Exciting Star Trek Prodigy Premiere Arrives Monday (June 30, 2024)

[ChrisReid]

Tomorrow's a big day for sci-fi fans! The second season of Star Trek Prodigy is dropping on Netflix July 1 with a huge 20-episode slate. This unprecedented release means we'll be marathoning the show on the CIC Discord all day Monday! If you were put off by the initial marketing that labeled it as a "kids show," we highly recommend you give it a second look! A better description of the show is a modern animated sequel to Star Trek Voyager. The starships and characters are gorgeous, and the storylines run the whole range from endearing to humorous to tragic and riveting. Stop on by to join the fun!

Star Trek: Prodigy follows a motley crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy, in search of a better future.

--
Original update published on June 30, 2024

 

[NightBall06]

Let's hope it is a worldwide NETFLIX-start ... Been waiting for the new season since the beginning of this year.. And sadly it seems Netflix is having different shows available per country :-(

 

[Worf]

Well, I don't do Netflix. Hope they do a disc release. (Don't mock it, for the longest time that was the only way to watch it).

 

[ChrisReid]

Let's hope it is a worldwide NETFLIX-start ... Been waiting for the new season since the beginning of this year.. And sadly it seems Netflix is having different shows available per country :-(

There's definitely people across Asia and Europe that got it today, so chances are the show is ready for you now.

 

[NightBall06]

There's definitely people across Asia and Europe that got it today, so chances are the show is ready for you now.

Yes yes It is available 🙌 🥳 … And I had to stop myself yesterday evening or it would have been a long night ^^.
Got to episode 6 - and so far it’s really good 👍🏻

 

[NightBall06]

Question to all who are watching the show: Could anyone please seriously explain to me, why this show got canceled? - It is exciting, funny, thoughtful ... and with lots of nods to other Star Trek shows, all the while it itself really feels like "Voyager 2.0" - just like @ChrisReid said...
I don't get it...

 

[capi3101]

Money.

 

[ChrisReid]

Money.

Sure, but companies and entertainment franchises do exist to make money, so you can't fault them for that. They took a big chance four years ago launching four additional Star Trek shows simultaneously, so I have to give them a lot of credit for that. It's a new type of market that they haven't really figured out how to sustainably make money in, so we're lucky that Star Trek was a big loss leader for their platform. What happens next is that we have to hope the company figures out how to actually profit from the continued production of these great shows that they've created. It's not enough to just say, "It's Star Trek, of course it'll make money forever" as these companies have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders to be profitable now in order to continue as a business.

Question to all who are watching the show: Could anyone please seriously explain to me, why this show got canceled? - It is exciting, funny, thoughtful ... and with lots of nods to other Star Trek shows, all the while it itself really feels like "Voyager 2.0" - just like @ChrisReid said...
I don't get it...

Paramount has been in a very complicated state for the past couple years now. Most of the streaming platforms have been bleeding money, hence all of the mergers and price increases that you've seen. It's been well reported that Paramount itself is trying to merge with another company. In order to do so, they've got to eliminate costs and shore up their finances, which is why both Discovery and Lower Decks have been canceled too. Prodigy's dirty cancellation with a season of content mostly complete probably had a lot to do with its (mistaken) perception as "just a kids show" combined with its potential to be sold to another network. There was always probably a plan to try to spin them off and sell to a company like Netflix with a strong kids slate. And maybe it's for the best. Early indications are that it's performing very well on Netflix, so maybe the potential for a third season has actually gone up now compared to if it remained on Paramount.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Paramount has been in a very complicated state for the past couple years now. Most of the streaming platforms have been bleeding money, hence all of the mergers and price increases that you've seen. It's been well reported that Paramount itself is trying to merge with another company. In order to do so, they've got to eliminate costs and shore up their finances, which is why both Discovery and Lower Decks have been canceled too. Prodigy's dirty cancellation with a season of content mostly complete probably had a lot to do with its (mistaken) perception as "just a kids show" combined with its potential to be sold to another network. There was always probably a plan to try to spin them off and sell to a company like Netflix with a strong kids slate. And maybe it's for the best. Early indications are that it's performing very well on Netflix, so maybe the potential for a third season has actually gone up now compared to if it remained on Paramount.

