Star Trek: Prodigy Creators Speak Out on Series Cancellation, Removal From Paramount+

By Jamie Lovett

On Friday, Paramount+ confirmed that it had canceled Star Trek: Prodigy despite previously renewing the animated Star Trek series for younger viewers for a second season. Planned for release later this year, Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 is nearly complete but will not stream on Paramount+. Instead, Paramount+ will remove Star Trek: Prodigy from its library, making it the exclusive home of every television episode in the Star Trek Universe no longer, and shop the show to other streamers and networks once the second season is finished. Star Trek: Prodigy's first season also aired on Nickelodeon. Dan and Kevin Hageman, Star Trek: Prodigy's creators, took to Twitter to share comments about the show on their shared account:

"#StarTrek has taught my brother and me to strive for a better future. While news of #StarTrekProdigy not returning to Paramount+ is disappointing… We have faith this show will be picked up by a new home to help grow our fervent fanbase and inspire the next generation of Star Trek fans. Our talented and passionate team of artists are working tirelessly to complete S2… And we are staying positive and hopeful that our amazing fans will get to see it soon! Janeway would never give up, so why would we? Let's follow her orders and 'Go Boldly.'

Star Trek: Prodigy lead writer Aaron J. Waltke also commented on Twitter. He writes, "In a world of deep uncertainty, I choose joy. It can feel radical to reject cynicism. To try every day to make the world a tiny bit better. Hope is a tool. It can be a battery, a shield, or a weapon. And it can be used in service of others. We build a road, stone by stone."

Star Trek: Prodigy is one of four Paramount+ originals canceled and slated for removal by the streaming service. The other affected shows are The Game, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, and Queen of the Universe.

Paramount+ Cancels Star Trek: Prodigy and More

"The Paramount+ series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, Queen of the Universe, and The Game have completed their runs on Paramount+ and will not be returning to the service," a Paramount+ spokesperson said in a statement provided to Variety. "We want to extend our thanks to our tremendously talented cast and crew and our producing partners for their passionate work and dedication on these programs, and we wish them all the best on their future endeavors."

The decision to remove these series from Paramount+, which is said to have been "data-driven," is seen as an adjustment to the addition of Showtime programming to the streaming service, but it isn't the first time that Paramount+ has removed content from its library. Earlier this year, Paramount+ eliminated several shows that were CBS All Access originals, including Jordan Peele's high-profile The Twilight Zone reboot (which had ceased production in 2021, ahead of Paramount+'s launch), The Real World: Homecoming, Coyote, No Activity, Guilty Party, and The Harper House.

Streaming services purging their libraries of original content has become an increasingly popular move across the industry as the companies behind these services turn to cost-cutting to increase profit. David Zaslav made waves doing this at HBO Max, now Max, when he took over as CEO of the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery, even going as far as to choose not to release the Batgirl movie that had already completed production. Disney soon followed suit, removing original programming from its Disney+ and Hulu streaming services.

What is Star Trek: Prodigy?

Star Trek: Prodigy follows the young crew of the USS Protostar, which the characters discovered on the prison colony of Tars Lamora, deep in the Delta Quadrant. Though aimed at kids, Star Trek: Prodigy excited longtime Star Trek fans by bringing back Kate Mulgrew to voice Kathryn Janeway in both Hologram Janeway and Admiral Janeway forms. The voice cast also included Brett Gray (Dal R'El), Ella Purnell (Gwyn), Rylee Alazraqui (Rok-Tahk), Angus Imrie (Zero), Jason Mantzoukas (Jankom Pog), Dee Bradley Baker (Murf), John Noble (The Diviner) and Jimmi Simpson (Drednok). The recurring voice cast includes Daveed Diggs (Commander Tysess), Jameela Jamil (Ensign Asencia), Jason Alexander (Doctor Noum), Robert Beltran (Captain Chakotay), and Billy Campbell (Thadiun Okona).

Paramount has released only the first 10 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy on Blu-ray and DVD to date, meaning that the remainder of the show's 20-episode first season will disappear if it doesn't find another streaming home and Paramount Home Media doesn't follow through with a second home media volume. That's not to mention the possibility that if Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 doesn't see a release, several of the show's storylines will go unresolved, including the fate of Star Trek: Voyager favorite Cakotay, voiced by original actor Robert Beltran, and whether Adrmial Janeway ever finds him. A "Save Star Trek: Prodigy" petition has already been launched on Change.org to try to avert that fate.

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