Do you know, outside of TOS, I never once felt the star of the show was the Captain?
Even TOS feels more like an ensemble most of the time.
I just never get that.
Not until the late TNG films, and producer credits start to have power and the writers only bother with Picard and Data, did I ever think of the captains as stars.
I totally agree with this post. TOS was about more than Kirk. It was also about Spock, Bones, Scotty, the list goes on. Some of my favorite episodes were ensemble, or even about characters other than Kirk.
The same is true of Voyager. I grew frustrated in season 7 when the big three swallowed the show. I love the episodes that include everyone or put the focus on another character. Shattered is a perfect example.
TNG was never my favorite but it lost all my interest when Data took the show over.
DS9 didnt really fall into that trap so much, maybe because it was more of a political drama.
Discovery seems to have simply handed the show over to Burnham and said 'What's an ensemble cast?' It is my number one complaint about the series.