[1] She originally appears as the First Officer of USS Shenzhou under Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) until she commits mutiny, for which she is stripped of rank and sent to prison for life.

Bryan Fuller conceived the character based on the cultural impact of Nichelle Nichols' portrayal of Uhura, as well as that of Mae Jemison and Ruby Bridges.

Executive producer Alex Kurtzman has explained that the specifics of Burnham's backstory would be revealed in a way that would not break the existing canon continuity.

[11] Another inspiration came from the legacy of Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana, as well as Mae Jemison, the first woman of color to travel in space.

[12] Martin-Green referred to her character as being "the only human to have not just attended the Vulcan Science Academy but excelled as well, [which] speaks to Burnham's intellect and just sheer level of intelligence".

"Unlike Spock, who is half-human, half-Vulcan, she is all human, but she's been trained with the kind of Vulcan emotional-suppression ideology, and that is very challenging for her... you can see that wrestling match going on in every moment.

Fuller talked to her about Burnham, a human orphan raised on planet Vulcan alongside Spock (Leonard Nimoy) from the original series, leading to a conflict with her two cultural identities.

[15] Fuller revealed that he had long set his sights on Martin-Green to star in Discovery, but CBS pushed back because AMC would not release her from her contract until Sasha's death was shown on-screen.

"[15] The casting for Michael Burnham, under the pseudonym "Commander Rainsford" leaked in December 2016, with many speculating Martin-Green's previous role as Sasha on The Walking Dead would come to an end.

"[19] Showrunner of The Walking Dead admitted it was unfortunate that the casting leak happened, spoiling events to come, but that "The folks over at Star Trek got lucky with the timing".

[22] Burnham was born to human parents, secretly Section 31 scientists, who were killed when she was a child during a Klingon raid to retrieve a time crystal on a Human-Vulcan research facility on Doctari Alpha, where the family lived.

In "Context Is for Kings", USS Discovery's Captain Gabriel Lorca brings Burnham back to duty with a temporary war-time assignment as a scientist on his crew, praising her risk-taking behaviour as valuable in the war.

[28] In "The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry", Lorca orders Burnham and Landry (Rekha Sharma) to find a way to weaponize Ripper, a violent macroscopic Tardigrade found on the USS Glenn.

She learns Georgiou left her with a telescope, a prized possession handed down through her family for hundreds of years, noting Burnham as a curious explorer and believing she has her own command at this point.

[29] In "Choose Your Pain", Burnham voices her concerns about the spore drive jumps used on Ripper as Saru is acting captain upon Lorca's abduction by Klingons.

[32] In "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum", Burnham and Tyler go with Saru to the planet Pahvo as part of a plan to overcome the Klingons' cloaking technology, where they kiss again and renew their romance.

[35] Burnham is forced to disguise as her Terran counterpart on the ISS Shenzhou in order to retrieve the data files on the Constitution-class USS Defiant, to uncover how it crossed into the mirror universe's past.

Later, Burnham is dismayed to learn her falsities at Harlak have been uncovered by the silent emperor, who turns out to be her former captain Philippa Georgiou's mirror version.

Georgiou suspects Burnham of deception, and holding a knife to her neck asks why she has come here, revealing she is aware that she conspired to kill her and take her throne with Lorca.

Ash begs her, saying he can't make it without her, but Burnham explains she was lost after the battle of the binary stars, and having to reclaim life is punishing and solitary.

Ultimately, Burnham is forced to stop Georgiou's genocidal attack on the Klingon home planet, outraged at Cornwell and Starfleet for enabling the act.

After the incident, Burnham's act of diplomacy in finishing the war ends with her, and many of the Discovery crew, decorated by Starfleet with the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions.

[44] After Pike takes command of Discovery in the Season 2 premiere "Brother", Burnham sees a "Red Angel" aboard USS Hiawatha.

News, Chris Harnick reviewed the first two episodes of Discovery—"The Vulcan Hello" and "Battle at the Binary Stars"—and considered Martin-Green's performance the strongest element of the show.

"[47] Writing for the episode "Context Is for Kings", Daniel Mallory Ortberg of Vulture referred to Martin-Green as "the standout" who is "given a lot more to work with and is, in turn, captivating, charming (I didn't know I wanted to see her scrabbling through a series of Jefferies tubes reciting Alice in Wonderland to herself until it happened), and heartbreakingly winsome.

And while Star Trek has plumbed the 'main character has demons' well in the past—most notably with Sisko in Deep Space Nine, and Picard in the later films, when it comes to the Borg—Burnham feels far more compelling for not being a flawless human being in other respects, as her series-protagonist predecessors were.

"[52] Martin-Green was chosen as TVLine performer of the week for the episode "The Wolf Inside", as she "conveyed the resulting shock in gut-wrenching fashion, her eyes welling up with tears as Burnham was forced to point a phaser at the man she thought she loved."

Club commented, "I can sort of see how Burnham changed (the trip to the Mirror Universe taught her the consequences of brutal thinking), but the show has done such a terrible job at establishing the character and motivations of Starfleet and the Federation that the sudden decision to commit murder on such a massive, unprecedented scale is at once shocking and utterly weightless.

But there's something interesting about her choice to invoke Voq's official title within the Klingon Empire, which speaks to how both civilizations are now struggling to sort out their place in the world",[57] while Luxford commented, "It's great to see Burnham redeemed.

"[58] Scott Collura for IGN said, "There's a nice symmetry to Burnham and Voq/Tyler's journeys between the pilot episode and this finale, with Michael once again staging a sort of mutiny, only this time doing so for all the right reasons and with the support of her friends too.