UA grad Sonequa Martin-Green helms last season of 'Star Trek: Discovery'

Though University of Alabama alumni have scaled heights in sports, literature, science, business, government, journalism and other fields, producing 15 Rhodes scholars, four Heisman trophy winners, numerous Pulitzer Prize recipients (including Harper Lee and E.O. Wilson) and CEOs, and thousands of national champion athletes, few have been depicted on virtually every form of media: covers of books, magazines, web sites, video games, DVDs and Blu-Rays, graphic novels, records, trading cards and more.

Possibly Joe Willie Namath, in his prime, could have been as ubiquitous.

More: UA estimates statewide economic impact at nearly $3 billion

Sonequa Chaunté Martin-Green soared to those lofty heights via starship, boldly going where no Black woman had gone before. As Captain Michael Burnham of the USS Discovery, Martin-Green, a 2007 graduate, became the first woman of color to top the roster on a "Star Trek" show.

Through that and other roles, she's become one of the better-known actors with UA ties, who range from two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz to "Lost"'s and "Evil" 's Michael Emerson; Michael Luwoye, the third Hamilton in "Hamilton," to Jim "Gomer Pyle" Nabors; Sela Ward to Fannie Flagg; and more.

"Star Trek: Discovery" begins its fifth and final season on Paramount+ April 4, featuring 10 episodes in which Burnham leads the Discovery on a galactic search for a mysterious ancient power, hopefully before other less-civilized groups nab it.

Her show debuted November 2017, the first TV series from the franchise since "Star Trek: Enterprise" concluded in 2005. It was originally set roughly 10 years before events of the original "Star Trek" series, in the 23rd century. This allowed Martin-Green to interact with actors who are now playing Spock (Ethan Peck) and Kirk predecessor Captain Pike (Anson Mount), spun off into the episodic series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

Other expanded Trek efforts have been credited to the success of "Discovery," which drew record subscriptions for CBS All Access, and became the most-viewed original show on both All Access and Paramount+. Following in its wake are not just "Strange New Worlds," but "Star Trek: Short Treks," the upcoming film "Star Trek: Section 31," and some of the tie-in media mentioned above, as well as two official aftershows based on "Discovery."

Burnham and the Discovery have traveled to a mirror universe, discovered a new means of instantaneous long-range transportation known as a "spore drive," and ended the Klingon War ... that actions by then-Commander Burham had helped launch. After defeating a rogue artificial intelligence, while investigating seven mysterious stellar signals and following a "Red Angel" figure, the Discovery time-traveled 900 years forward at the end of season two, where they've helped rebuild a fractured Federation, and saved the galaxy a time or three.

Martin-Green's co-stars on the series have included Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Jason Isaacs, Tig Notaro and others. Before taking the Trek, she also worked in television as Sasha on "The Walking Dead," and in "Once Upon a Time," "The Good Wife," "Gossip Girl, "NYC 22," "Army Wives," "Law and Order: Criminal Intent." On film, she's starred in "Toe to Toe," "The Outside Story," "Space Jam: A New Legacy," and the new "My Dead Friend Zoe," where she's got first billing in a cast including Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Natalie Morales and Gloria Reuben. "My Dead Friend Zoe" earlier this month won the South by Southwest Film Festival's audience award.

Martin-Green graduated as salutatorian from Russellville High School in 2003, and studied forensics as well as theater at UA, graduating in 2007. She married Kenric Green, who played Scott on "The Walking Dead." They have two children.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: UA's Sonequa Martin-Green leads finale of 'Star Trek: Discovery'