Alex Kurtzman gave an update on the future of Star Trek on Paramount+
Star Trek had a big weekend recently after stopping in at the New York Comic Con (NYCC) on Saturday, which saw Alex Kurtzman take the stage and address the Trek faithful. After a year where Star Trek saw Picard, Prodigy, and Discovery all canceled, while Lower Deck’s future was up in the air, things weren’t looking good for the brand.
Then news came out earlier this week that Prodigy was going to get a second life on Netflix, and things seem to be coming back around for the nearly 60-year-old science fiction brand. Trek is still a viable property but the financial woes at Paramount+ are hindering not just Trek but other franchises with big audiences as well.
Well, Kurtzman wanted fans to know that despite the financial upheaval at Paramount+, they’re still supporting the Star Trek brand, with Kurtzman being quoted as saying (by TrekMovie.com);
"I have to say, our friends at Paramount Plus have been unbelievable, truly unbelievable. They have supported all of these shows in the most extraordinary ways. I will tease that I did meet with everybody at the top this week. And there’s a bunch of new things now in the works, which is really, really exciting. So there’s no shortage of support from Paramount Plus for the Star Trek universe."
Take Alex Kurtzman’s words with a grain of salt
Kurtzman may be the head of Star Trek currently, and while you may think that means he’s going to be honest as often as possible, the fact is he’s beholden to Paramount. He’s going to do and say all that he can to satisfy the relationship they have together.
Paramount+ has not supported the shows in “extraordinary ways”, as they’ve canceled three shows already with a potential four ready to be axed, apparently, in Lower Decks. Actions speak louder than words and fans should pay attention to what Paramount+ is doing to Trek, not what Kurtzman is alluding to them doing.
Kurtzman saying there are a lot of things in the works doesn’t mean anything. Does that involve new shows? Movies? New merchandise deals? Is he even talking about Star Trek? Being vague isn’t a great sign.
I think fans can expect new content for Trek coming in the next year or two but it won’t be five-shows deep anymore. It’s possible if not likely they cancel Lower Decks, leaving just Strange New Worlds on their platform. And if that’s the case, expect Star Trek: Starfleet Academy to be the only new show they pair with Strange New Worlds.
I think they’ll stick to just two shows per year, and eventually fade that further back to just one show per year.
That is, on Paramount+, who knows what’s going to happen with the brand and other streaming services like Netflix.