There's certainly been no shortage of Star Trek content in recent years, but not all of it has been universally praised. In fact, shows like Star Trek: Discovery have been incredibly divisive, despite the project running for five seasons before it ended last year. So, when a Star Trek show perhaps unexpectedly becomes a fan-favorite, I always expect Paramount to give it all the resources it needs.
As it turns out, one franchise installment could haven't proven me any more wrong if it had tried. After just two seasons, the show in question is largely believed to be dead in the water after clinging to existence for the final stages of its run. What I find especially confusing about this scenario is how well the show has been rated by critics, making it the most acclaimed episodic addition to the Star Trek saga. Fans love it too.
Star Trek: Prodigy is the franchise's highest-rated show on Rotten Tomatoes
The modern expansion of Star Trek that started with Discovery in 2017 has resulted in what feels like countless new shows being greenlit to reinvigorate and softly reinvent the franchise. While most have been live-action projects, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy are both animated and have performed incredibly well. Lower Decks currently has a 93% score, which could put it atop the list of best efforts in many other franchises.
However, Prodigy has an even more impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%, making it the Star Trek show with the highest rating on the site. Even Star Trek's current flagship property, Strange New Worlds, falls short of Prodigy's superlative rating by "only" scoring 94%. Despite coming in at the top of the list, it feels like Prodigy has had to constantly justify itself rather than getting the freedom it deserves to tell its story. Compared to things like Strange New Worlds, it almost seems like Prodigy is a non-entity.
Prodigy isn't just Star Trek's highest-rated TV show. There aren't any movies within the franchise that can top its score, either. 2009's Star Trek movie, which saw J.J. Abrams and Alex Kurtzman introduce the Kelvin Timeline, is Prodigy's closest competitor of all 14 feature-length efforts. It has a rating of 94%.
Star Trek: Prodigy's slow voyage into obscurity makes no sense to me
Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 premiered in October 2021, and it took over a year for all 20 episodes to land on Paramount+, with the finale arriving in the December of 2022. Despite largely being made for younger audiences, the show didn't speak down to its viewers, and it contained countless easter eggs and nods to classic Star Trek shows — especially Voyager — for any established Trekkies tuning in. Kate Mulgrew even reprised her role as Janeway. Nickelodeon had ordered two seasons at once, and the first went down a storm with the fans it found.
That's when it all started to go downhill for Star Trek: Prodigy. When season 2 was nearing completion, Paramount made the surprising decision to remove the show entirely from its streaming platform, forcing Prodigy's producers to shop around for a potential new partner. It thankfully landed on Netflix, and the adventure continued. Since season 2 aired its 20th and final episode in July 2024, Netflix has made no move to pick up the show for another run — despite the season 2 finale quite clearly setting up more storylines.
As time ticks by, it's becoming less and less likely that Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 will ever happen, regardless of how well it has performed with critics and audiences alike. In an added flair of misery, season 1 has already been removed from Netflix despite only being added relatively recently ahead of season 2's premiere. The most recent run is also set to leave the platform in January 2026.
I know the most reasonable explanation for Prodigy's quiet cancellation is probably related to low streaming figures on both Paramount+ and Netflix. If so, then I think I understand why not enough people were watching the show to keep it alive. While Paramount is usually great at marketing its Star Trek content, Prodigy was barely pushed by the studio. It seemed as though I stumbled across the show by accident, rather than having it presented to me as something I might like. I also had to dig around online to find out about the move the Netflix, as the show's second home also did little to promote it.
Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 was my last hope of keeping the 24th century alive
Many of the most successful Star Trek shows were set in the 24th century, with The Next Generation being the first one to introduce the era during its 1987 premiere. After that, Deep Space Nine and Voyager fleshed out the 24th century even further before the saga installed a 22nd-century prequel to everything with Star Trek: Enterprise in 2001. Since then, with Lower Decks and Section 31 being two outliers, Star Trek has generally focused on other points in the timeline.
Prodigy is also set in Star Trek's 24th century, serving as a soft sequel to Voyager and the other 90s shows. Stories set during this period feel like stepping into a warm bed for many Trekkies — including me. All the era-appropriate Starfleet hardware and nostalgic uniforms combine to create the franchise's golden age, and I loved seeing new and old characters exploring in the sandbox once again in Prodigy.
At present, there aren't any more projects expected to take place in the 24th century. Strange New Worlds won't leave the 23rd, and the upcoming Starfleet Academy is set to address the 32nd century just as the latter stages of Discovery did. I know that variety is the key to success with a massive franchise like Star Trek, but I can't help but feel like something very important is missing without an active 24th story — and Prodigy season 3 could have filled that hole.
Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 is no longer on Paramount+ or Netflix, but you can still catch season 2 on Netflix until it also leaves on January 1, 2026.