The rest of Star Trek in 2024 is all animation, which is both good and bad. The 5th and final season of Star Trek: Discovery closes the chapter on live-action Star Trek series for the year, so the only Star Trek series left this year are Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy, both well-received animated series. Like Star Trek: Discovery before it, Star Trek: Lower Decks is said to end with its 5th season on Paramount+, although fan campaigns to save Lower Decks are well underway. After being picked up by Netflix, Star Trek: Prodigy will adhere to the Netflix model, so Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 drops all 20 episodes simultaneously on July 1.
As animated series, Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks are true gifts to fans that push the boundaries of Star Trek‘s storytelling. Lower Decks brings back alien species like Star Trek: The Animated Series’ Catians and Edosians, and expands canon with visits to Ferenginar and Orion. Star Trek: Prodigy‘s cast of alien kids would be difficult to achieve in live-action, but animation makes it possible to bring Dal R’El (Brett Gray), Gwyndala (Ella Purnell), and the rest of the USS Protostar’s ragtag crew to life. Both series soar beyond the limits of live-action Star Trek with epic, multi-ship space battles and ambitious visuals.
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Prodigy & Lower Decks Are The Purest & Most Adventurous Star Trek
Prodigy & Lower Decks Are Some Of The Best Trek Out There
Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks are the purest and most adventurous Star Trek series to date. In addition to being a great introduction to Star Trek for any age, Star Trek: Prodigy refuses to talk down to its audience. Prodigy‘s adolescent characters act like real kids who find themselves in difficult situations, guided by various versions of Star Trek: Voyager‘s Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ deep-cut humor celebrates all the weird and wacky parts of Star Trek, while Lower Decks‘ main characters are deceptively complex, driven by past trauma, inner critics, ambition, and a deep desire for acceptance and camaraderie.
Both Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy are passionate love letters to Star Trek. Lower Decks digs in to the core of Star Trek, mining the deepest and most obscure references, and polishes the raw material provided by decades of canon into sparkling gems of story starring surprisingly multifaceted characters. Star Trek: Prodigy embraces Trek‘s broader themes with teenage characters whose worldviews become reformed by Starfleet’s philosophies, and learn how to ward off despair, adversity, and oppression through cooperation, compassion, and connection. Make no mistake: Lower Decks and Prodigy are both pure, concentrated Star Trek, no matter what they look like or who they’re for.
2024 Could Be The End Of Star Trek Animation
After Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy, No New Animated Star Trek Series Are Scheduled
The end of Star Trek animation may be on the horizon in 2024. Earlier this year, a bittersweet announcement declared both the cancelation of Star Trek: Lower Decks after season 5, which is scheduled for a fall 2024 release, and the renewal of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for season 4. Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 was originally slated to stream on Paramount+ in late 2023, and was picked up by Netflix for a summer 2024 release. Despite aggressive fan campaigns to save both animated Star Trek shows, both Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy are currently facing their final seasons.
Besides that, there are no animated Star Trek projects in the slate of upcoming Star Trek shows. Netflix has the option to continue Star Trek: Prodigy for season 3, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Even if Prodigy does well enough to merit a continuation, it will take 2 years minimum to produce a 3rd season of Star Trek: Prodigy. The cancelation of Star Trek: Lower Decks wasn’t planned, but the animation process doesn’t warrant the addition of a satisfactory wrap-up like the one in Star Trek: Discovery. Although a one-off movie could provide a satisfying conclusion for Star Trek: Lower Decks, only one so-called “Long Trek” has been produced so far, and it’s not animated.
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2024 Only Has 1 Live-Action Star Trek Possibility Left
Star Trek: Section 31 Could Debut By The End Of The Year
With Star Trek: Discovery season 5 in the rearview, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 slated for a 2025 release at the earliest, the made-for-streaming movie Star Trek: Section 31, starring Michelle Yeoh as Star Trek: Discovery‘s Emperor Philippa Georgiou, remains the only possibility for additional live-action Star Trek in 2024. Section 31, written by Craig Sweeny and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, wrapped filming in March 2024 and still hasn’t gotten an official release date. Despite the heavy post-production that sci-fi series like Star Trek typically require, it’s possible that Star Trek: Section 31 could still stream on Paramount+ before the end of the year.
With 40 episodes of television (and one possible movie) in 2024, Star Trek is still going strong. Even without another live-action Star Trek scheduled this year, it’s a great time to be a Star Trek fan, since the rest of 2024 promises the long-awaited return of Star Trek: Prodigy and the continued adventures of the USS Cerritos’ Warp Core Five in Star Trek: Lower Decks. It’s just sad to see Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks at their premature ends after both of these excellent animated series have consistently delivered high-quality, character-driven Star Trek stories that deserve to continue.
Where to Watch*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
- Cast
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Tawny Newsome
, Jack Quaid
, dawnn lewis
, Noel Wells
, Eugene Cordero
, Gabrielle Ruiz
, Fred Tatasciore
, Jerry O’Connell - Seasons
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5
- Network
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Paramount
- Streaming Service(s)
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Paramount+
- Franchise(s)
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Star Trek
- Writers
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Mike McMahan
- Showrunner
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Mike McMahan
Where to Watch*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
- Cast
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Brett Gray
, Kate Mulgrew
, Ella Purnell
, Angus Imrie
, Dee Bradley Baker
, Jason Mantzoukas
, Robert Picardo
, Robert Beltran
, Jameela Jamil
, Jimmi Simpson
, John Noble - Seasons
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2
- Network
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Netflix
- Streaming Service(s)
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Netflix
- Franchise(s)
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Star Trek
- Writers
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Dan Hageman
, Kevin Hageman - Showrunner
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Dan Hageman
, Kevin Hageman
