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Star Trek: Prodigy is an animated series that premiered on 28 October 2021, first on the streaming service Paramount+, then on Nickelodeon,[1] a conglomerate sister broadcasting channel. It is the ninth Star Trek spin-off and the third animated Star Trek series, following Star Trek: The Animated Series and Star Trek: Lower Decks. Unlike the previous animated series, this is the first to be rendered entirely with computer-generated imaging and 3D modeling. Previously, the Star Trek: Short Treks episode "The Girl Who Made the Stars" was produced in a similar fashion. Two seasons were produced before the series' cancellation on 23 June 2023.

Alex Kurtzman stated that unlike Lower Decks, Prodigy will be kid-focused with an "entirely different perspective and an entirely different tone," adding, "What's exciting about it is not only looking at each animated series as what's the different tone, but what's the different technology we can apply to these things so that visually they're entirely different?" [6]

In February 2019, it was announced Nickelodeon had entered talks to air the show, and Trollhunters writers and executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman had boarded the project. [7]

On 24 April 2019, it was revealed that the series would indeed air (but not debut) on Nickelodeon and focus on a group of lawless teenage characters finding a derelict Starfleet ship which they use to "search for adventure, meaning and salvation." [8]

In May 2019, CBS filed trademarks for the titles "Star Trek: Section 31" and "Star Trek: Prodigy", with posts on Reddit later in the year attaching the Prodigy title to the second animated series. [9]

On 23 July 2020, it was revealed that the show would, in fact, be named Star Trek: Prodigy, and that it would air on Nickelodeon in 2021. [10] [11] The premiere episode did air on the channel on 17 December 2021, but on that occasion it was an one-time-only affair. [12] It was eventually announced that the first ten episodes (parts 1 and 2) would belatedly air regularly on a repetitive basis on the broadcaster in the home market one year later, starting on 8 July 2022. [13]

In 2022, Prodigy's first season was nominated for "Outstanding Animated Series" in the inaugural Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, and won the Emmy for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Production Design." [14]

In 2023, Prodigy's first season was nominated for a Television Critics Association Award in "Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming," a category with both animated and live action content intended for family and young adult audiences. [15]

Opening credits

The opening title sequence for Star Trek: Prodigy was unveiled on 31 August 2021, with theme by Michael Giacchino. [16]

Main cast

Starring

And

Recurring characters

Episode list

Season 1

PRO Season 1, 20 episodes: [17]

Title Episode Production number Stardate Original airdate
Part 1
"Lost and Found" 1x01/02 101/102 Unknown 2021-10-28
"Starstruck" 1x03 103 Unknown 2021-11-04
"Dream Catcher" 1x04 104 Unknown 2021-11-11
"Terror Firma" 1x05 105 Unknown 2021-11-18
Hiatus for DIS Season 4, part 1
Part 2
"Kobayashi" 1x06 106 Unknown 2022-01-06
"First Con-tact" 1x07 107 Unknown 2022-01-13
"Time Amok" 1x08 108 607125.6 2022-01-20
"A Moral Star, Part 1" 1x09 109 Unknown 2022-01-27
"A Moral Star, Part 2" 1x10 110 61103.1 2022-02-03
Hiatus for DIS Season 4, part 2, PIC Season 2, SNW Season 1, and LD Season 3
Part 3
"Asylum" 1x11 111 61209.5 2022-10-27
"Let Sleeping Borg Lie" 1x12 112 61284.3 2022-11-03
"All the World's a Stage" 1x13 113 61296.9 2022-11-10
"Crossroads" 1x14 114 61302.7 2022-11-17
"Masquerade" 1x15 115 Unknown 2022-11-24
"Preludes" 1x16 116 Unknown 2022-12-01
"Ghost in the Machine" 1x17 117 Unknown 2022-12-08
"Mindwalk" 1x18 118 Unknown 2022-12-15
"Supernova, Part 1" 1x19 119 Unknown 2022-12-22
"Supernova, Part 2" 1x20 120 Unknown 2022-12-29

Season 2

PRO Season 2

About

From Paramount+
Developed by Emmy® Award-winners Kevin and Dan Hageman (Trollhunters and Ninjago) the CG-animated series Star Trek: Prodigy is the first Star Trek series aimed at younger audiences and will follow a motley crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy, in search for a better future. These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered – a first in the history of the Star Trek Franchise – but over the course of their adventures together, they will each be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents. [18]

Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.
From Nickelodeon
Star Trek: Prodigy begins in deep space, where our six young heroes are detainees at a mining colony overseen by the mysterious Diviner. When assigned to work deep in the core of the colony, they discover the derelict Starfleet ship, the USS Protostar, hidden within the asteroid. This inexperienced crew launch a harrowing getaway aboard the starship with guidance from the ship's holographic computer assistant, Janeway. Together the escapees learn that the ship came from a far-off alliance of peaceful galactic explorers known as the Federation. They resolve to set a course for Starfleet, but the Diviner is hot on their trails. Their journey takes them on a wild adventure where they encounter strange new life and civilizations, learn about Starfleet's ideals, and hope to find a better future for themselves on the far side of the galaxy. [19]

Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.

