If it wasn't for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I'd be a little worried about the Star Trek franchise right now, with so many Star Trek shows at an end. Star Trek: Picard finished its planned 3 seasons, with no greenlight ahead for its hotly-demanded Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) spin-off, Star Trek: Legacy. Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Lower Decks were canceled after 5 seasons, despite both shows hitting their strides. Star Trek: Prodigy was Paramount's best hope for hooking new lifelong Star Trek fans, but after being canceled and shipped to Netflix, a third season isn't guaranteed.
After Star Trek: Lower Decks' final season airs, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' third season is the only upcoming Star Trek project that still belongs to this new golden age of Trek. Having five ongoing shows with varying takes on the Star Trek universe meant we were spoiled for choice as Star Trek fans. As much as I hoped it would last, I'm not surprised the model was unsustainable. Now, this transitional period that we're in while Star Trek figures out where it's going as a franchise leaves me feeling a little uneasy about what the future will look like.
The Star Trek Slate Looks A Bit Concerning If You Ignore Strange New Worlds
We Want More Star Trek, But Is Paramount Listening?
The slate of upcoming Star Trek projects looks pretty concerning if you ignore Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, because nearly everything else on the horizon for Star Trek comes with some kind of caveat.Star Trek: Section 31, once promised as a full television series starring Michelle Yeoh's Emperor Philippa Georgiou, has been reduced to a streaming movie after years of development. The Chris Pine-led Star Trek 4 as a follow-up to Star Trek Beyond has languished in development hell since 2016. A hypothetical Star Trek origin movie seems like an unlikely and unusual choice.
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It's hard to feel like Paramount is listening to Star Trek fans right now. With campaigns to launch Star Trek: Legacy, and save Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek's dedicated fanbase knows what it wants, but hasn't gotten responses. Paramount's sale to Skydance earlier this year suggests that a necessary restructuring of the Star Trek franchise is imminent, which probably means figuring out which, if any, of these ongoing Star Trek projects can join Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, the new untitled Star Trek comedy series, and any potential streaming movies.
Strange New Worlds Is Now The Anchor Of The Entire Star Trek Franchise
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Makes A Great Franchise Flagship Show
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is now the anchor of the entire Star Trek franchise, after Star Trek: Discovery carried the banner for its five-season run, and multiple new Star Trek shows followed in its wake. The ten episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' third season in 2025 will make the year a far cry from 2022, when there was a new Star Trek story nearly every week. Strange New Worlds will have to do a lot of heavy lifting to make the year count, but Strange New Worlds is the Star Trek show best suited for the task.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can pave the way forward while keeping an eye on tradition.
With high production value, strong character arcs, and narrative through-line, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has plenty of Star Trek: Discovery in its DNA, while Strange New Worlds' fantastic ensemble cast, back-to-basics episodic format, and USS Enterprise setting hearken back to classic Trek. Strange New Worlds' blend of go-to comfort TV and modern innovation appeals to a wide cross-section of fans, creating a stellar blueprint for future Star Trek shows to follow. Because Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can pave the way forward while keeping an eye on tradition, it's a pretty solid anchor for Star Trek as a whole.
Why I'm Still Hopeful That Star Trek Will Come Back Stronger
I'm Excited For New Star Trek Shows To Learn From Their Predecessors
Despite the sparse year ahead, I'm still hopeful that Star Trek will come back stronger. There have been much longer waits for new Star Trek than we're currently facing, to be sure, so this feels less like a drought and more like a pause to regroup. Just like Marvel's choosier MCU offerings and James Gunn building up the new DCU, fewer Star Trek shows may reflect quality over quantity. The potential for Star Trek streaming movies after Star Trek: Section 31 keeps the door open for new ideas and diverse voices to keep pushing Star Trek forward.
A new series of Star Trek streaming movies could take after Star Trek: Short Treks as an anthology of stories from all over the Star Trek universe and timeline, while also potentially revisiting known characters. So-called Long Treks might even be the best hope for Star Trek: Legacy to get off the ground.
Even if things seem a little dire right now, I'm actually really excited for Star Trek's future. I'm looking forward to Star Trek: Starfleet Academy taking risks in the 32nd century with an on-ramp for new, younger viewers' own Star Trek. Tawny Newsome and Justin Simien's Star Trek comedy can easily take after Star Trek: Lower Decks. I have no doubt these new shows will inherit the best of modern Star Trek. And of course, I can't wait for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to knock all our collective socks off with genre-bending feats of storytelling.
