Star Trek: Prodigy cast talks about the Star Trek message

Star Trek: Prodigy hopes to continue the Star Trek message.

Star Trek’s newest shows, Strange New Worlds and Prodigy seem to be the start of something new for the ViacomCBS brand. After going “darker” and losing the Star Trek message with shows like Lower Decks, Picard, and Discovery in an attempt to try out new ideas, they’re going back to that idea with the next crop of new shows.

Cue Prodigy and the return of the “Star Trek message”. Prodigy will feature a slew of new actors to the Star Trek universe, including Brett Gray (Dal), Ella Purnell (Gwyn), and Rylee Alazraqui (Rok-Tahk). The three got to sit down and answer some questions from all sorts of media types ahead of Prodigy’s return.

One of those outlets, TrekMovie.com, asked the young cast what they thought about the Star Trek message and what they learned from it.

What the Prodigy cast learned about the Star Trek message

The trio sat down and talked about the idea of the Star Trek message and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that all three of these younger actors were fairly new to not only the idea of Star Trek but the franchise as a whole.

"TrekMovie: Being part of this show, what have you learned about the message of Star Trek and how do you feel it will resonate with other kids?Brett Gray: It’s awesome. I feel like today I got a crash course in the Prime Directive from Kate Mulgrew herself. Just that ideal of the world being a place that all of us belong to together no matter what species or race or generation or any of those sort of things that we use to place people in boxes. No matter what, we all belong and we all have a spot on the team, and have strengths and weaknesses that we can use to lean on each other to help take us all forward.Rylee Alazraqui: I think that it’s going to teach people to work together and to realize people for who they really are, and to look at the qualities in people and appreciate them more, and work together and have cooperation with other people.Ella Purnell: I would agree with what Brett and Rylee have said. What is cool is that we are new to the world as the characters. And we’re learning about it as the episodes go on. We come in with each character caring more about themselves than the collective. I think what they learn—and what I’m gathering as the greater message for Star Trek—is it’s about team building. It’s about being a family and a collective. And I think that extends into the fan base as well."

While Star Trek hasn’t been made for kids exclusively, it’s always been viewed as family-friendly. Granted, there are some exceptions to that rule but that was always the intent of the series. An emphasis on all-ages. Prodigy is looking like a show that will also fall into the “all ages” category.

While the idea of the show is to drive younger viewers to the property, with it airing on Paramount+ and then eventually Nickelodeon, and then, of course, the new toy line, the hope is that the show is smart enough for not just kids but parents too.

The hope for the show is that it appeals to everyone, and if they can recapture that Star Trek essence that many fans think has been missing for the last few years, then they may just do that.