Development

In July 2019, the Hagemans announced the full writers' room for the show. [20] Among those revealed to be writing the series are Trollhunters writer-producers Aaron Waltke and Chad Quandt, The 100 writer-producers Shawna Benson and Julie Benson, Black Sails writer Lisa Boyd, Shades of Blue writer Nikhil Jayaram, and Diandra Pendleton-Thompson.

In October 2019, Kurtzman said that this series will be animated in a digital 3D style, like Ninjago or Trollhunters, as opposed to the more "cartoon" look of Star Trek: Lower Decks. He also confirmed that the series had been picked up for a two-season order, and that a title had been chosen for the series, but he was not yet ready to reveal it. [21]

In the same interview, Heather Kadin said that, due to the time-consuming process of 3D animation, the series would likely air later than 2021. Kadin also emphasized that the Hagemans' writing style will be accessible to kids without patronizing them or alienating their parents:

"The reason we went to the Hagemans is because if you've seen their work, you know that they're not writing "Muppet Babies". It's not "Little Spock and Little Kirk." It's not playing down [to viewers] that way."

"Even [with] their characters in Ninjago – they are teenagers – I was able to watch that with my kids and they write with a very epic quality. They tell stories the way we tell stories in live action: serialized, turning over cards…"

"I think it will be a great way for fans to introduce the franchise to their kids, and for new fans to be formed, because it's such a big franchise, [it can be hard] to get into as a kid." [22]

In an October 2020 interview with Trek Report, producer and writer Aaron Waltke said that Prodigy aims to bridge the gap between old and new iterations of the Star Trek franchise, with a series that strikes a tone of hope and idealism. [23]

"It's been exhilarating to make a series that honors classic Trek for legacy fans like myself, but also provides an entry point for new audiences to be introduced to the world of the Federation and its aspirations for an idealistic future, even when facing adversity. Writing the return of our beloved Voyager captain feels oddly iconic, like a homecoming for me. And we hope to create something both young and old can watch together… just as I once did with my dad all those many years ago." [24]

In February 2021, it was announced that Prodigy would debut on Paramount+ in 2021. An image of the alien bridge crew was also released. [25]

On First Contact Day in April 2021, the Hagemans revealed that the series will be set in the Delta Quadrant in 2383. They also revealed an image of Captain Janeway as she will appear in the series, and explained that the character will appear as an emergency training hologram on board the starship. A new summary of the series' premise was also released:

Prodigy "will follow a motley crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy, in search for a better future. These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered – a first in the history of the Star Trek Franchise – but over the course of their adventures together, they will each be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents." [26]

In May 2021, more details about the cast were released, with the main voice cast revealed. [27]

On 23 July 2021, a teaser trailer was released during the Paramount+ Star Trek Comic-Con@Home panel, revealing the first animated footage of the series along with the first look and name of the vessel, the USS Protostar. [28]

The series' opening title sequence was publicly released on 31 August 2021, as part of a Paramount+ presentation to the Television Critics Association. This presentation also confirmed that the series' theme music had been composed by Michael Giacchino, and the music for the series would be composed by Nami Melumad. [29]

Promotion

Season 1
Season 2

Products

In June 2019, Eaglemoss/Hero Collector's project manager Ben Robinson indicated that the company would manufacture starship miniatures from this series, [30] though that intent was thwarted by the company's bankruptcy on 5 August 2022.

On 13 July 2021, ViacomCBS Consumer Products and Playmates Toys jointly announced that the latter had acquired new licensing for "action figures, vehicles and ships, role play and other toy categories," and slated the first of these products for retail release in 2022. Among other Star Trek series and films, this licensing encompasses Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: Picard. [31]

On 18 August 2022, it was announced that two new tie-in books, Supernova (also the title of a video game releasing in October 2022) and A Dangerous Trade would be released on 17 January 2023. [32]

Cancellation and pick-up

On 23 June 2023, Prodigy was cancelled by Paramount+. While Season 2 was allowed to finish post-production, it, along with the series as a whole, would be sold to any interested third-party outsider. [33] The series removal from Paramount+ was effectuated three days later, on 26 June 2023. [34] The series was on Nickelodeon already on a broadcast hiatus, and therefore not to return afterwards.[2]

