOOOL
8
Key_Town Mar 30, 2026 +818
Buried lede: he said this while on the Critical Drinker's podcast. Not a good look for anyone to be associating with that piece of shit.
818
Lfsnz67 Mar 30, 2026 +221
Yeah, complaining about identity politics on The Critical Drinker was certainly a choice, even if I didn't care for Discovery or Picard either (Love SNW)
221
the-magnetic-rose Mar 30, 2026 +423
Yeah, that's where I really side-eye Weir. Say what you want about the quality of Nu Trek, but people like the Critical Drinker hate on those shows for daring to have POC and LGBTQ rep. All he does is incite ragebaiting and making fandom spaces miserable for other people.
423
imjustbettr Mar 30, 2026 +283
Weir's other comments on that podcast are kinda fucked up and just dumb. Like it makes me think he truly doesn't understand Star Trek or even Project Hail Mary if he thinks politics and social issues shouldn't be in scifi. “I dislike social commentary. Like… I really hate it. When I’m reading a book, I just want to be entertained, not preached at by the author. Plus, it ruins the wonder of the story if I know the author has a political or social axe to grind. I no longer speculate about all possible outcomes of the story because I know for a fact that the universe of that book will conspire to ensure that the author’s political agenda is validated. I hate that,” Weir said. “I put no politics or social commentary into my stories at all. Anyone who thinks they see something like that is reading it in on their own. I have no point to make, and I’m not trying to affect the reader’s opinion on anything. My sole job is to entertain, and I stick to that.” “For instance, as a lifelong Star Trek fan, it’s always bothered me that there is a presumed ‘responsibility’ within Star Trek shows to talk about social issues,” the writer added. “I just want to watch Romulans and the Federation shoot at each other.”
283
mach-disc Mar 30, 2026 +306
How did he ever even become a Star Trek fan? The social commentary is so baked into it
306
maxfields2000 Mar 31, 2026 +9
The fundamental issue with people upset at "NuTrek" for being woke... Star Trek was ALWAYS "woke" and pushing social isues to the front. You can not like the new shows for dozens of other reason, such as writing, direction of various timelines, even the characters (provided you aren't just proxying your hatred). People upset that Trek has female captains, mixed race relationships, same sex relationships or discuss mostly progressive issues as a exploration of humanity? That's been in "trek" since it first aired.
9
Enchelion Mar 30, 2026 +115
There are a weird number of MAGA who either somehow missed all the actual points of the show, or never watched anything past Kirk and just enjoyed all the built-in sexism.
115
Twiggyhiggle Mar 30, 2026 +73
A lot of Kirk’s stuff was political. There was a whole ton of Cold War allegory during both the TV run and the movies. That’s also not counting the multiple times they tackled racism (like the white and black people, first interracial kiss, and the diverse bridge crew).
73
Enchelion Mar 30, 2026 +63
Kirk outright ends an episode reading the preamble to the American Constitution out loud. But I bet they don't consider that "political" because it's American. Can you imaging the aneurysm they'd have about someone in modern trek quoting the French Constitution?
63
maxfields2000 Mar 31, 2026 +8
There are people who vehemently defend that Kirk was not a misogynist and that he was fairly progressive (for the time) torwards women on one hand, and on the other rail against "progressive" trek. Like... you can't have it both ways.
8
TheStrangestOfKings Mar 31, 2026 +7
Or hell, modern trek quoting the American constitution, since they always get mad whenever media reminds them what every citizen’s rights are
7
maxfields2000 Mar 31, 2026 +13
Haters think it's bad when "nutrek" is so blatant about Slavery being bad... or racism is bad... when "Original Trek" was pretty on the nose with that stuff. Roddenberry's entire vision was a "unified" future. Hell, the man wanted it to have a female first officer, but the studios felt that was just a step too far for the times. Modern NuTrek haters would have you believe a woman on the bridge, let alone in command, is a sin against humanity and purely a "woke" concession.
