Now we know why Star Trek: Prodigy was really canceled by Paramount+

Despite having strong views, the lack of toy sales likely doomed Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy had done very well according to numerous metrics across its first season. It had a higher engagement than Strange New Worlds and was one of the most refreshing concepts the brand has ever had. Yet, despite having a strong premiere season, the show was canceled by Paramount+ in a surprising move.

It was a move that didn’t make sense at the time and felt short-sighted, to say the least. Not surprising, as Hollywood is right now in a state where they will throw popular franchises under the bus for a quick tax break, which is what Paramount+ did to Prodigy. Clearly, despite its success, Prodigy wasn’t making enough money for Paramount+ and they decided to write them off instead.

But why?

Well, we may now possibly have an answer.

Star Trek: Prodigy ended for the same reason many cartoons do; lack of toy sales

Most cartoons for the last 40 years are tied to some sort of toy deal. Due to the cost of creating animated shows and films, many cartoons subsidize potential losses with revenue from a toy deal. Many cartoons from the X-Men Animated Series to G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, and more all thrived in part, due to the toy line.

A show that famously didn’t get to see an end due to the lack of toy sales was Young Justice, the show was canceled because fans were watching the show in droves but weren’t buying the toys. That appears to be the situation for Star Trek: Prodigy, who was credited with bringing back the Playmate Toys deal. Well, Playmates has ended their action figure deal with Star Trek due to low sales, and as Prodigy was the launch pad for the partnership, it can be gleaned that the low toy sales also prompted Paramount+ to cancel Prodigy.

But, it clearly was a hit to some degree, otherwise Netflix wouldn’t have picked it up. Now, it’s likely we won’t see any more action figure lines from Playmates for a while, but at least we’ll get Prodigyg season two in 2024 sometime.