Last year, Warner Bros. Discovery made waves when it decided to shelve the movie Batgirl, a DC superhero film that was already basically finished; they just weren’t going to release it. The economics are odd, but basically the studio concluded that they would lose more money on the movie if they let people see it then if they just canceled the whole thing.
That strategy has become popular lately, with more and more streamers not only canceling shows ahead of new seasons, but removing the prior seasons off the streaming platforms entirely, like Disney+ did with its Willow show. The idea is that if they get rid of the show entirely, they can write the expenses for the series off on their taxes. Also, sometimes the streamers may try to air the show elsewhere — preferably somewhere where they actually get paid for the content, like what HBO Max did with Westworld.
The era of streamers throwing money at new shows left and right is coming to an end as the studios actually want to start making money on these things. And the cuts keep coming…
Paramount+ cancels four series, removes them from streaming, including Star Trek: Prodigy
Paramount+ is the latest streamer to take these kinds of content write-downs. According to Deadline, its canceling four shows, as well as removing those shows from its streaming library: Grease spinoff Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, the comedy-drama The Game, reality singing competition Queen of the Universe, and the kid-friend sci-fi series Star Trek: Prodigy.
Prodigy was an animated series about a group of kids who found themselves in charge of a starship. Captain Kathryn Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager was also on board as a helpful hologram, voiced by original series actor Kate Mulgrew.
The cancelation of Prodigy is especially noteworthy since Paramount+ has gone so hard in on the Star Trek brand. Even now, they’re airing new episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Star Trek: Picard just wrapped up after three seasons. Star Trek: Discovery is heading towards its final season. Star Trek: Lower Decks is still going, and so on.
Star Trek: Prodigy may air its second season somewhere else
The studio said that it “continues to be invested in growing the Star Trek franchise.” And honestly, with so many Star Trek shows on the air and on the way, it can probably stand to shed one or two and still be fine.
And Prodigy may not be completely dead. Paramount+ ordered a second season back in November, and it intends to complete post-production. The streamer just doesn’t know what it’s going to do with the episodes yet. All we know is that they won’t be on Paramount+.
Maybe Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 show up on Tubi or Roku, where it will play with ads. Maybe Netflix will buy it? It’s unclear, but it’s another sign that the streaming wars are changing.
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