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Star Trek: The Original Series premiered fifty-five years ago in the Fall of 1966, kicking off a legendary three-year run that would launch a multi-media franchise that is still going strong today. The show was infamously cancelled by NBC in the Spring of 1969, but it would turn into a phenomenon in syndication and it was eventually revived on the big screen followed by multiple sequel and spin-off series on television. But among the many subsequent TV shows that followed, were any of those cancelled like the original series, or did they go out on their own terms?
Star Trek: TOS debuted on September 8, 1966, and it pulled solid if not spectacular ratings during its first season. When it returned for its second year, its numbers dropped, though that was in part due to the fact that it was shifted from Thursdays to Fridays at 9 PM EST, a typically lower viewership hour. There were rumors that the show would be cancelled and a massive write-in campaign followed. NBC ended up giving it the greenlight for a third season but shifted the show to the Friday 10 PM EST “death slot”. The ratings continued to slip, and the show was cancelled by season end. But it had amassed enough episodes for a syndication run, and the show would find a new life in that market which led to multiple revivals.
The first attempt to bring the show back was in 1973 when Star Trek: The Animated series arrived on Saturday mornings. That one brought back most of the original crew (with most of the original actors voicing the roles) and continued the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Its first season consisted of sixteen episodes and a shortened second season of six episodes was ordered the following year. The animated series wrapped up production after a total of twenty-two episodes, though there was never an official cancellation announcement. However, it did not have a wrap up episode completing the five-year mission or anything to provide a conclusion for the show, it just ended with its twenty-second episode. Of course, Saturday morning shows did not have long runs back then because kids would watch the same episodes over and over, but TAS could have potentially gone another season or more (the actors certainly did not have much in the way of other commitements at that time).
The big screen revival of the franchise kicked off in 1979 with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and five more films featuring the original cast would follow through the ’80s. And then in 1987, the first live-action sequel series hit the small screen with the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Deep Space Nine would follow in 1993 and Voyager would be the next Trek show to arrive in 1995. All three of those shows would run for seven seasons with over 170 episodes each, and all wrapped up on their own terms.
The prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise (originally titled just Enterprise) would be the next small screen entry for the franchise, debuting on UPN in the Fall of 2001. That show pulled decent ratings in its first season, though not spectacular. It numbers slipped in its second year, and the network considered cancelling it at that point. Instead, changes were required to make it more action-oriented and the season-long story arc with the Xindi followed. That did not help the ratings and it appeared that the show would be cancelled by the end of its third year just like the original series. But CBS bought UPN and renewed the show for a fourth season. Enterprise reverted back to its episodic format and many consider the fourth season to be the show’s best, but the numbers continued to slip. It was cancelled at that point, though the creative team was given enough advanced notice to put together a finale of sorts (which proved to be rather controversial, though that is another story). Fans lobbied for the show including appealing to Congress to save it (!), but Enterprise remained cancelled at four seasons.
Since that time, the franchise has gone through a soft reboot of sorts with Star Trek: Discovery which appears to be headed to a fifth season at least. In addition, Star Tek: Picard has revisted The Next Generation and has been renewed through a third season. The comedic take on the franchise Star Trek: Lower Decks has proven popular and has been renewed through a third season. And the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will follow the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike and I expect that one to have a mult-season run as well. With even more shows on the way, there will certainly be more cancellations at some point for the franchise. But as of this writing, TOS and Enterprise are the only official cancellations among the Trek shows with TAS getting cut short and possibly counting as cancelled as well.
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