Star Trek: Prodigy Season 3 May Not Happen: Netflix Fate Explained

Star Trek: Prodigy season 3 may not happen, and a new report paints a dire picture of the beloved CGI animated series's future on Netflix. The 20 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 premiered on Netflix on Christmas Day 2023, followed by all 20 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 dropping simultaneously on Netflix on July 1, 2024. Star Trek: Prodigy was met with rave audience and critical reviews, and Star Trek: Prodigy season 2's finale set up a bold new adventure for Star Trek: Prodigy season 3.

Star Trek: Prodigy was the first casualty of Paramount+ downsizing its Star Trek content after boasting 5 new Star Trek series in 2022. In June 2023, Paramount+ suddenly canceled Star Trek: Prodigy and deleted all 20 season 1 episodes from streaming. Outraged fans rallied under the #SaveStarTrekProdigy hashtag, and even rented an airplane to fly over Los Angeles. The #SaveStarTrekProdigy fan campaign worked, and Netflix announced it was acquiring the license to stream Star Trek: Prodigy seasons 1 and 2.

Netflix saving Star Trek: Prodigy was cause for celebration and demonstrated the power of Star Trek fans in a modern-day equivalent of the letter-writing campaign that saved Star Trek: The Original Series from cancellation in the 1960s. However, Star Trek: Prodigy's creative team, led by executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman and Aaron J. Waltke, disbanded following the completion of Star Trek: Prodigy season 2's episodes in December 2023. Since July 2024, fans have waited for word of Star Trek: Prodigy season 3, but the first update in months is bleak.

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 3 May Not Happen At Netflix

Why Netflix Likely Isn't Renewing Star Trek: Prodigy

Although Netflix has not made an official statement about the fate of Star Trek: Prodigy, a new report from What's on Netflix states that the streamer has quietly passed on ordering Star Trek: Prodigy season 3. According to What's on Netflix's sources, Star Trek: Prodigy's streaming numbers did not meet Netflix's internal metrics for success. Star Trek: Prodigy failed to land on global streaming charts, and according to Netflix Engagement Reports for 2023 and 2024, Star Trek: Prodigy drew approximately 3.4 million total views in that 2-year period.

While Netflix's internal barometer is unknown, Star Trek: Prodigy needed higher streaming numbers and massive social media engagement to be considered a breakout success, and that just didn't happen despite the passion of Prodigy's loyal fanbase. What's on Netflix further noted that the chances of Star Trek: Prodigy's renewal were made slimmer by it not being a Netflix-owned property and the fact that Prodigy's creative team had moved onto other projects. Instead of a full season 3 order, Star Trek: Prodigy getting greenlit as a streaming feature film also seems unlikely.

Star Trek: Prodigy Is Reportedly Leaving Netflix Soon

Licensing Agreements Expire After 18 Months

Worsening matters for Star Trek: Prodigy and its fans: Netflix's license for the streaming series will expire soon, which means Star Trek: Prodigy's 40 episodes will leave Netflix. What's on Netflix reports that Netflix's licensing agreement was for 18 months after each season of Star Trek: Prodigy was officially licensed. This means:

Of course, it's possible that Netflix could renew its license and keep Star Trek: Prodigy on its streaming service. However, it's worth noting that Star Trek: Prodigy's reach on Netflix wasn't truly global. While territories like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia carried Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix, licensing restrictions meant that regions like Canada did not. France TV has the license for Star Trek: Prodigy, which led to its controversial season 2 release in France months before Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 premiered on Netflix.

What Happens To Star Trek: Prodigy After It Leaves Netflix

Buy Physical Copies Of Star Trek: Prodigy While You Can

If Star Trek: Prodigy leaves Netflix, that leaves the beloved animated series without a streaming home, at least in the regions where it was licensed by Netflix. It's unclear whether Paramount+ would once again add Star Trek: Prodigy to its streaming service. Although Paramount+ brands itself as "the home of Star Trek," that hasn't been 100% accurate since it canceled Star Trek: Prodigy in 2023. In addition, the Star Trek movies routinely leave Paramount+ and are licensed to other streaming services.

For fans, the best way to ensure they can always watch Star Trek: Prodigy is to own physical copies of seasons 1 and 2 on DVD or Blu-ray. Star Trek: Prodigy on home video also comes with a slew of special features, and owning Prodigy's episodes on disc is insurance against the fleeting whims of streaming services carrying the show. Of course, an uptick in Star Trek: Prodigy streaming numbers, home video sales, and social media chatter may get Netflix's attention and spark the streamer to reconsider renewing Star Trek: Prodigy's license.

Star Trek: Prodigy’s Netflix Fate Is The Latest Crime Against The Best Show

How Can A Show This Great Be So Cursed?

Star Trek: Prodigy fans waited patiently for word about season 3, so the news that not only could there be no new episodes but that Star Trek: Prodigy could be deleted from yet another streaming service is hard to reconcile. After all, Netflix was supposed to be Star Trek: Prodigy's savior, although that always came with the caveat that the series had to perform to Netflix's metrics. Still, after the astounding effort by fans to save Star Trek: Prodigy, all of it resulting in only a temporary reprieve is disheartening.

Diehards know that Star Trek: Prodigy is the purest expression of Star Trek in the modern era. Prodigy was designed to teach the virtues of Star Trek to younger audiences and create new fans, and the series is so well-written, beautifully animated, and vividly performed that it also works wonderfully for older audiences. Prodigy is also a sequel to Star Trek: Voyager, and brought back Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Kathryn Janeway, along with her castmates Robert Beltran and Robert Picardo, joining younger cast members like Brett Gray and Ella Purnell.

On a personal note, no new Star Trek: Prodigy episodes, while not completely unexpected given the realities of the streaming business, is still crushing. It's been my privilege and pleasure to meet and speak with Star Trek: Prodigy's actors, including Brett Gray, Ella Purnell, and Kate Mulgrew, and the show's creators, Kevin and Dan Hageman, and Aaron J. Waltke. I know firsthand the passion and deep love of Star Trek that they infused into every episode of Star Trek: Prodigy. In Star Trek, there are always possibilities, so I choose to keep hope alive that Star Trek: Prodigy and the young heroes of the USS Prodigy will fly again.