13
RedditConsciousness Mar 31, 2026 +12
Or the line moved. They were progressive by 60s standards but conservative now. And the fun part is, it could happen to you someday too.
12
BelligerentGnu Mar 30, 2026 +16
It's like people complaining about RATM 'becoming' political. It's like, what band were you listening to?
16
InnocentTailor Mar 30, 2026 +12
There are definitely folks who love the Star Trek universe for what it is - fun starships, great stories, and intriguing characters. My personal favorite arc is the Dominion War and that was effectively a gritty military-focused story the whole time - something that some Roddenberry devotees dislike. To deny that social commentary was ever a part of the franchise's foundation though is sheer ignorance.
12
onex7805 Mar 30, 2026 +30
>“I just want to watch Romulans and the Federation shoot at each other.” ...so it's just Star Trek made by J.J. Abrams and Kurtzman?
30
Silver-End9570 Mar 30, 2026 +66
>I just want to watch Romulans and the Federation shoot at each other Well, he apparently likes JJ Trek then, which instantly invalidates a lot of his complaints since JJ Trek is essentially Star Wars in a Star Trek skin. Also, SNW is really f****** overrated. People only like it because it's episodic like the old Star Trek shows instead of one season long ark.
66
Taco_Farmer Mar 30, 2026 +9
Agreed on SNW. It really seems to give up on the ethos of star trek and just appeals to the nostalgia of those who like TOS, especially the most recent season
9
Silver-End9570 Mar 30, 2026 +7
I'm glad it's not just me. I've seen soooo many people glaze SNW like it was the second coming of Star Trek or something and it's just alright most of the time. It's not terrible or anything, but I don't think it's nearly deserving of the praise that it gets outside of the performances.
7
MachinaThatGoesBing Mar 30, 2026 +8
I've really enjoyed SNW, and I think it has quite a few really good episodes. But I've also basically enjoyed all of the newer shows. Some are stronger, some are weaker, but I think all of them have stuff to recommend. Honestly, I think the big thing that many of the new shows fight the most is the lack of episodes. 10 episode seasons don't really give us time to get to know the cast, explore the characters, and pack as many interesting stories into a season. And the expectation that current dramas have a series arc also eats into that episode count. You know, for all people's complaints about the new shows not being *Trek*-y enough, I honestly think the currently-memetically-reviled SFA has had the biggest share of less action-y, more talk-y episodes dealing with big ideas and ethical questions. Yeah, there were still more action-y episodes and action scenes. But it had a number of *really* strong episodes, and *for heaven's sake, the finale is basically just a twist on the classic* Trek *courtroom episode!* (Also, Giamatti can go ahead and devour the entire set any day. He was a great foil. Some wonderful John de Lancie level scenery chewing on his part.) DIS S1 was a little rocky (but that's not exactly unfamiliar territory for *Trek*). But S2 was quite good, and I think it got stronger as it went along. While arc-based, I think each season got an interesting arc story that worked. And that second to last episode of S4, where they're >!having their little conference to figure out how to talk to the species that made the DMA — not to mention having that species be strange and different but not evil or malicious — having more in common than what separated us from them on a fundamental level —!< is a *really* good Trek episode, right up there among my favorites. (I think the arc-based shows suffer less from the shorter seasons, too.) PIC is probably the weakest of all the new series. S1 was probably its best outing with the >!android colony plotline. But how *dare* they kill Hugh? That seemed like such a waste of his character, who could have had a much more interesting story than dying for Picard's quest!<. S2 still had some good points, >!with the voluntary Borg being a really fascinating idea that I think other writers could pick up and do very interesting things with! I think this could give us the long term answer to *Trek*'s Borg problem, and it does it in the most optimistic and Trek-like way I could think of, what with all the other ideas to date basically just being genocide<. And I still liked the characters. And while S3 was a lot of fun to watch, and it was very fanservice-y to see the gang back together and >!back on the D, and I was quite glad Data finally got the proper resurrection and life with his friends that he deserved!<, that alone doesn't quite justify a whole season. I didn't love that it pushed the new characters to the side in favor of the old ones, either. >!I wanted to see Picard alongside Laris being a father to Elnor a lot more than I wanted a secret Crusher lovechild! I think that could have been more interesting, following the first (out) Romulan in Starfleet.!< And I'll tell you what, after Rick Berman starving us for so long, [killing off the queer rep that writers, cast, Gene, and fans all wanted](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5_g1DY1FLg), it's a real joy to finally get queer characters in the show. I love our little found family in DIS, and I could watch Tig just Jett Reno around the screen forever.