Paramount did not provide a clear reason for the completely unexpected cancellation. News sites such as TrekMovie.com, ScreenRant, and Inverse suggested that the cancellation was motivated by cost-cutting measures and tax write-offs, whereas Paramount itself had intimated in a statement to TrekMovie.com that it was part of clearing the way of the upcoming merger of Paramount+ with Showtime by "refining our content offering to deliver the best streaming experience for subscribers". Paramount concurrently assured TrekMovie.com that it remained stoutly "invested in growing the Star Trek franchise". The decision to place Prodigy outside the realm of that same franchise and offer it up to third-party outsiders however, was counter to their "Star Trek Universe" all-under-one-roof franchise umbrella concept instituted at the start of 2021. [35][36][37]

On 21 July 2023, showrunner Aaron Waltke announced on his Twitter account that the entire first season had become available for digital purchase at digital vendors like Prime Video, ITunes Store, Google, and others. Up until that point only the first ten episodes had been available, which was conforming to the recent physical PRO Season 1, Volume 1 DVD and Blu-ray home video format releases. [38] While the franchise had intimated that the series had not performed to expectations, Prodigy had managed in the meantime to gather a fanbase of its own, which had resulted in a run on the DVD and Blu-ray stocks still available at retailers at the time of the cancellation announcement, causing them to sell out quickly in the home market. [39]

Aside from that, this fanbase also tried to organize an online campaign to save the series. [40] On 24 August 2023, in an effort to find the show another home, a fan raised US$1,200 on GoFundMe to have an airplane tow a banner reading, "#SAVE STAR TREK PRODIGY" over the Los Angeles offices of streaming services Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. [41] A drawing with the same hashtag is set to be among the items going to space on a Blue Origin (part of the empire of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) flight. [42]

Kevin Hageman expressed in an interview that his desire was to see a third season come to fruition, that will eventually lead up to an animated film series. [43]

On 11 October 2023, it was Netflix that announced that they had picked up Prodigy, with season two set to premier in 2024, [44][45] after season one had debuted on the streaming service later in 2023 on 25 December. [46][47] A consequence of this is that if Hageman is to see his hopes for post-season two productions come true, he has to convince Netflix to pay for the entirety of the production costs, as the franchise itself has distanced itself from Prodigy.[3] This could turn out to be a tall order for Hageman, considering Netflix's prior experience with the first three seasons of Discovery (see: Netflix: Footnote), despite Prodigy hardly having caused any division within "Trekdom", if any at all, as opposed to Discovery.

Related topics

Media

Footnotes

  1. The show did however premiere on some foreign Nickelodeon subsidiaries where Paramount+ was not (yet) available. One such market concerned the Netherlands and Flanders, where the in the Dutch language dubbed version of the show debuted for an one-time run on the local Nickelodeon Benelux channel on 18 April 2022, albeit the first ten episodes (parts 1 and 2) only. [1] Repetitive regular airing of the entire first season started on 31 October 2022 in support of the local Paramount+ encompassing SkyShowtime which had been launched in the country six days earlier, and where Prodigy was included in its startup content catalog.
  2. Star Trek Prodigy title card, SkyShowtime (Netherlands)

    Dutch SkyShowtime Prodigy title card, still available for streaming pursuant its formal removal from the franchise

    While removed from all other conglomerate-owned platforms, there was one on which Prodigy's first season remained available for streaming in its entirety – constituting a deviation in the policies Paramount had decided upon; the by the conglomerate co-owned SkyShowtime streaming service, which operated in large swaths of Europe. [2] It has either been overlooked by Paramount (in itself suggestive of a post-haste/ad-hoc nature of the cancellation decision) or the exception is indicative of a large autonomy of the service's management – which they had in effect already demonstrated with their unilateral refusal to have Discovery become part of the service's inaugural catalog. [3] In those European territories where Paramount+ was operating under its own name, such as the British Isles, Prodigy was indeed removed from its catalogs on 26 June. [4]
  3. There was very little doubt left, if any at all, that the franchise had no intent whatsoever to pay even a single penny more for Prodigy beyond the season two post-production completion, after they had taken their definitive leave of the series in their official statement, "Star Trek: Prodigy will not be returning for the previously announced second season. On behalf of everyone at Paramount+, Nickelodeon, and CBS Studios, we want to thank Kevin and Dan Hageman, Ben Hibon, Alex Kurtzman, and the Secret Hideout team, along with the fantastic cast and crew for all their hard work and dedication bringing the series to life." [5]

External links

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