Netflix became the new home of Star Trek: Prodigy after it was canceled by Paramount+ earlier in the year. Of course, fans will get to see Season 2 when it hits the 2024 Netflix schedule, and the series will get a chance to engage with a new audience that might not have had a Paramount+ subscription. Will the way viewers see Season 1's full release all at once alter their experience compared to those who watched the series in its first run? Showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman has some thoughts about why Netflix may be a better fit and more.
During a recent conversation in which I spoke with the co-showrunners of Star Trek: Prodigy, I wondered if the all-at-once release format would impact how people experienced the series and asked the brothers their thoughts. Kevin Hageman had a definitive answer and talked about their previous experience working with Netflix, as well as some complaints they actually heard from fans after Season 1 landed on Paramount+:
Yeah. I think you instantly start to fall in love with the characters a lot more as you're, you're just totally sucked into the world in the story, I think it's very similar to what we did with Trollhunters, and I think with Trollhunters, it dropped on Christmas, it was a brand new thing. It wasn't even like Star Trek [which] at least has a brand. Trollhunters had the name Guillermo [del Toro], but it's a brand new sort of project. But people instantly started to fall in love with the characters, the humor and the world, and the heart. . . Hearing the complaints of Season 1 dropping [on Paramount+], everyone's like, ‘I love this but they're too short.’ And I get it, it's 22 minutes. It was really short.
It's interesting to hear about Kevin and Dan Hageman's experience with Netflix and Trollhunters and their optimism about new fans connecting with Star Trek: Prodigy on the platform. It's also interesting to hear their opinions on how Prodigy may benefit from a binge vs. weekly viewing, especially since it will be the first upcoming Trek series to air in that manner.
The Hageman brothers confirmed to CinemaBlend they did not know for sure how Season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy will be released when we spoke. Based on past Netflix series, especially animated originals, it would track if the season was released in two parts, with the first ten episodes coming in the first half of 2024 and the second half arriving later on.
In any case, it's a much quicker release than what the show experienced with Paramount+, which Dan Hageman felt was a good thing for one key reason:
I think like, you know, on Paramount Plus, it's like you're watching one episode a week. So you're kind of, you're in the world, you're loving the characters, hopefully. And then you're pulled out of it and then you come back and you're with them. Now it's up to the viewer to spend as much time as they want with this cast and crew.
New viewers connecting and previous fans reconnecting will likely be vital to ensuring Star Trek: Prodigy can continue on Netflix after Season 2. The showrunners confirmed to CinemaBlend Season 3 of Prodigy or some continuation is possible, but it will be contingent on the appetite of viewers for such a thing. There were enough fans to rally for a banner to fly over Netflix to save the series, and here's hoping those passionate fans and more will rally behind this great series. If you're a fan, binge hard and binge early.
Anyone with a Netflix subscription will be able to stream Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 and will also be able to see Season 2 when it debuts. I'm certainly looking forward to the quest to find Chakotay, along with some of the other wild adventures Dal and friends will get into along the way.
