Star Trek fans will find it surprising to discover that this animated series ranks the highest on Rotten Tomatoes out of all the shows in the beloved franchise.
Star Trek: Prodigy ran for only two seasons and now sits atop the RT Tomatometer with an average of 97 percent overall, while season 1 holds at 94 percent and season 2 boasts a perfect 100 percent. It outpaced Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, Picard, Discovery, Voyager, and all the other series titles across the franchise. Critics didn’t respond because it was “good for kids.” They responded because it was simply, unapologetically, good.
Its animation was genuinely gorgeous — cinematic, fluid, expressive — and paired with voice work that understood nuance as much as intensity. John Noble’s The Diviner was a case study: a villain who terrified not just because he was cruel, but because he was flawed and heartbreakingly human.
Hovering over the whole cast of season 1 and 2 was Kate Mulgrew. The actress got to portray different versions of her beloved Star Trek character, including Hologram Janeway and Admiral Janeway. Mulgrew's characters guided the ragtag crew with the same steady moral compass that made Voyager’s journey feel epic. And who can forget Mulgrew's portrayal of Mirror Janeway in season 2's "Cracked Mirror" episode?
And it really was a Voyager sequel in the best way possible. It followed a group of lost kids who didn't know Starfleet, Federation ideals, or how to trust one another — and who learned those values by living them. When others from the Voyager cast — including Robert Beltran as Captain Chakotay and Robert Picardo as The Doctor — eventually returned, it felt earned rather than nostalgic window dressing.
The show worked for multiple generations: kids got adventure and humor, adults got thoughtful explorations of identity, empathy, and responsibility. That balance is classic Star Trek, and Prodigy wielded it well.
That balance makes its cancellation still sting. Plus, Prodigy won a 2022 Children’s & Family Emmy Award (Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for production designer Alessandro Taini). Most recently, Prodigy was nominated for two more Children’s & Family Emmys: one for Mulgrew's performance and another for Outstanding Writing for a Children's or Young Teen Animated Series.
Despite all that recognition and critical acclaim, Prodigy now seems destined to slip toward a black-hole fate with no new home secured. And yet, Mulgrew is still publicly fighting for the show’s survival, which tells you something. Janeway never abandoned her crew. Why start now? (Continued...)