8
Zalvren Mar 30, 2026 +48
This is actually kind of obvious in his books. They're all fun romps that completely ignore any social commentary issue. They're great books but yeah kind of weird come to think of it for science fiction
48
DarnedTax1 Mar 30, 2026 +44
Except that’s not even true. Take PHM for instance, you have the globe uniting and sharing resources to solve a global issue. This is a clear analog for stuff like climate change. This effort is lead by a strong ruthless woman, the crew is multi racial and multi national, hell the whole story is about a human and an alien work together and coming to understand their cultural differences to solve a problem. These are all things in other works Drinker would rail against. His works are political and it’s absurd for him to say otherwise.
44
Froggie56 Mar 31, 2026 +20
This is where I laugh my ass off at “it’s not political”. All this shit and these stories inherently pull politics from it. Art is political
20
magus-21 Mar 31, 2026 +4
He recognizes differing politics as an obstacle to overcome in order to resolve problems, but to him it's purely a way to solve the problem in his book. I doubt he's meditated on the greater symbolic or thematic implications of any of his stories. A lot of scifi/fantasy authors do the same, e.g. Brandson Sanderson writes a lot about class divisions in Elantris and Mistborn but he's likely not trying to draw any parallels with real world class divisions.
4
Dizzy-Young6184 Mar 30, 2026 +43
He was bragging about how his books don't contain any symbolism at all, political or non-political. Embarrassing on his part imo. He then proceeded to reference "the message" in a spooky voice (Critical Drinker speak for the woke agenda in storytelling, from what I can gather).
43
Fishb20 Mar 30, 2026 +39
It's especially funny to brag about your books not being political when a major plot point in the Martian is American and Chinese scientists secretly working together on a mission despite opposition from their governments
39
smashybro Mar 31, 2026 +7
Unsurprising an "apolitical" type has such a narrow minded of what politics is that they don't even recognize the political messages in their own damn art.
7
FrivolousMe Mar 30, 2026 +47
Weir is kinda a dullard and a thoughtless social conservative
47
an_actual_potato Mar 31, 2026 +17
Yeah that’s my read on him. Sorts thoughtlessly dull outside of his narrow area of extreme knowledge. Unable to understand that social statements appear in narratives whether we explicitly wish for them to or not but as a natural byproduct of a creator’s own understanding of the world. It’s…fine, as these things go.
17
RedditConsciousness Mar 31, 2026 +18
> Sorts thoughtlessly dull outside of his narrow area of extreme knowledge. Also describes a large number of engineering students and professionals.
18
query_tech_sec Mar 30, 2026 +12
Wow - that’s never ever been what Star Trek was about.
12
MachinaThatGoesBing Mar 30, 2026 +16
> I put no politics or social commentary into my stories at all. …is something consistently said by people who are **absolutely 100% putting political and social commentary in their work** (or ideas and themes at a minimum), but who don't recognize it as such because it's pro status quo or they think their beliefs and ideas about how the world does (or should) work are just natural common sense and not "political". I'll tell you what. Seeing him go on this rant and knowing he thought it was a good idea to go on this kind of reactionary hate-fest of a show has basically killed my desire to read any of his books. I actually have a copy of *The Martian* from sometime when it was on sale, but it's moved straight to the bottom of my list. He might not be Orson Scott Card, but I've got better people's work to spend my time on. ---------- Also, what kind of ding-dong do you have to be to stake out the contrary positions of, "I don't like political work," and, "I would like to have a crack at running a Star Trek show"‽ Makes me suspect *he* is the one who doesn't understand *Star Trek*.
