Despite Netflix saving Prodigy, it's unlikely that Lower Decks finds a new home

Star Trek's Prodigy and Lower Decks are a lot alike. Both are animated takes on the Star Trek brand, both showcase up-and-coming A-listers (Jack Quaid and Ella Purnell), and both were at least canceled by Paramount+ due in part to budget issues. That's where the similarities lie, however. Prodigy was canceled but was saved by Netflix.

Lower Decks, isn't likely to be that lucky.

There is a push from fans for the series to be picked up by someone else, namely Netflix because Prodigy was saved from cancelation. Yet, what people don't understand is that Prodigy was not in the same point as Lower Decks.

Lower Decks was canceled after five years because the ratings didn't sustain the show's viability during a time of mass cutbacks at the studio. Say whatever you want, but that's the case. Paramount+ canceled every Star Trek show, save for one, for the same reason; none of them were huge attractions to the platform. Now, if they were cheaper to produce, sure, maybe Lower Decks and Discovery survive, but it's clear that Paramount+ is no longer interested in dumping money into projects that don't raise their profile.

It's why Strange New Worlds was spared because, unlike the others, Strange New Worlds is bringing in eyeballs. If it wasn't, it would've been canceled too.

This is where Lower Deck's fate is clear; they've had four seasons of production, and we know they're not bringing in huge amounts of viewers, otherwise they wouldn't have been axed. We also know they're a very expensive show, otherwise, they wouldn't have been axed. This isn't the case for Prodigy, at least not in the way you may be thinking.

Prodigy may not have been a huge ratings get. Even if it was, it was too expensive to justify Paramount+ keeping around. The reason why Prodigy got saved and why it's unlikely Lower Decks won't, is because Prodigy had a nearly complete second season of content. Netflix acquiring Prodigy likely cost them a lot less than it would to pick up Lower Decks and give them a budget for a sixth season.

Prodigy doesn't need a budget in that regard, as it's already finished its work. Picking up Prodigy was a far less risky investment for that reason. It already came with a second season ready to go. Now, how it does on Netflix will determine if it gets a third season. It may justify having more money put into the series. We don't know, as the show was not given a lot of time to find a viewer base before being canceled.

We don't know if Prodigy can find a huge viewer base. It's far more in line with Strange New Worlds' than anything else recently, so it has a shot. We know that Lower Decks is a very niche show within an already niche franchise. It didn't cater to enough Star Trek fans, let alone enough mainstream fans. So there's no real incentive to pick up Lower Decks when you know that it doesn't have a broader appeal like Prodigy just might.

It's why it's unlikely Lower Decks gets a new home.