In a franchise first, the third season of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, will introduce its first transgender and nonbinary characters. The show is set to premiere on October 15.

In an announcement, showrunners said the trans character, Gray, will be played by trans actor Ian Alexander. A new nonbinary character, Adira, portrayed by newcomer Blu del Barrio will also join the series.

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Michelle Paradise, executive producer of ‘Star Trek: Discovery,’ said that the franchise has always made a mission of giving visibility to underrepresented communities. “We believe in showing people that a future without division on the basis of race, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation is entirely within our reach,” Michelle said.

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Blu del Barrio is a non-binary actor who has been acting in theater and short films since the age of 7. Ian Alexander is best known for their roles as Buck Vu on the Netflix series ‘The OA’ and Lev in Naughty Dog’s video game ‘The Last of Us Part II’. He is the first Asian-American transgender person to act on television.

“We take pride in working closely with Blu del Barrio, Ian Alexander, and Nick Adams at GLAAD to create the extraordinary characters of Adira and Gray, and bring their stories to life with empathy, understanding, empowerment and joy,” the statement added.