ColiverTrek Central reporting that Star Trek Prodigy has been cancelled and will be removed from Paramount+ in coming days.
exohumanI get cancelling it but why remove it?
BobKerman3999I guess to stop paying creators
Yeah this seems likely; they've supposedly cancelled the show as part of a content write-down (a bit like Discovery-Warner did, dumping shows, writing them off in their financial statments and not broadcasting them). It sounds like the shows makers have the rights to shop it around, and given season 2 is nearly complete it'll probably end up somewhere. Seems doubtful there would be a season 3 though.
JWBananasThis. It's the new trend in streaming: Get better ROI for funding new content instead of paying residuals on your back catalog. The market is heading in a direction where subscribers won't just stick around forever if you're not constantly feeding them something new. So it makes more sense to put the money there instead.
"Max" has already dropped a lot of original content for this exact reason. And you can expect to continue seeing this trend across the streaming industry.
Remember the ongoing writers' strike? The pittance that they get paid in residuals from streaming is one of their main complaints. So you can expect the practice to accelerate after the strike is over.
The content will be shopped around to other platforms. You can probably expect some of it to end up on freemium/advertisement-based streaming services. The rest will just go into the proverbial vault.
The content will be shopped around to other platforms. You can probably expect some of it to end up on freemium/advertisement-based streaming services. The rest will just go into the proverbial vault.
What's weird is that Paramount HAS perhaps the best Freemium service: Pluto TV. One has to wonder if perhaps that is where Prodigy will end up (it may seem strange for a company to totally remove it from one streaming platform and move it to another that they also own, but the legalities of streaming rights are WEIRD. For example, some of the Looney Tunes shorts were removed from Max but can still be found on other WB/Discovery platforms, like their YouTube channel- ultimately it was just an accounting trick)
QHCThey are trying to find a new distributor for the second season, presumably the first would be packaged with that deal.
CeruleanRuinYou'd think removing it would come after finding a new distributor, but I guess they don't want to give any possible advantage to a competitor.
This anti-competitive crap is rotting the whole industry.
Oh man. I never got around to watching it!
YoBuckStopsHereI saw the trailer and figured it was a kids show and never watched.
It is targeted at kids, that's why I never checked it out either.
vraylleIt's aimed at kids but is still a great Trek show.
It's actually a decent Trek show, and had Kate Mulgrew as Janeway for bonus points. Way better Trek than Discovery and Picard, at least.
exscapeIncluding Picard season 3? 1+2 and 3 are so different that I think it's almost unfair to even lump them together.
(On IMDb, the worst-rated episodes of S3 are about tied with the best of S1+2.)
(On IMDb, the worst-rated episodes of S3 are about tied with the best of S1+2.)
porthosmeh, I don't trust IMDb ratings on trek, a certain section of angry star trek "fans" seem like they review bomb star trek shows pretty hard
It absolutely is a kid's show but once you get past the first few episodes and ESPECIALLY the second half of the season, it's utterly Star Trek and pulls off a better season arc than any of the other modern Treks. ^Plus Janeway jokes about turning into a salamander.^
The last few episodes are especially classic Trek.
It is a kids' show, but surprisingly deep and thoughtful for one. Characters are well realized and the plotting is tight. Plus it's absolutely gorgeous to look at.
I'm exposed to a lot of kids' media by virtue of, you know, having kids, and this show is top shelf. And my young kids actually liked it and would sit down to watch it, which is something they wouldn't do with other Trek.
ֆᎮ⊰◜◟⋎◞◝⊱ֆᎮUsenet and Yorrentst 😎
StillPaisleyCatYou should watch it before it’s pulled. Only the first 10 episodes are available on physical media.
At 20 x 22 minutes, it’s not a lot of time, but we’ll worth it.
Value SubtractedConfirmed by Deadline, with some added details:
The new season will complete post-production, and the studio will be looking for a new home for Star Trek: Prodigy as season one comes off the service shortly.
The company said that “continues to be invested in growing the Star Trek franchise” with series including Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, movie event Star Trek: Section 31, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which returned for its second season June 15 and has been renewed for a third season, animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, which will return for its fourth season later this year and has also been renewed for a fifth season, the upcoming final season of Star Trek: Discovery as well as Star Trek: Picard.
Update from series writer Aaron J. Waltke:
Obviously, there is not much I can say. Everyone on the cast and crew loves #StarTrekProdigy deeply.
I have noticed some misleading headlines, so all I can do is point to this particular part of the press release.
We are completing season two on schedule and seeking a new home!
Variety's report contains this:
According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, although the show had aired on Nickelodeon in addition to Paramount+, it will not be returning to Nickelodeon either. Those on the show will complete post-production on Season 2 and then CBS Studios will be free to shop it to other outlets.
‘Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies’, ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’, ‘The Game’ & ‘Queen of the Universe’ Canceled Paramount+
Paramount+ has canceled a slew of its originals including Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, Queen of the Universe and The Game and is taking the shows off its plat…
NmyownworldFor goodness sake. Paramount+ just gained "The spot for all Star Trek films and series" earlier this month. Now, they have to put an asterisk on that statement, "*except Prodigy."
Thaddaeus@Nmyownworld @ValueSubtracted What I struggle to understand is how they don't immediately see how this will only undermine subscriber confidence
It's the hot new trend - Warner and Disney have each done the same thing.
I mean, kind of, Disney hasn't burnt any Marvel if Stat Wars shows.
They've pulled a lot of other stuff, including Marvel's Runaways, which you may or may not count as a "Marvel show".
