Star Trek: Prodigy was cut short by Paramount+ due to corporate struggles and cost-cutting, but it has received a new life on Netflix, and fans could help to ensure that it voyages into a third season and more.
What Is It?
Star Trek: Prodigy follows a motley crew of young aliens who find the abandoned Starfleet ship, the USS Protostar, and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony. With the Emergency Training Holographic Advisor in the form of Captain Janeway, they must learn to work together as they make their way from the Delta Quadrant to the Alpha Quadrant.
Aired: Paramount+ (Season 1) and Netflix (Season 2), 2021-24, 2 Seasons Totaling 40 Episodes
Starring: Brett Gray, Ella Purnell, Jason Mantzoukas, Angus Imrie, Rylee Alazraqui, and Kate Mulgrew
Created By: Kevin Hageman, Dan Hageman
Why Was It Cancelled?
This animated Star Trek entry fell victim to corporate struggles going on at Paramount and found itself cancelled after two seasons. Its first year was well-received (though it did not place in the Nielsen Streaming Rankings), and it did initially get the greenlight for a second season. But then Paramount+ had a change of heart and cancelled the show, even though the second season had been mostly completed at that time. In addition, it was removed from streaming on the service as a write-down and shopped to other venues. This was all part of Paramount’s ongoing struggles and there were questions about the viability of its streaming service after the company had spent large amounts on its originals while lagging behind streaming leaders like Netflix and Amazon (it was at a distant Number 5 among streamers in a recent tally by Digital Trends). While Prodigy seemed to be a well-liked addition to the Trek franchise and was certainly one of the less expensive of the new shows on the service, it apparently did not bring in enough subscribers, and it also did not draw sufficient viewership in its encore runs on Nickelodeon.
How Did Fans React?
Fans of Star Trek: Prodigy immediately took up the Call to Action and started stumping for the show following the cancellation announcement. They launched an online poll which eventually garnered over 33K signatures. Series star Kate Mulgrew spoke out in support of the show, thanking the cast, crew, and fans and saying that “we still have only just begun”, and she has continued to support it to this day. Fans also got the show trending on social media after the cancellation, lobbying other venues to consider picking it up.
That apparently drew the attention of Netflix execs, and in October 2023 the streamer announced that it had acquired the show and would air the second season. But they stopped short of committing to anything beyond that. The showrunners definitely have plans for more seasons (and a movie as well), but Netflix may have been looking at this more as a quick subscription draw from a known property.
Will There Be a Third Season?
At this point, the question of a third season of Star Trek: Prodigy (or more) is certainly up in the air. When Netflix picked up the show, there was certainly hope that the crew of the USS Protostar would continue to more adventures. But when the first season premiered on the service in December 2023, it did not make it into the Netflix or Nielsen Top 10, and the second season did not chart when it premiered on July 1, 2024. Animated shows tend to not draw as large of an audience as the live-action entries on the service, but some presence on the charts certainly would have helped its cause.
At this point, the show is still officially cancelled and the second season is essentially just getting a burn-off run on Netflix. As mentioned above, the showrunners do have plans for more seasons, and the fans would certainly like the show to continue, but nothing is in the works at this point. Netflix could still greenlight a third season or at least a movie, but that will all depend on how well the viewership holds up to expectations (and early indications are not good).
Can the Show Be Saved?
There is still a chance that this show can continue, but it is up to the fans at this point. One thing they can do is vote for it in our Summer Poll. They should also continue to keep it trending on the social networks to bring it more attention. But most importantly, watch it on Netflix and watch the second season all the way through. Also encourage others to subscribe to Netflix to watch the show. If Prodigy can drive subscriptions to the service and if it has a good score on that all-important completion rate that Netflix execs monitor (which tracks how many people watched the current season all the way through), they will definitely consider at least third season of the show. Manifest spent weeks in the streaming charts after getting cancelled by NBC and heading over to Netflix for an encore run. Execs at the streamer kept saying they would not save the show, but the numbers ultimately won out and it came back for a fourth and final season. Even if one more season is all that Prodigy gets, that would at least allow it to wrap up some of its storylines. But not even that will happen unless the fans really get behind it and prove to Netflix that the show is worth a further investment on their part.
Where Can You Watch It?
Since Paramount+ removed Star Trek: Prodigy from streaming, Netflix is now the exclusive home for the show. Both seasons are available there, and it actually has a rather healthy run for a streaming original at 40 episodes. Season 1 is also available (broken into two 10-ep sets) on both DVD and Blu-ray.
Did you watch Star Trek: Prodigy and would you support fan efforts to save the show? Chime in below in the comments.
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Came across Prodigy a few weeks ago and initially ignored it due to it looking too child-themed. However, I started it a few days ago and binge watched all two seasons. The moment I saw the *spoiler* KJ, I knew I was going to keep watching. I like the modern look, the tie in with Voyager (which I came to enjoy more than TNG), I liked the throwbacks and old-jokes. They even threw in a couple red shirt references.
Am curious to know how much inspiration the creators drew from number of other sources in terms of looks and feel. I felt in inspiration coming from several none Star Trek games and even a little Guillermo del Toro feel in there. Didn’t feel cheap though, just felt like good recognition of themes that would fit.
My main critique would be to tighten up consistency and while keeping it family friendly certainly, try a little less to hit every age group at the same time.
Yeah turns out only letting people watch an episode once for free then asking people to pay PER EPISODE was a terrible way to market even a great show (seriously shot themselves in the foot because i was going to rewatch it with a friend who would have bought it, because now that I have both seasons and have shown him he has bought them as well, only to learn I was going to have to pay for each and every episode). Once they allowed me to buy by the season I bought both of them, but I get it “we were money hungry and made terrible decisions because of that” isn’t as good of a look as “well we just don’t know why people aren’t watching”
73 years old & Love the Prodigy series! Glad Netflix picked it up and carries it forward. Great series for all ages!