16
TheTruckWashChannel Mar 30, 2026 +19
His point would be astute if he 1) said it somewhere other than a right wing grift podcast and 2) didn't use Star Trek as his example.
19
Stellar_Duck Mar 31, 2026 +6
> His point would be astute Astute? In what sense could his point be astute?
6
MachinaThatGoesBing Mar 31, 2026 +21
I still don't think it would be very astute, because people who "don't put politics" into their work are usually still embedding their own socio-political viewpoints. It's just that they see them as normative and often don't view propping up the status quo as "political". But saying it with respect to *Star Trek* of all shows really lays bare the absurdity. "Hello, please give me the reins to a series of *Star Trek*, that famously 'apolitical' show! I would like to see some space battles, as war and conflict are also famously non-political!" 🙃
21
VoyeurBarelyKnowEr Mar 30, 2026 +17
The whole "I don't like to be preached at" attitude always gets me. "Nobody is allowed to try to present their viewpoint if it differs from my own or try to persuade me that maybe I don't already know everything (and also if you set down the same standard for me then you're censoring me)" is such high school edgelord idiocy.
17
loboMuerto Mar 30, 2026 +16
The book's author does not understand the book?
16
Hefty_Divide9772 Mar 31, 2026 +26
If he honestly thinks his books contain zero social commentary or politics, then yeah. Although I guess you could say he just doesn’t understand what social commentary is in the first place. 
26
see-these-bones Mar 31, 2026 +15
Many such cases
15
BritishHobo Mar 30, 2026 +12
"I have no point to make" is the most incisive thing he's ever said. What a dweeb. Just because he has a child's expectation of art, he thinks any art doing anything more ambitious or complicated is immediately bad. Nobody should ever take these idiots seriously
12
atramentum Mar 30, 2026 +3
What about the author's hidden agenda to add snarky annoying dialogue? How many plot points were altered in his books to adapt to obnoxious humor?
3
SwiftlyChill Mar 30, 2026 +13
Oh wow yeah, some of these are… a bit yikes > “I dislike social commentary. Like… I really hate it. When I’m reading a book, I just want to be entertained, not preached at by the author. Plus, it ruins the wonder of the story if I know the author has a political or social axe to grind. I no longer speculate about all possible outcomes of the story because I know for a fact that the universe of that book will conspire to ensure that the author’s political agenda is validated. I hate that,” Weir said. “ Does…does he not know that his particular brand of science-heavy SciFi does all this shit too? We *know* his protagonists are gonna “science the shit” out of situations, which is also the “book conspiring” to keep things along that path. > “I put no politics or social commentary into my stories at all. Anyone who thinks they see something like that is reading it in on their own. **I have no point to make, and I’m not trying to affect the reader’s opinion on anything. My sole job is to entertain, and I stick to that**.” Surely, he wants to educate as well? Inspire scientific creativity? Newsflash for Weir - “human survival against the odds enabled by scientific ingenuity” is in fact a point with numerous deep and poignant questions/themes/etc. Why does he want to cheapen his own work? > “For instance, as a lifelong Star Trek fan, it’s always bothered me that there is a presumed ‘responsibility’ within Star Trek shows to talk about social issues,” the writer added. “I just want to watch Romulans and the Federation shoot at each other.” Does…does he not think that the Romulans and Federation shooting at each other is political? That that is not often the springboard to discuss social issues? Does the man hate Worf and Nog, or love them?
