Star Trek needs more episodes for their established shows and not produce even more series.
Star Trek is producing two new series for Paramount+. The news came last weekend during San Diego Comic-Con, and it’s been met with a lot of intrigues online. Star Trek shows have been a fascinating blend of mixed reactions with Discovery and Picard on the end of the least liked, while Strange New Worlds is on the end of the most liked.
With two new shows coming, many fans are concerned that these shows will be more like Discovery or Picard as opposed to Strange New Worlds. Especially if the series is getting the much-maligned idea of Section 31 coming to fruition.
It’s impossible to know for sure what shows are coming and if the shows will even be any good. So the best bet is to not make any more new shows for a while. With Picard ending, and Discovery not too far behind it more than likely, the franchise should just put the focus on Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and Prodigy.
That doesn’t mean do less Trek, it means making more Trek. Just make more of the Trek that fans want.
Star Trek needs to expand the number of episodes, not the number of series
Fans like Prodigy, Lower Decks, and Strange New Worlds. Putting the focus on those shows, doubling the number of episodes they have, and letting them be the face of the franchise for a few years is the smart play. It’s also the less expensive option.
Right now, the brand is supporting seven series and that has got to be eating away at Paramount’s bottom line. That doesn’t even factor in the film franchise which is seemingly falling apart.
The brand runs the risk of over-exposure at an accelerated rate due to the overabundance of properties, not to mention the franchise could end up hitting a point of diminishing returns. If these new shows are worse than Discovery, then it doesn’t matter how good Strange New Worlds is, fans will start checking out again.
They’ll resent the bad, cash-grab properties that you’re shoving down fans’ throats. This isn’t an issue with shows that you already have. You can do 100+ episodes and not really risk losing much of your audience.
Ask the CW and the Arrowverse what happens when you keep adding more and more crap to your slate. Fans get tired and tune out. That’s exactly what will happen to Star Trek if they keep going down this road.