i like everything i read in that article. The only thing that gives me pause is that they will "absolutely have a gay character". If they have the character in a subtle off-hand way like they did sith Sulu in the new movie then i'm all for it. If they have a gay character ourely to tick a box quota, then it screams of trying too hard. If the character develops a relationship that seems natural like Willow and Tara then again, i'm all for it, but if it's done a sa cheap way to boost ratings then nope. I would like to see another interspecies relationship on Star Trek along the lines of Dax and Worf in DS9.
Star Trek has always had a sort of quota thing going on all the way back to the 60's, so it's a bit more baked into the franchise than some other ones. That said, my expectation is going to be a VERY high-quality, three-dimensional approach to all characters. They cannot simply have a "diversity shtick" where everything they say or do focuses on whatever their distinguishing feature is. Nor can anything be cartoony or exaggerated, OR out of character for the time period where things are supposed to be no big deal. This is not the 21st century--this is supposed to be a timeframe where it's been a non-issue for two centuries. I expect the characters to act like it is a non-issue. No chips on shoulders, no anachronistic bad behavior from others, etc.
How it was for almost all episodes with Benjamin Sisko regarding race (as in, total and complete non-consideration) is what I expect. The one time they broke this with Sisko--having him try to kill off a non-humanoid alien because of lack of historical accuracy by the human who created him (I am referring to Sisko almost offing Vic the hologram/artificial intelligence), it was distracting and anachronistic. He should've sent flame mail to Felix the programmer or made a negative review of the program on Spacebook instead, given that Vic's attributes were squarely on Felix. But the vast majority of the time what I saw in Sisko was a competent commander I could take seriously and never think for one instant if I were under his command that he was looking at me with my demographics in mind.
To me, it is important that Discovery approach all characters in the same way: focus on their characters and competencies, and make them well-rounded.