13
PaulFThumpkins Mar 31, 2026 +6
> “For instance, as a lifelong Star Trek fan, it’s always bothered me that there is a presumed ‘responsibility’ within Star Trek shows to talk about social issues,” the writer added. “I just want to watch Romulans and the Federation shoot at each other.” 90% of Star Trek is taken up by non-military discussion of ethics, cultural exchange, metaphors for current Earth social struggles, trying to do the right thing within the rules and ethos of an evolved society... there's no way he was on his phone since the *60s* watching that shit. Did he go into a fugue state? A world with "no commentary" is also a world where the universe of that book will conspire to ensure that the reader's political agenda is validated, if they don't believe in higher causes and certain branches of science.
6
Lfsnz67 Mar 30, 2026 +18
Weir complained about that as well on the show
18
Replicant28 Mar 30, 2026 +69
He says that his comments were "taken out of context." I'm sorry, but what were you expecting from going on the f****** Critical Drinker's podcast? You can't not know the kind of guy he is and the bullshit that he encourages if you agree to go on his podcast.
69
Stellar_Duck Mar 31, 2026 +6
Also what is the missing context?
6
InnocentTailor Mar 30, 2026 +16
Yeah. This came across as less of a sincere apology and more like a "sorry you're offended" sort of statement. Not very from the heart overall.
16
blaaaargh811 Mar 30, 2026 +37
Yeah, I was going to say this. All I heard in headlines is that he’d said new Star Trek sucks, which is whatever, but didn’t know it was in that context until yesterday. Kind of concerning that YouTubers doing the same woke bad schlock a million times in a row since 2016 are getting legit creatives on their shows now…
37
loves_grapefruit Mar 30, 2026 +122
Yeah that’s the bigger news, don’t know why anyone would willingly sully their reputation for that podcast.
122
V2Blast Mar 30, 2026 +103
He said he's a big fan of it..
103
sgthombre Mar 30, 2026 +68
"Hey film/TV industry please don't be mad at me, I wasn't serious when I said a TV show was bad, I was just trying to impress this embarrassing chud who I'm a huge fan of."
68
KaJaHa Mar 30, 2026 +78
Oh god damnit, I bet Weir is one of those "I don't see politics" privileged assholes
78
V2Blast Mar 30, 2026 +50
Pretty much. He's made comments about how he hates and avoids political messages in media, and prefers Trek stories where it's just the Federation and Romulans shooting at each other. (I don't think he understands the irony.)
50
Gastroid Mar 30, 2026 +37
Really, Weir? Of all the things...
37
imjustbettr Mar 30, 2026 +54
He also said this on the podcast and it's kinda melting my brain with how stupid he's coming off rn. “I dislike social commentary. Like… I really hate it. When I’m reading a book, I just want to be entertained, not preached at by the author. Plus, it ruins the wonder of the story if I know the author has a political or social axe to grind. I no longer speculate about all possible outcomes of the story because I know for a fact that the universe of that book will conspire to ensure that the author’s political agenda is validated. I hate that,” Weir said. “I put no politics or social commentary into my stories at all. Anyone who thinks they see something like that is reading it in on their own. I have no point to make, and I’m not trying to affect the reader’s opinion on anything. My sole job is to entertain, and I stick to that.” “For instance, as a lifelong Star Trek fan, it’s always bothered me that there is a presumed ‘responsibility’ within Star Trek shows to talk about social issues,” the writer added. “I just want to watch Romulans and the Federation shoot at each other.”
54
BlueberryWasps Mar 30, 2026 +35
a lot of grumbly right-leaning “nerds” of that generation like the critical drinker. i was genuinely surprised by how popular he is considering he sounds just like every other incel-adjacent rant channel but there you go. i guess to a certain kind of gen-xer *“everything new is bad and you’re not a bigot for hating it even though i’m gonna ram every bigoted dogwhistle under the sun into my barely cohesive rant on comic book movies”* just hits the spot in a way watching something of substance does not.