Point taken, but I don't feel like a long dead show that was dropped from canon almost as soon as it aired is the equivalent of a currently in production canon Trek show.
Disney did pull a few things Marvel, but they weren't prime MCU. They were all documentaries, time-sensitive hype pieces, or shows of dubious canonicity to the MCU.
So depressing.
Especially when Paramount+ has very little in the animated originals category.
More, Paramount has been trying to cover all of the demographics with their consolidated streamer. Compared to most of the others, excepting Disney, they have a decent amount of kids’ content and viewership. So, how shortsighted do they have to be to cut off their one major franchise offering for that demographic?
lxskllrI don't follow the TV biz closely. What exactly does this mean? Is it no more Prodigy for sure, or is it being shopped around for someone to maybe continue it?
In many cases like this they end up selling rights to one of the growing ad-supported streaming services, which means I personally will never watch. I had just started watching Prodigy in the gap between Picard and SNW. I think companies are being shortsighted in cutting back their catalogs in this way since it encourages people like me to cancel subscriptions between the initial broadcast of new seasons of the more popular series rather than stick around for something of perhaps secondary interest.
It also means that after a while people figure out the pattern of "new show, cancelled, new show, cancelled, repeat" and stop caring about originals. Like Netflix.
Maybe it's to sell it to a streamer more kid-friendly than Paramount+? I may be too naïve.
The only streamer that’s more kid-friendly is Disney+. Netflix is trying hard to boost its original kids content through.
I'm very surprised. I thought Prodigy had a strong following. What a strange situation, quickly pulling season one. But I don't understand the ends and outs of streaming contracts.
Possibly that Paramount+ simply doesn't have the kids' content to support viewership for a single show. Sure, it pulls in Trek fans, but probably isn't grabbing the 4-12 demographic it's aimed at or whatever.
Never even heard of it
You're on a star trek only website and haven't heard of prodigy?
ppb1701@Coliver Well crud, I thought it was doing pretty well and that they had said it was renewed.
GeekFTWAnd shit like this is why I'm a data hoarder lol
Yep. I used to think that I didn't need to download and back up stuff because "I just need to pop on over to Youtube or something and it'll be there!" only to find out the hard way that people delist and take down stuff from places all the time, including major corporations.
I wish I'd downloaded and backed up some of my favorite stuff back in the day. Whether it's videos, music, games... it's surprising how much crap gets taken down. I never thought that people who insisted on having physical copies were weird (unlike some others) but now I realize even more nowadays that they were right. Especially if they use those physical copies to make their own digital backups.
The back half of Prodigy season one hasn’t even been released to DVD, just the first 10 episodes.
LockelyParamount dumping $500 million a year into Yellowstone and 1923 but they cut the two Emmy winning Trek shows that cost a literal fraction of the cost.
Oh man that really sucks. I really enjoyed prodigy, it was doing something different (but good different!).
Had been looking forward to watching it with my son when he was sold enough… I really hope they find a new home so we get more than just one season.
end0flineThis is incredibly disappointing. I look just as much forward to seeing this on Thursdays as I do other Treks. What a loss.
Blah. I hate this.
TheLazurusBoooo! I quite enjoyed Prodigy, and I really hope it finds a new home.
Madison_rogueThey don't have to pay residuals if they pull the content. This is one of the main issues that caused the current writer's strike.
Ouch, that must hurt for Kate Mulgrew and the team.
Why would Paramount remove the existing episodes from streaming service though? They have everything else Trek.
If there's really low viewership, it can cost more to keep it on the platform, as they still have to pay some royalties and stuff for it being there.
Same reason that Disney is pulling lots of shows from Disney+ and Hulu right now.
It sucks a lot for those of us who really like it.
z500Fucking shifting business fiefdoms. This is why I don't trust streaming at all.
ISometimesAdmin@triktrek Same reason HBO removed Westworld... Saving on residuals. All about that bottom line, amirite? 🙄
Ah so it is just about residuals, I was just speculating on another comment that that might be the reason.
This fucking sociopathic cutthroat capitalism where literally nothing matters except squeezing more money out of everyone is getting real damn old
And one of the main reasons for the writers going on strike.
I'm bummed. I found the first few episodes of Prodigy rocky but it wound up being a solid first season in a franchise where a rocky first season is the norm.
I don't have kids but if I ever did I could see myself wanting to watch Prodigy with them. I hope another studio picks it back up.
Wow, this sucks. I didn't get around to finishing season one yet but really enjoyed what I have seen so far. It's refreshing to see Star Trek deviate and try something new, and I felt like Prodigy was really hitting the mark there.
I hope season two finds a home quickly and we're not stuck waiting forever.
The lack of completions were one of the things that hurt the show.
Did it end on a cliffhanger and this means the ending is unresolved?
Sort of - the mystery of what happened to Chakotay is unresolved, but the crew got a more-or-less happy ending. From how it's being reported, season 2 is all but complete and they just need to find a new network or service to show it - I'd wager Prime Video might be a possible home for it as they've historically had distibution rights for the various other modern Trek shows internationally.
This gives some hope at least. This show is better than it had any right to be and deserves a proper ending.
BriongloidThe removal from the service thing is the most absurd part of these announcements, that was the benefit of VOD, that we could access what we wanted.
Shows have gotten cancelled when they are popular and on a cliff-hanger throughout the last 60 years, but the removal thing is new and a massive decline from the accessibility improvements that were made over the last 15 years.