An animated Quark series almost happened

Quark in animation was a possibility

Ferengis played a large role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, with many episodes revolving around Quark and his bar, his brother Rom who married Leeta, and then Nog who was the first Ferengi to enter Starfleet. Viewers enjoyed the antics of these greedy aliens who schemed their way to latinum and glory as they added a comedic element that a dark show like Deep Space Nine desperately needed. So when the series ended in 1999, it’s no surprised that Armin Shimerman, who had portrayed the loveably underhanded Quark for seven seasons, came up with an idea that would have brought animated Ferengis to our televisions.

The series would have told the stories of teenagers, Quark and Rom, and presumably, we would have seen more of Mookie. Most likely set on Ferenginar, it would have given fans an opportunity to see how a Ferengi is shaped from childhood, how the brothers became so vastly different, and the many ways they tried to outsmart each other.

Quark was a popular character on Deep Space Nine

Though Shimerman said they got “pretty far” with the idea, “in the end, when we got to the last pitch session with MTV, they said they didn’t want a space cartoon show. But everyone was very happy with the ideas that we had come up with.”

Maybe a “space cartoon” show wouldn’t have worked back in 1999 or the early 2000s, but it’s clear it works now, based upon Star Trek: Lower Decks and the upcoming Star Trek: Prodigy which has been renewed for a second season before its premiere. So it makes one wonder if this idea could be resurrected from the ashes.