The 'just a kids show' aspect is a big part of it, but not because of the perception... because that's what the budget was allocated for in the first place. With three or four other shows, Star Trek Prodigy wasn't supposed to move the needle on convincing Star Trek fans to sign up for Paramount+... it was supposed to get kids interested in the franchise. But the cancellation also isn't some condemnation of that idea or an acknowledgement that that idea was a failure... it's because the goals for kids TV change very quickly. This is basically what happened to Wing Commander Academy: being the highest rated show in your programming block doesn't matter when the network decides it isn't showing animation anymore. You won't convince the internet (man-ternet?) but the days of TV ratings deciding a show's fate ended twenty years ago.

In this case: back in 2019, Prodigy made a lot of sense for CBS: they were reinvigorating the Star Trek IP, kids superhero stuff was big, CG action shows were huge, there was a growing need for streaming shows (and investment to go with that) and so on. There were also huge relationship benefits: it would lock down a whole web of creatives, producers, artists, post production outfits, etc. that Paramount wanted to be tied to. In 2024, though, streaming is now the whipping boy for the declining movie industry and budgets for streaming content are getting smaller and smaller. And Paramount is more for sale than ever! Which means that long term relationships don't matter so much as showing that they're working to make money in the short term. So a show that they think will pay off for the core IP in five years isn't so appealing on the balance sheet... and of course the types of kids properties that were hot when Prodigy started naturally aren't anymore, CG action shows are way down and so is stuff produced in North America in the first place. 'This is breaking even but it means we have six animation studios working for us and ready for the next thing!' isn't appealing now that they don't want those animation studios for anything else. And so on, it's a zillion complex things.

Is there a world where Prodigy came out and it was as big as Bluey? Sure, and in that timeline they probably wouldn't have cancelled it... but it's important to understand nobody made the show in the first place believing that would happen, either.

 

[NightBall06]

Sure, but companies and entertainment franchises do exist to make money, so you can't fault them for that. They took a big chance four years ago launching four additional Star Trek shows simultaneously, so I have to give them a lot of credit for that. It's a new type of market that they haven't really figured out how to sustainably make money in, so we're lucky that Star Trek was a big loss leader for their platform. What happens next is that we have to hope the company figures out how to actually profit from the continued production of these great shows that they've created. It's not enough to just say, "It's Star Trek, of course it'll make money forever" as these companies have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders to be profitable now in order to continue as a business.


Paramount has been in a very complicated state for the past couple years now. Most of the streaming platforms have been bleeding money, hence all of the mergers and price increases that you've seen. It's been well reported that Paramount itself is trying to merge with another company. In order to do so, they've got to eliminate costs and shore up their finances, which is why both Discovery and Lower Decks have been canceled too. Prodigy's dirty cancellation with a season of content mostly complete probably had a lot to do with its (mistaken) perception as "just a kids show" combined with its potential to be sold to another network. There was always probably a plan to try to spin them off and sell to a company like Netflix with a strong kids slate. And maybe it's for the best. Early indications are that it's performing very well on Netflix, so maybe the potential for a third season has actually gone up now compared to if it remained on Paramount.

Thank you very much for the detailed answer

 

[NightBall06]

The 'just a kids show' aspect is a big part of it, but not because of the perception... because that's what the budget was allocated for in the first place. With three or four other shows, Star Trek Prodigy wasn't supposed to move the needle on convincing Star Trek fans to sign up for Paramount+... it was supposed to get kids interested in the franchise. But the cancellation also isn't some condemnation of that idea or an acknowledgement that that idea was a failure... it's because the goals for kids TV change very quickly. This is basically what happened to Wing Commander Academy: being the highest rated show in your programming block doesn't matter when the network decides it isn't showing animation anymore. You won't convince the internet (man-ternet?) but the days of TV ratings deciding a show's fate ended twenty years ago.