35
jackofslayers Mar 31, 2026 +3
Because Weir is a rightwing chud
3
Rosetti Mar 30, 2026 +36
Ew. I accidentally went to the Critical Drinker sublistnook the other day after searching for something, and wow - it's the biggest collection of sad angry losers I've seen in a good while.
36
edelweiss_pirates_no Mar 31, 2026 +10
Right-wing is always the same f****** crew: chubby, lonely, sad, angry, dumb loser guys. There are millions of them. And, they will age out and die having spent a life being grifted for their $$$.
10
Tymareta Mar 31, 2026 +8
Have to be so careful when googling shows or movies to find discussions on listnook nowadays, too often I've accidentally opened his sub or mauler's and been a little confused at the enormous amounts of misogyny and general misanthropic attitudes.
8
Rosetti Mar 31, 2026 +6
Yeah, it's weird - I was loosely aware of him and always just assumed he was a general media reviewer/essayer, and didn't know anything else. I've been playing Doom: The Dark Ages and been looking up various characters, searched for Commander Thira, and that sublistnook pops up and it's just a bunch of losers complaining she's not hot enough. Literally all the posts are just weird anti-diversity (they were very upset about Sinners after the Oscars) and anti-women posts. It's just a complete cesspit of pathetic losers.
6
Tymareta Mar 31, 2026 +3
> Literally all the posts are just weird anti-diversity (they were very upset about Sinners after the Oscars) and anti-women posts. That's the part that gets me the most, there's literally nothing that they ever actually enjoy or discuss with any sort of positivity. It must be such an exhausting and unfulfilling existing just devoting everything they are to hate and being discontent hateful little walnut's.
3
Horknut1 Mar 30, 2026 +59
This confused me too. Matt Dinniman is outspoken about that podcaster. I don't know much about him, but he is working to scrub him from one of his audiobooks, and its like a five minute section. The fan base seems really against this guy. I was surprised to see Weir in the news with him.
59
hell2pay Mar 30, 2026 +19
His lines in that book are so phoned in too. Its pretty jarring.
19
Horknut1 Mar 30, 2026 +8
Very true. It's a horrible rendition. Especially when you're bookened by a genius in voice acting.
8
monster_syndrome Mar 30, 2026 +35
He's got a sad tired schtick and a fake drunken slur that he uses to talk about how awful all this wokeness is. He also doesn't have much in the way of takes beyond how awful all this wokeness is and that things were better before all this wokeness. Often, he'll ask if all this awful wokeness is going to destroy Hollywood or if Hollywood likes being destroyed, just like how he enjoys inflicting a*** sex on his female companion. You know, normal movie critic stuff.
35
Silver-End9570 Mar 30, 2026 +14
This. If you want a guy who's openly misogynistic (according to him women just are incapable of doing anything if a man's around) and just complains instead of having actual takes about movies, he's your guy.
14
Kevbot1000 Mar 30, 2026 +53
Man, I can't f****** stand that loser.
53
r3dditr0x Mar 30, 2026 +62
Why would any mainstream creative appear with Critical Drinker, yikes. Dude makes his money teaching bigotry and hate to his viewers. (btw, dude's movie is #1 at the box office and is being showered with widespread critical acclaim. he may not have been 'mainstream' creative a year ago, but he certainly is now.)
62
jackofslayers Mar 31, 2026 +5
Because Weir agrees with him. Weir will be on the grifter circuit himself soon.
5
BlueberryWasps Mar 30, 2026 +27
he’s not a mainstream creative really. he’s a silicon valley fan fic writer who struck gold. he spends most of his time on scientific research for his books and zero time learning how to write dialogue. his books are marketed towards science lovers who don’t normally read fiction. he probably identifies more with the STEM sector than with creatives.
27
jackofslayers Mar 31, 2026 +3
Seriously f*** Weir. I give him 5 years before he shifts to full blown right wing grifter.
