For the first time since it was announced last month, comedian Tig Notaro is talking about being cast for the second season of Star Trek: Discovery.

All that was previously known about Notaro’s role is that her character is named Denise Reno, and she is the Chief Engineer of the U.S.S. Hiawatha. Today we also learned via EW that it will be a recurring guest role. And speaking to the Dallas Observer to promote an upcoming comedy show, Notaro said the Discovery role “is really funny and feels really natural to me.”

The actress and comedian also explained she got the Trek gig through a longtime connection to executive producer Alex Kurtzman, from when they both worked as assistants on the Hercules and Xena TV series in the 90s, adding:

“I was offered the role and said [yes] right away without reading the script and when I read the script, I said, ‘A million times yes.’ Hopefully, the Star Trek universe will accept me. If not, too bad. I’ve never imagined myself in this kind of world. It’s funny because the way Alex and I know each other. Now we’re meeting up in a whole different world of crazy fandom.”

And speaking to IndieWire, Notaro said Kurtzman knew the character would fit her:

“In guest starring on Season 2 of Star Trek, I’m in the hands of Alex Kurtzman, who I’ve known for a couple of decades, and he knows my voice really well,” Notaro said. “My character, I’m telling you, the writing that was done for my character is just spectacular. I followed ‘Star Trek’ as a child and had the action figures. The whole thing is just ridiculously fun and exciting.”

Notaro has a number of acting credits, but those have primarily been in film and TV comedies, including her starring role for two seasons in the semi-autobiographical Amazon comedy One Mississippi. This isn’t the first time Discovery has turned to an actor known for comedy. The Office’s Rainn Wilson appeared twice as Harry Mudd in the show’s first season.

New comedy special online today

The comedian’s latest special – titled Tig Notaro: Happy to Be Here – debuts today on Netflix.

Star Trek: Discovery is available exclusively in the USA on CBS All Access. It airs in Canada on Space and streams on CraveTV. It is available on Netflix everywhere else.

Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.