Star Trek: The Next Generation Leaving Netflix Very Soon

By Timothy Adams

A fan-favorite Star Trek series is about to make an exit from Netflix. The Star Trek Universe has been thriving on Paramount+, with Star Trek: Picard debuting its second season on the streamer today, and Star Trek: Discovery returning last month. As companies look to consolidate their popular franchises for in-house streaming services, the rights to TV show seasons and movies have started to revert back to their owners. When it comes to Star Trek: The Next Generation, its upcoming removal from Netflix paves the way for it to find a permanent home on Paramount+.

The TrekCore Twitter account shared a screenshot from the Star Trek: The Next Generation homepage on Netflix. The page states that the last day to watch the show on Netflix is April 1st. "If you're in the United States, looks like STAR TREK: TNG will be warping off of Netflix at the end of March," TrekCore's tweet reads. "As expected, the #StarTrek franchise is rapidly consolidating towards becoming a Paramount+ exclusive."

Alex Kurtzman confirmed that the Star Trek Universe will continue to see growth and new series added to the Paramount+ lineup. "We have to think several years out," Kurtzman said during the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds TCA panel. "We're thinking about knowing we'll want new shows on the air two or three years from now so we have to start planning those now. There's a bunch of things in development now that are starting to take shape and we're super excited about it." While Kurtzman revealed "there is another one" besides the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31, he remained "tight lipped" regarding what the series will be.

Paramount+'s head of original programming, Julie McNamara, recently discussed how the next phase of Star Trek shows is already in the works. "We are in discussions about the next phase of the Trek universe beyond those five shows that Alex has built. We are invested in growing the universe of Star Trek," she said. She then went on to say that they're being careful not to flood the market with too much Star Trek, which is one of the reasons why the Section 31 spinoff, if it gets the greenlight, likely won't debut until one of the five current shows concludes.

"It's important to make sure that we are curating these properly," she said. "We're always incubating a number of things together and then working out what the right cadence is and what the right next show is. Those are active and constant conversations. There are multiple things in the hopper right now that represent that next phase but we don't want to expand it too much, too fast to where anyone is ever saying, 'It's just another Trek show.' We don't want that."

Kurtzman elaborated, explaining how the plan isn't to flood the market with content at this time "Despite all appearances, we're not interested in being in the quantity business," he said. "I don't think that serves the Star Trek universe. We are interested in being in the quality business. It takes upwards of two years from inception to postproduction. Yes, we've thought beyond the five [shows]. Yes, we're having conversations about what happens beyond the five. But we have to make sure we're staying true to the way we've built the first five. Each show is incredibly different, offers a specific thing, they're not all targeted at the same audiences — but interestingly enough, they tend to bring in the same audience. It's difficult to make something for everyone. You end up making something for no one when you take that approach. Do I see something on BET? Yes, because there may be a niche Star Trek show that's perfect for that. I want to make sure as we build this out that we're being thoughtful about creating a really interesting rainbow of colors, that each show feels different and you don't think, 'I can watch Picard and not watch the others.' Because they're all very different. That to us is more important — staying true to that approach."

If you're a Star Trek fan, let us know your thoughts on Star Trek: The Next Generation leaving Netflix in the comments!

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