3
angryneeson_52_ Mar 30, 2026 +45
Ah shit, yeah that’s a much bigger red flag than anything he said about Star Trek. F****** whyyyyyyyyy
45
KermitMcKibbles Mar 30, 2026 +18
That’s the buried lede for sure. Why would he go on known rage baiters podcast to begin with ?
18
Hanifsefu Mar 30, 2026 +10
Because he fully agrees with the bullshit being sold. He just didn't like the backlash of putting the red hat on so he thought he could walk it back.
10
wswordsmen Mar 31, 2026 +5
He went on the Regressive Drunk show? I regret giving him any money. The drunk dummy is so dumb you should be able to smell his stink from at least a state over, before watching anything he says.
5
DoubtAcademic4481 Mar 30, 2026 +18
Right I lost respect for Weir for being on that pod before he even opened his mouth.
18
Sharpopotamus Mar 30, 2026 +17
Well f*** I wish I didn’t know that
17
torquesteer Mar 30, 2026 +94
Hire a publicist, Andy. Anything that does out of your mouth goes through them, right or wrong.
94
Toorviing Mar 30, 2026 +119
People really trying to glaze Weir when his idea of good Star Trek isn’t morality plays but the Federation and Romulans shooting at each other.
119
loboMuerto Mar 30, 2026 +24
I've been watching Star Trek almost since it came out (yes I'm old) and it was great, optimistic science fiction (for the time) with embedded social messaging. Today is social messaging within mediocre science fiction.
24
Existing_Set2100 Mar 30, 2026 +26
The top comments here are embarrassing.  “He shouldn’t apologize for telling the truth” 🤓 What?
26
Sonichu- Mar 30, 2026 +24
They’re referring to him saying “the new shows are shit”
24
littlebighuman Mar 30, 2026 +9
HE SHOUDLN’T APOLOGIZE FOR TELLING THE TRUTH
9
rustyiron Mar 30, 2026 +56
Andor showed how great franchise sci-fi tv can be. I hope to see a Star Trek show half as good someday. But Weir’s whole take that these shows should have social messaging literally demonstrates that he hasn’t really paid attention to what Star Trek has been since the first pilot.
56
senshi_of_love Mar 30, 2026 +93
Kurtzman has such weird industry power considering how many franchises he has destroyed.
93
loves_grapefruit Mar 30, 2026 +35
Some people are just fated to continuously fail upwards.
35
GareksApprentice Mar 30, 2026 +116
I wouldn't have a problem with what he said if he didn't say it on Critical Drinker. I know folks try their damndest to separate themselves and how they have a more "nuanced" reason to abhor nuTrek, but its a hard web to entangle when the loudest anti-nuTrek voices are comprised of the likes of Critical Drinker, Stephen Miller and their countless rage-baiting anti-woke trolls on YouTube who declare every piece of media as the "WORST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!!!" because one of the background characters is gay or black. FWIW I find Discovery boring, Picard S1-2 a mess and very neutral on Starfleet Academy. Everything else has been pretty solid.
116
terrendos Mar 30, 2026 +56
RedLetterMedia are pretty vehemently anti-NuTrek and, from what I can tell, about as apolitical as you can get. I'd even go so far as to say they were leading the charge.
56
0dias_Chrysalis Mar 30, 2026 +41
They’re pretty liberal if you’ve watched them cover any movie that’s been “controversial” the past several years on Half in the Bag.
41
PaulFThumpkins Mar 31, 2026 +13
They're on board with a lot of progressive ideas but they tend to focus on the enjoyability factor of media, and how *embarrassing* the guys complaining about pronouns or casting are rather than approaching it from a dedicated set of views. They're more politically apathetic than actively liberal, but they aren't outraged about the things reactionaries are.
13
misho8723 Mar 30, 2026 +35
They aren't being critical of movies or TV shows for being "woke" though, they criticize them for other aspects If a movie or a TV show is well made and written, they don't care how "woke" some media is, they will praise it
35
kuhpunkt Mar 30, 2026 +14
Critical Drinker even had a panel with Nerdrotic as the recent Megacon... giving these people a platform like this. Yuck.
