Star Trek: Prodigy Details And Our First Look At Janeway On The Show
The latest addition to the Star Trek universe is a show called Star Trek: Prodigy.
This article is more than 2 years old
CBS has been pushing hard to turn Star Trek into the gigantic franchise it probably should have always been. Their latest addition to the Star Trek universe is a show called Star Trek: Prodigy.
Just to recap, already currently in production and on the air at CBS are — Star Trek: Discovery (season 3 on the way), Star Trek: Picard (season 2 on the way), Star Trek: Lower Decks (season 1 almost here), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (in production), and now Star Trek: Short Treks (I guess they are still making more). What all five of these other Star Trek shows have in common, besides being Star Trek, is that they are all intended primarily for adults. That includes the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks which aims to sort of be like the Family Guy of Star Trek.
Star Trek: Prodigy is something different.
Star Trek: Prodigy is a Nickelodeon series which is intended for kids. Maybe it’ll have some crossover appeal for adults too, but it’s firmly rooted in the world of being something your kids can enjoy the heck out of without parents worrying they might hear an F bomb or see some guy’s blacked out private parts (I’m looking at you Lower Decks).
Star Trek: Prodigy is also an animated series but they aren’t doing it 2D style like Star Trek: Lower Decks. This will be a computer animated series, something Star Trek hasn’t really done before outside of that one really really terrible Short Trek which I’m not going to mention here (It’s kind of like Star Trek’s Voldemort).
JANEWAY RETURNS ON STAR TREK: PRODIGY
Kate Mulgrew has officially joined the cast to star as Kathryn Janeway. She first played the character on Star Trek: Voyager, of course.
Here’s your first look at Janeway as she’ll appear in Star Trek: Prodigy…
It’s worth noting that this animated Janeway does not have rank pips on her collar. So there’s no way to tell if she’s a Captain or an Admiral, or what. However, it is clearly Janeway at around the age she was on Star Trek: Voyager, not the current age of actress Kate Mulgrew.
There’s a reason you can’t tell her rank… it’s not actually Janeway. What we’re getting in Star Trek: Prodigy is a Janeway hologram. More specifically she’s an “Emergency Training Hologram” activated by the Prodigy kids.
And here’s Janeway with the rest of the Star Trek: Prodigy crew…
THE PLOT OF STAR TREK: PRODIGY
The premise for Star Trek: Prodigy sounds pretty great. As announced at Comic Con At Home on July 23rd, it follows a group of lawless teens (presumably outside Federation space though they haven’t specified yet) who find a derelict Starfleet ship. The use it to set off on adventure in search of meaning and salvation.
Here’s the show’s official plot…
Star Trek: Prodigy will follow a motley crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy, in search for a better future. These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered – a first in the history of the Star Trek Franchise – but over the course of their adventures together, they will each be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents.
THE TEAM BEHIND IT
They’ve got a solid kid-focused entertainment team behind Star Trek: Prodigy. Emmy-winners Kevin and Dan Hageman are developing the show. They’re best known for their work on Ninjago. They’ll also exec produce the show alongside Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Katie Krentz, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth. I’d suspect however, that Kurtzman won’t be very involved in this (he wasn’t very involved in Lower Decks either) which could be good news for the many Star Trek fans who think Kurtzman is the devil.
STAR TREK: PRODIGY PROMOTION
That was all the good news. Now the bad news. This is Star Trek: Prodigy‘s official logo…
I know, when you saw it up there at the top of this article you probably thought it was some sort of cheap Star Trek: Prodigy fan mockup, but no, this is the real thing. It looks like it belongs on the poster for Trolls World Tour or like someone stole it off the opening credits of American Idol. It’s the least Star Trek looking thing I’ve ever seen and it screams “rockstar” more than it screams “Star Trek and exploration”. It’s as if they think kids are only interested in watching things which hint that it might be about becoming a celebrity. Sadly, they may be right about that, but it could mean bad things for what the final product is here.
RELEASE DATE
As of yet, Star Trek: Prodigy has no official release date. We know only that it will debut some time in 2021.
