Another one bites the dust…for a second. Paramount+ canceled the for-all-ages animated Star Trek series a few months back, despite already having nearly completed work on a second season. Not only that, but Paramount+ took down the first season of Prodigy, so it might as well have never existed. That kind of thing is becoming more and more common as studios come to grips with the reality of the streaming economy.
But you know what else is common? Completed shows canceled by one streaming service getting picked up by another. And lo, Variety reports that Netflix will drop the first season of Prodigy later this year, and air the unseen second second sometime in 2024.
The show is about a bunch of young aliens who board a ship none of them have any idea how to fly. They have to figure that out relying on only each other, their good attitudes, and a hologram of Captain Kathryn Janeway, voiced by original Star Trek: Voyager lead Kate Mulgrew.
Star Trek: Prodigy jumps ship as the walls between streaming services grow thinner
Producers Alex Kurtzman, Kevin Hageman and Dan Hageman put out a joint statement about how pleased they are: “Thank you to our incredible Star Trek: Prodigy fans, who championed not just a show but a community that’s always been connected by the belief that we build a better future together. We set out to inspire you but you inspired us. The team is still hard at work on the second season, and we can’t wait to share it with the amazing fans around the world.”
Prodigy jumping ship from Paramount+ to Netflix is notable because up until now, Paramount+ has been the one and only home for Star Trek on streaming. It’s got Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: Lower Decks, not to mention upcoming Star Trek shows, including one set at Starfleet Academy and another about the intelligence agency Section 31. Paramount+ wanted to bring Star Trek back and it did.
So at first blush, it seems crazy that Paramount+ would allow Netflix to adopt a Star Trek show. That’s brand dilution, as a marketing exec would scream while juggling four iPhones. But the walls between streaming services are getting thinner and thinner these days. You can now watch Dune, a Warner Bros. Discovery production, on Netflix. AMC shows like Interview With The Vampire are available to stream on Max for a limited time. Streaming services are tired of trying to get the bigger subscribers counts. Now they just want to make money off these shows they’ve made. And they’re not about to turn down Netflix licensing fees.
The streaming space could look very different in a few years. I’m all for services being a bit less territorial. Today: Star Trek: Prodigy. Tomorrow: Who knows?
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