Talking to Jameela Jamil and nerding out should be on everyone’s bucket list because it instantly became the highlight of New York Comic Con for me. Because sometimes, when you meet a celebrity who is just genuinely so excited to be a part of these franchises and wants to nerd out about it with you? It is surprisingly sweet!
We joined the roundtable discussion for Star Trek: Prodigy and the minute that Jamil sat down, I knew we were going to have fun and I was right! She is, at her core, a nerd and so it makes geeking out about things easy. So I asked what it felt like being in this universe after she talked about her love of Star Trek that she shares with her brother (something I easily relate to).
“I’ve hit my nerd EGOT, right?” She joked. “MCU, DC, Star Trek, if I hit Star Wars, that’s it.” I also did point out that comedy is part of that EGOT as well (and shouted out Ben Wyatt the cat). But I went on to ask Jamil what it means to her to be in this world and to be that entry point of Star Trek for a younger generation. “It’s amazing,” she said. “And science fiction, especially Star Trek, and Marvel now and especially DC were some of the first places where kids like me could see people like them represented and there were stories about class and race hidden in all these stories that were being told so I think these are some of the greatest stories ever told. And I think, in spite of how relatable the environments are, there are intersocial and emotional politics that are getting told throughout these stories that are actually very good for children to learn.”
She went “And to learn about people who are so different, who come from completely different backgrounds, sometimes literally, physically, can’t communicate with each other and find ways to work together to reach a better outcome, that is vital for these times with so much division for children to get to see that, I’m so glad to get to see children invited into the Star Trek world that is made not specifically just for them because there is also a lot of adult undertones as well but we are definitely making a statement that this is for kids.”
Later in the conversation, I tag-teamed a geek out with Collider‘s Maggie Lovitt about Jameela Jamil’s love of Trek and what bridge she’d love to see herself on. It started with Lovitt asking Jamil about what characters she’d love to see herself meeting in the future since she gets to work with Kate Mulgrew’s Janeway in Prodigy.
Jamil shared her love of The Next Generation as well as Worf (we gotta love and support Worf) and it quickly became a conversation about the hotties of Star Trek. Mainly because of my fault but oh well. We talked about Star Trek: Picard and the newer entries into the Star Trek world and told Jamil to watch them all for “Hot Riker” and then to watch Strange New Worlds for “Hot Pike and Hot Spock” to which she responded: “I love this horny line of questioning.”
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Star Trek: Prodigy is a beautiful entry point into Star Trek not only for kids but for anyone who is new to the franchise and knowing that Jamil is getting her time to shine in the series makes it all that much sweeter!
(image: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for ReedPop)