In this case: back in 2019, Prodigy made a lot of sense for CBS: they were reinvigorating the Star Trek IP, kids superhero stuff was big, CG action shows were huge, there was a growing need for streaming shows (and investment to go with that) and so on. There were also huge relationship benefits: it would lock down a whole web of creatives, producers, artists, post production outfits, etc. that Paramount wanted to be tied to. In 2024, though, streaming is now the whipping boy for the declining movie industry and budgets for streaming content are getting smaller and smaller. And Paramount is more for sale than ever! Which means that long term relationships don't matter so much as showing that they're working to make money in the short term. So a show that they think will pay off for the core IP in five years isn't so appealing on the balance sheet... and of course the types of kids properties that were hot when Prodigy started naturally aren't anymore, CG action shows are way down and so is stuff produced in North America in the first place. 'This is breaking even but it means we have six animation studios working for us and ready for the next thing!' isn't appealing now that they don't want those animation studios for anything else. And so on, it's a zillion complex things.

Is there a world where Prodigy came out and it was as big as Bluey? Sure, and in that timeline they probably wouldn't have cancelled it... but it's important to understand nobody made the show in the first place believing that would happen, either.

Thank you too

 

[Worf]

It could also be watch numbers were terrible for it. Having the perception "it's for kids" didn't help and probably turned off a lot of people who would otherwise enjoy it. Everytime I see news about it, people are like "who cares it's a kids show". Yes, it is, but if you're an adult, you'll find it enjoyable as well. And I'm sure plenty of fans are skipping it "because it's for kids".

Some adults just don't want to think they could like "a kids show". Even though there's a lot of complexity hidden in Prodigy to appeal to adults as well. And kids aren't likely to stumble across it unless their parents introduce it to them.

I can't imagine the watch time being any good other than what people have said by word of mouth.

 

[ChrisReid]

I think elements of that are generally in play, but Prodigy has gotten some *excellent* word of mouth buzz going back to season one. I'm seeing it definitely crossing over into more than just niche nerd press giving it glowing reviews. And I would not underestimate the discovery ability of kids. Mine find all manner of crazy stuff all time. Although I think this is only enhanced to a significant degree by it being on Netflix now compared to Paramount.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

I think elements of that are generally in play, but Prodigy has gotten some *excellent* word of mouth buzz going back to season one. I'm seeing it definitely crossing over into more than just niche nerd press giving it glowing reviews. And I would not underestimate the discovery ability of kids. Mine find all manner of crazy stuff all time. Although I think this is only enhanced to a significant degree by it being on Netflix now compared to Paramount.

That last bit is a big part of it. Paramount invested a bunch in trying to transition Nickelodeon as a brand to streaming and it hasn't paid off at all... Netflix and Disney+ own almost all of the market for kids streaming. The disparity is such that just being available to Netflix will by default be incredibly good for 'ratings' compared to Paramount... but as I said earlier, ratings don't really matter to anyone but nerds fighting on the internet anymore. The fact that Netflix doesn't get much out of having Prodigy in terms of increasing subscriptions or additional PR or making relationships means it's going to be really hard to convince them to buy more even if it ends up being very, very popular. (And some other factors are working against that too, especially the production lead time that would be needed... no matter how popular or unpopular, all involved recognize that Prodigy would be out of the zeitgeist by the time they could finish making more.)

 

[NightBall06]

Just finished Season 2... This IS Star Trek and this is VOYAGER 2.0! Undeniable... Haven't felt this good since Voyager's Homecoming (and "Strange New Worlds") - so I immediately had to research for season 3. - Here's what I found on Screenrant:
"(...) Netflix ordering Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 is dependent on the following huge factors: how many millions of minutes Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 is streamed, how much season 2 is binge-watched, especially in the first week and first 30 days, and the amount of social media posts about Star Trek: Prodigy. This is why Kate Mulgrew urged Star Trek: Prodigy fans to binge, watch, and post about season 2 in droves to #SetACourseForSeason 3 (...)."

So Community: We've got work to do! - Make it so!

 

[Jdawg]

After reading this thread I decided to give the show a chance on netflix. The first couple of episodes were really hard to get through as it seemed more like star wars or any generic sci-fi with the name Star Trek slapped on it. But then it really found it's footing by episode 4 or 5 and I just got through the one where there is different, flows of time and I thought it was a very interesting concept to get the crew to work together. I actually found the voice acting in the show to be pretty fantastic. My biggest complaint so far is I'm just not a fan of the main character at all and I feel like some of the other characters while endearing are a little too simplistic, but I get that it is a show that is meant for children first and foremost, to try to get them into the trek Universe, which I fully endorse. the other show that this reminds me of is the Netflix original trollhunter show by Guillermo del Toro.