The time for Netflix to renew Star Trek: Prodigy is now. Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 premiered on Netflix in July, and there has been no word of a season 3 renewal or any type of continuation. While Star Trek on Paramount+ continues to produce and develop new TV series and is set to premiere the first made-for-streaming Star Trek movie, Netflix also has a piece of the valuable Star Trek I.P., thanks to their acquiring Prodigy. In some ways, Star Trek: Prodigy may even be the most important aspect of modern Star Trek, and it shouldn’t be ignored or squandered.
Star Trek: Prodigy has earned the loyalty of the Star Trek fandom, and that devotion was galvanized in 2023 when Paramount+ abruptly canceled Star Trek: Prodigy and removed all of its episodes. A fan campaign to save Star Trek: Prodigy erupted in support, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the letter-writing campaign to save Star Trek: The Original Series in the 1960s. Prodigy fans even rented an airplane (twice) to save the beloved CGI animated series created by Kevin and Dan Hageman. Netflix wisely acquired Star Trek: Prodigy, streaming season 1 on Christmas Day, and premiering all 20 episodes of season 2 on July 1, 2024. Since then, all has been alarmingly quiet on the Renew Star Trek: Prodigy front.
Star Trek: Prodigy Needs A Season 3 Netflix Renewal
What’s the holdup, Netflix?
Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 ended with an ideal setup for season 3, but Netflix has not indicated whether the series will be renewed. This is despite Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 earning a perfect 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 96% audience score – higher than the Star Trek projects on Paramount+. Fan reaction to Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 has been jubilant. indeed, the second season is an astoundingly ambitious epic with multiversal stakes that also moved its expansive cast of characters into a new phase of growth, understanding, and hope. There is no question about Star Trek: Prodigy’s quality, so what is keeping Netflix from greenlighting more?
Star Trek: Prodigy ranked in Netflix’s top 10 in multiple countries in Europe, as well as India and New Zealand, but it did not achieve that feat in the United States. Still, this performance shows that the appetite for Star Trek: Prodigy is global, as is the popularity of the Star Trek franchise. Moreover, Star Trek: Prodigy’s greatest value is that it’s an animated series that can capture young people’s imaginations while being intelligent and inspiring enough for adults, as well. Star Trek: Prodigy communicates the values of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek vision – friendship, inclusivity, curiosity, heroism, and hope – in ways that uplift every age group. Netflix should be champing at the bit to keep Star Trek: Prodigy going.
Star Trek Animation Will End Without Prodigy
Lower Decks is also ending on Paramount+
Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks revolutionized what Star Trek animation can be. In the 1970s, Star Trek: The Animated Series was aimed at children and reflected the era it was produced. Star Trek: Lower Decks proved that Star Trek can be funny at the same level as The Simpsons and Futurama while still honoring the franchise with a loveable cast of Starfleet heroes. Unleashing the power of CGI animation matched by limitless imagination, Star Trek: Prodigy has told perhaps the most expansive story Star Trek has seen. Yet, the remarkable achievements of Star Trek animation now threaten to come to a complete halt.
Star Trek: Lower Decks ends on Paramount+ with season 5. If Netflix doesn’t renew Star Trek: Prodigy, the golden age of Star Trek animation will suddenly stop. This is a gigantic loss because Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy have both produced some of the purest examples of Star Trek in the modern era. Animation has allowed the return of legacy characters like Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and most of the cast of Star Trek: Voyager. Star Trek shed most of its limits thanks to Lower Decks and Prodigy. While Star Trek: Lower Decks’ future is unknown, Netflix already has Star Trek: Prodigy and needs only to renew it to continue the freshest and most daring saga in the franchise.
Netflix Has Options For More Star Trek: Prodigy
Season 3, a movie, specials…
Star Trek: Prodigy seasons 1 and 2 each consisted of 20 episodes. Although each episode is under 30 minutes, it’s still twice as much as a standard 10-episode Star Trek series order on Paramount+ and a comparable animated series on Netflix like Jurassic World: Chaos Theory. One possibility for Netflix could be to order Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 with a reduced 10-episode season. Or Netflix could greenlight a Star Trek: Prodigy animated movie to continue the voyages of the USS Prodigy. Perhaps a series of Star Trek: Prodigy specials might even be a viable business model.
Star Trek: Prodigy is ready to warp back into action.
Thankfully, Star Trek: Prodigy’s executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman, co-executive producer Aaron J. Waltke, director Ben Hibons, and the show’s animation and writing teams pledged to return if Netflix greenlights more Prodigy. Star Trek: Prodigy’s voice cast, including Kate Mulgrew, Brett Gray, and Ella Purnell, whose rising star power thanks to her acclaimed hit shows like Yellowjackets and Fallout could help promote Star Trek: Prodigy, would also gladly reprise their roles. Star Trek: Prodigy is ready to warp back into action, and all they are waiting for is the word given by Netflix.
Star Trek Only Has 2 Shows Left On Paramount+
Star Trek becomes only live-action again without Prodigy
Paramount+ inexplicably abandoned animated Star Trek, but the franchise remains strong with its upcoming projects. Star Trek: Section 31, premiering January 24, 2025, is led by Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh and will be the first Star Trek streaming movie and the first new Star Trek movie in 9 years. The hit Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is now Star Trek on Paramount+’s flagship series and will premiere its long-awaited season 3 in 2025 while also going into production for season 4. Star Trek’s newest series, Star Trek: Starfleet
Academy, is filming seasons 1 and 2 back-to-back, and boasts a cast led by Academy Award-winner Helen Hunt, Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti, and guest stars like Emmy winner Tatiana Maslany.
Star Trek on Paramount+ has an exciting live-action slate, but Netflix currently has the market cornered on animated Star Trek. Yet the most popular streaming service in the world isn’t acting on it. Given the complexity of Star Trek: Prodigy’s 3D CGI animation, it can take two years to produce a full 20-episode season order of the show. This is another reason for urgency, and why Netflix must renew Star Trek: Prodigy immediately, to potentially have the series back by 2027. In Star Trek, time is the fire in which we burn. Netflix, do the right thing and order warp speed for more Star Trek: Prodigy.