The streaming wars have claimed yet another victim, and this time it is Paramount+’s Star Trek series Prodigy. Initially premiering on CBS All Access (now rebranded as Paramount+), the kids’ animated show was taken off the streamer in an unprecedented move after its first season, despite love from fans and critics alike.
While it was later picked up by Netflix, which even released its second season, the streaming giant has reportedly now dropped plans for a third season, and Prodigy is left without a home again. The franchise’s first animated series is now again in limbo and might just be gone for good.
Netflix drops Star Trek: Prodigy and abandons plans for a third season, much like Paramount+
The Star Trek franchise, unlike its competitor Star Wars, has largely been adult-focused. Despite some of its premises and execution being a bit goofy, the shows are always exploring more mature themes and philosophical questions, and have largely been catered to enthusiasts of such themes.
However, Alex Kurtzman and Paramount+ (which was then CBS All Access) had reportedly written in an animated series focused on kids in the former’s deal to create original Star Trek shows. The result was Star Trek: Prodigy, which was created by Dan and Kevin Hageman and featured many prominent Star Trek actors as the voice talent.
Despite a well-received first season, Paramount+ abandoned the series among a host of other original content, taking a content write-down and removing it from its library (via Deadline). The show was already in the post-production stage of its second season and was shopped around to other streamers before it was bought by Netflix.
However, the streamer has now reportedly dropped its plans for a third season and will remove the first two seasons from its platform (via WON). Back in 2024, the makers mentioned that they were not clear on the show’s future. They said during a talk with Trek Movie,
We don’t know anything about season 3 yet. But what from what I see of Netflix, when they do pick up shows for a season 3, which is very rare, it’s not about doing well, it has to do gangbusters. We’re happy with how we left things off at the end of season 2. We feel like there’s a nice place to stop, but also a new adventure to pick up if we want to.
The show was loved by the audience and critics alike. But the streamers have been extremely ruthless about the shows they choose to continue lately, and as the Hagemans said, it has to perform exceptionally well to be completely secure.
Star Trek: Prodigy writer hoped Paramount+ would let the show go on for seven seasons
Despite being in unfamiliar territory, Star Trek franchise’s this animated series, Prodigy, did good with fans and critics, and had a 7.6 overall rating on IMDb. The show saw many fan favorite Star Trek characters, such as Captain Janeway, the Doctor, and Wesley Crusher, make voice appearances, and was a fun ride.
Before its cancellation and removal from Paramount+ and its current limbo status from Netflix, the makers of the show were quite confident about their longevity and had even planned several seasons ahead. Co-head writer Aaron Waltke mentioned back when the series was still on Paramount+, about its future in the franchise.
Talking to Trek Core, the writer mentioned that Prodigy had been planned for seven seasons and a big expansion after that. He said,
I think the Hagemans and I are such that, you know, we would love for this show to go seven seasons — and a movie beyond. We’re always thinking of ways to tell the story that feels satisfactory, but there’s always a new horizon, right? And as far as where that horizon goes, yes, we certainly talked about it. But you know, we’ll have to see about Season 3.
The show’s second season was still under production at the time, but little did he know about its tragic future.
Star Trek: Prodigy is, as of now, available to stream on Netflix.
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