Not too many people expected Star Trek: The Next Generation to make it on the air.
Even Patrick Stewart has said that he was encouraged to take the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard since Star Trek: The Next Generation wouldn’t last. It would be an easy way for him to make some money then he could return to the theatre. His agent told him the series wouldn’t last six months because you cannot revive an iconic show.
Stewart’s agent wasn’t the only one who had his doubts, which is why, according to Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, the actors who were cast as the crew had to sign three different contracts: one for the pilot, one for the first half of the first season, and one for if the show was extended or picked up.
Even the networks had their doubts about the longevity of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Even though Star Trek: The Original Series had now become extremely popular, NBC and ABC only wanted to consider pilot scripts for the new series while CBS offered to air a miniseries that could turn into a series if the show did well. Fox was willing to pick up the show to help launch its network, but it would only commit to thirteen episodes.
None of this made the Paramount executives happy so they opted to go for first run syndication on independent stations instead. And, as well we know, this paid off. By the time the end of the first season rolled around, despite the shakiness of those episodes, Paramount was collecting somewhere near $1 million in advertising fees per episode. And by 1992, the studio raked in almost $90 million from advertising annually.
I’m guessing the major networks sincerely regretted their original decisions. We already know the actors, with the exception of Denise Crosby, were thrilled they took a chance on a brand new entrance into the Star Trek franchise.