A younger version of Chapel appears in the 2022 series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, portrayed by Jess Bush.

The character was featured in several episodes covering several broad themes, such as showing her feelings for Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and why she joined Starfleet.

Executive producer Robert H. Justman was initially critical of Barrett's performance as Chapel, but recanted this opinion after her appearance as Lwaxana Troi in the Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Barrett herself was not fond of the Chapel character, and David Gerrold felt that she only served to demonstrate Spock's emotionless behavior.

Prior to working on Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry had been developing a variety of television pilots for Screen Gems.

[2][3] During the development of the first pilot for Star Trek: The Original Series ("The Cage"), Roddenberry wrote the part of Number One (the ship's second in command) specifically for Barrett.

[4] Executive producer Herbert Franklin Solow attempted to sell them on the idea that a fresh face would bring believability to the part, but they were aware that she was Roddenberry's girlfriend.

[7] While it was generally explained that the network disliked a female character as the second-in-command of the Enterprise, Solow had a different opinion of events.

[21] In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds the Chapel-character returned to the franchise, this time played by Australian actress Jess Bush.

[22] In speaking with The Daily Beast in mid-2023 about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' LGBTQ+ representation—and her portrayal of a bisexual character—Bush unhesitatingly told the interviewer, "I'm queer".

Five years after Korby's disappearance, Chapel is assigned to the USS Enterprise where she serves as head nurse, working under Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley).

Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Chapel beam down and discover Korby had been exploiting a sophisticated android manufacturing technology on the planet.

[25] Roddenberry later co-wrote in The Making of Star Trek that the actions of that episode resulted in Chapel breaking her ties to Earth and devoting herself to Starfleet service.

[18] Her second appearance was in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, where she and Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) were stationed in Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco.

In the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness, Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) tells Kirk (Chris Pine) that after being with him, Chapel left to become a nurse.

[35] He explained that she was the only one of the second level of characters whose motivations were explored, but her primary focus on board the ship was simply to be in love with Spock.

"[37] Gerrold added that those fans were surprised when they met Barrett at science fiction conventions, as they found her likable in person.

[39] Her promotion to Doctor in The Motion Picture was praised by author Gladys L. Knight in her book Female Action Heroes: A Guide to Women in Comics, Video Games, Film, and Television.

[40] Reviewers were critical of her relationship with Spock, with Jan Johnson-Smith describing Chapel in American Science Fiction TV as "a woman condemned to forever lust after the elusive Vulcan" and noting that she is one of several female characters in the series who are "depicted as recognizable stereotypes".

"[29] In The Making of Star Trek by Roddenberry and Stephen E. Whitfield, her feelings toward Spock are said to not be unique since they are shared by many of the female crew on board the Enterprise.

[27] Her appearances in episodes were commented on, with Wei Ming Dariotis critical of the single-mindedness of the plot for "Amok Time" in not allowing Spock to have sex with Chapel, or any other woman, and thus solve the problem of his Pon farr.

[44] Heavy described Jess Bush's latest interpretation of the character as "very different [...] fun, irreverent, and a bit of a live wire."

On the difference between her own portrayal of Chapel and Barrett's Bush noted: "I think that when I watched Majel's performance, what I distilled most from that, what I took from that, was her candor and her humor and her wit.