Sonequa Martin-Green on being Star Trek's first black female lead

The classic sci-fi television series Star Trek was bold for its time. Not only did it use space and aliens to make audiences think about what it means to be human, but it also pushed back on society's taboos around race, culture and difference. 

Since that original series aired in 1966, Star Trek has gone on to become one of the biggest sci-fi franchises in history, with films, books and spin-off series. 

Last year marked the debut of a new series in the Star Trek franchise, called Star Trek: Discovery. It's set roughly 10 years before we first meet Captain Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise crew.

The new series stars Sonequa Martin-Green, who you may know from her breakout role as Sasha Williams in The Walking Dead, and who has now become the first black female lead in a Star Trek series.

Martin-Green sat down with guest host Laurie Brown in the q studio to talk about the ways Star Trek tries to reflect society and the issues we're grappling with today. You can catch the second season of Star Trek: Discovery now on the Space Channel and or stream it on Crave.

— Produced by Tyrone Callender