14
BigJLov3 Mar 31, 2026 +11
That's okay, Andy. I'll say it for you. New *Trek* **is** shit. Kurzman is a hack.
11
dondondorito Mar 31, 2026 +4
No, once again an article is twisting Weir‘s words. He was NOT apologising for saying the new Star Trek shows are shit. He is apologising for saying "So, f*** them!" to Kurtzman. He did that in jest, and now feels it was misunderstood, so he is apologising. He actually does not retract his opinion about the writing quality of the new Star Trek shows. And why should he? He is right.
4
twinkleyed Mar 30, 2026 +107
Never apologize. Kurtzman is a sore loser.
107
Gulag_boi Mar 30, 2026 +33
The hell is he doing on a podcast like critical drinker’s? Very low.
33
TheUmbrellaMan1 Mar 31, 2026 +3
Because he's a fan, that's why he went there. "I'm a big fan", that's his exact words during the podcast. Yeah.
3
kakarroto007 Mar 31, 2026 +6
Why do people feel the need to apologize after speaking the truth?
6
gummi_eater Mar 31, 2026 +8
Am I supposed to be angry about what he said? I see nothing wrong here.
8
TomBirkenstock Mar 30, 2026 +77
Weir's whining about Paramount not picking up his Star Trek pitch just makes him sound like a sore loser. The guy has explicitly said he doesn't like the how political Star Trek can be and would rather just watch the Federation and Romulans fire phasers at each other, which shows he just doesn't understand Star Trek. I'm glad his Trek pitch got shot down. And he's a shitty writer to boot.
77
vurto Mar 31, 2026 +3
Gee quick turnaround to protect his future paychecks.
3
Affectionate_Link175 Mar 31, 2026 +3
Come on man, how is that funny
3
mehtehteh Mar 31, 2026 +3
Except he wasnt wrong. Star Trek has been c*** since after Voyager. Its sad that Lower Decks, a respectful comedy, and The Orville, a Star Trek show by a big Trek fan, are the best Trek weve had in many years.
3
penderies Mar 30, 2026 +40
Andy Weir posts AI all over his socials, so his opinion means nothing to me. At least Star Trek doesn’t use AI …
40
I_Made_it_All_Up Mar 30, 2026 +41
The more I learn about him the less I think of him to be honest.
41
Eldorian91 Mar 30, 2026 +11
I want to go back to the world were I knew nothing about an artist other than the art they produce. I liked The Martian and Project Hail Mary, books and movies.
11
SoWrongItsPainful Mar 30, 2026 +31
And did a podcast with Critical Drinker
31
Dookie-Trousers-MD Mar 31, 2026 +6
They are shit though
6
jez124 Mar 30, 2026 +25
Man i like the films made of his books and i dont have a fondness for Star Trek old or new but saying all that on Critical Drinker's channel tells me this guy is a loser.
25
BigFeelingSlayer Mar 30, 2026 +2
He apologized in a press release. That’s called damage control.
2
Agreeable_Tackle1104 Mar 30, 2026 +2
This is why The Martian being nominated in the comedy category actually fits, he *was* actually trying to make Mark Watney funny. 
2
inquisitorgaw_12 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Well yeah pretty much. People with much more sway than Weir have gotten blackballed in the industry for running their mouth off too much. And being the inspiration for a current big movie won't save you long term. Obviously he wants to get a head of this.
2
strangway Mar 31, 2026 +2
Sarcasm doesn’t work on the internet unless you’re *always* sarcastic.
2
No-Stage-4583 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Don't apologize to Kurtzman, he's not star trek. Id rather an Andy Weir star trek than a kurtzman trek who's gone too far.
2
ImperialPotentate Mar 31, 2026 +2
The shows he was referring to *are* shit, though...
2
Coilspun Mar 31, 2026 +2
I mean, the guy's not wrong...
2
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