As talk of a merger between CBS and Viacom continue to heat up several sources have reported that the upcoming kid-centric Star Trek animated series is looking for a home on Nickelodeon.
As reported just over a month ago Star Trek Television franchise runner Alex Kurtzman ordered the development of a second new Star Trek animated series to go along with the many other series in active development including the adult oriented animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks.
On February 13, 2019 Variety broke the news that this kid-centric series is poised to land on Nickelodeon, which is owned by none other than Viacom, CBS’ formerand by all appearances future parent company.
While the location is somewhat unsurprising given the merger talks it is a little surprising to see Star Trek cutting through the paywall of CBS All-Access and returning to cable this early in the building of the new multi-series universe, but it looks to be more a move to aid the struggling Nickelodeon, which has seen declining viewership for some time, rather than a conscious effort to escape the often maligned All-Access.
To boldly go back to cable
Regardless of the possible motivations behind the move this would represent the first time a Star Trek series has offered a new episode on a coaxial cable line in the United States since the 2005 cancellation of Enterprise by UPN in 2005.
No word on if this move will affect the international release of the series, though it seems likely that the series would be picked up by Space in Canada. As for the international rights we know that Netflix has the right of first refusal on any Star Trek Discovery related property, but it’s unclear if that deal includes any properties produced by CBS during the current regime.
The Kid-centric Animated Series is scheduled for release Sometime in 2020. We’ll keep you posted as any details become available on any possible plot details as well as viewing locations