If the creative reins for Star Trek do change hands, they should be handed to the team behind Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek has been quite different since 2017 when Star Trek: Discovery launched. Star Trek: Picard followed, along with Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and they all offered something different to fans and new viewers. Not all original Trek fans were enthused, but there is one series that has been consistently well-received, and even when cancelled by Paramount+, it found a home at the biggest streaming channel, Netflix, because of fan devotion. Here's why this is so important for the future of Star Trek.

We don't know what's around the corner. Will Alex Kurtzman continue to head up the franchise? According to the most recent deal he inked with CBS Studios in 2021 [via Deadline], he'll be leading Star Trek until 2027 or so. But that doesn't mean authority can't be handed over to someone else who maybe has a different outlook on Trek and where to go from here. If that's the case, and eventually Kurtzman decides to hand over leadership or his deal isn't renewed in a few years, shouldn't the proof of putting out quality television serve as the catalyst in choosing a new creative director?

Red Shirts Always Die's Chad Porto has offered up Simon Pegg as a possibly leader of the franchise should it be required in the future. And while Pegg is a great actor and does well as a writer, he hasn't been as fully immersed in Trek as some people have, namely, the team behind Star Trek: Prodigy, which includes brothers Dan and Kevn Hageman, who created the series, and Aaron Waltke, the executive producer of the series.

Prodigy has been a solid contender among the Trek series, packing forty episodes into two series, which proves seasons don't have to be shortened to be good. I can't name virtually one filler episode on Prodigy. Yes, the episodes were shorter, so, essentially, we got ten episodes per season, but none of those were duds.

All of this could be a moot point as Kurtzman may never decide to pass along the Star Trek decision-making job to someone else. But I think it's fair to say that even if there are some executive changes, experience, quality, and dedication should be taken into consideration.