Jonathan Frakes has been forever associated with the franchise since his days as an actor on Star Trek: TNG. The star transitioned to a director during the series and continued this path through the films and other shows like Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Castle, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Strange New Worlds.
While TNG was a global sensation and is still the most popular series in the franchise, it was canceled prematurely after season 7. Despite no change in ratings and its popularity being consistent, the cast was not given an explanation at the time about the reason behind the cancellation. Frakes mentioned that Paramount did not give them a suitable reason at all.
Jonathan Frakes expressed his frustration at Paramount not giving a reason for canceling Star Trek: TNG
At its peak, Star Trek: The Next Generation was one of the most popular shows in the world and took the franchise to the next level. The original series had only developed a cult following during its initial run, and only became more popular as the show went into syndication. But TNG was a global phenomenon from the get go.
However, the show was ultimately canceled after season 7, despite little to no change in ratings. The cast was reportedly up for one more season, though it was already decided that they would continue in a movie franchise. Jonathan Frakes, who played William Riker and later became director of a few episodes, expressed his enthusiasm for season 8.
Frakes mentioned that the cast was never given a suitable answer at the time for canceling the show after seven seasons, even when most of the cast was up for another one. He said to EW at the time,
Maybe (Paramount) thought they couldn’t do the movie and the TV show at the same time-although I don’t know why the movie had to be made this year. Some of us kept hoping there would be an eleventh-hour reprieve, that Paramount would realize how much money the show has made for them and change their minds.
The seven-season run became a norm for Star Trek shows in the ‘90s, with Voyager and Deep Space Nine also signing off after season seven. The franchise only took a break after Enterprise.
The real reason behind Paramount Star Trek: TNG in season 7
When one thinks of great shows that were canceled before their end, the reason is usually a lack of ratings. Series like Firefly and even Star Trek: TOS were canceled after only a few seasons (one for the former) due to a lack of suitable viewership for the production costs. However, Star Trek: TNG did have plenty of ratings during its seven-season run.
The reason, like always, was money. According to The New York Times, it became increasingly difficult for Paramount to sell TNG and other Star Trek shows to TV stations as the usual distribution model they had was fading out. With increasing cast salaries and the cost of SFX and VFX, the studio realized that it was not feasible for them to continue.
Rick Berman, the executive producer of the show, revealed that it was Paramount’s decision and that it happened two years before the final season, even before Voyager was pitched. He said (via EW),
All I can tell you is that the decision to end Next Generation after a seven-season run was made at least two years and two Paramount regimes ago. This plan has been around a long time, since before the studio asked us to do Voyager. You’d have to ask Paramount why they did it.
While Voyager and Deep Space Nine never got the same fan following as TNG, they too lasted only seven seasons. The TNG cast returned in the movies and later on Picard.
Star Trek: TNG is available to stream on Paramount+.
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