The continuing mission of the crew of the USS Protostar is coming to Netflix at warp speed. After previously having been yanked from Paramount+, the nascent animated Star Trek spinoff series Star Trek: Prodigy is staging a massive comeback. After its apparent cancellation in 2023, it was later announced that Netflix would pick up the distribution of the series. And now, Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 is almost here. Here’s when the new episodes will hit Netflix, how many episodes there will be, and how to catch up on this Trek show if you missed it the first time around, back in 2021.
Mild spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1.
Set in the late 24th century — after Voyager, but before the flashbacks in Picard — the events of Prodigy mostly focus on a group of rag-tag teenage aliens who find an abandoned experimental Starfleet ship called the USS Protostar. Because all these kids are working in a horrible slave-mining situation (think Temple of Doom in space) they use the downed Protostar to escape. Armed with the life-changing Trek technology of the universal translator, this crew can suddenly understand each other, and, in search of a better life, leave the Delta Quadrant to find the Federation and Starfleet.
Consisting of 20 episodes in its first season, Prodigy began in a kind of vague Star Wars-ish universe, and then, gradually, brought the characters into the Star Trek universe. Creators Kevin and Dan Hageman viewed the show as the kind of series a young person could watch, and be introduced to various Star Trek ideas little by little. And, by the second half of Season 1, the crew of the Protostar is fully integrated into the machinations of Starfleet, in the familiar 24th century setting. By the end of Season 1, the crew was under the tutelage of Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), and set for a new adventure, possibly on a brand-new starship.
And now, after an almost two-year wait, Season 2 is finally coming.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 release date
According to a tweet from showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman, Season 2 of Prodigy will hit Netflix on July 1 on Netflix. But, there’s a bit of a twist here. Like Season 1, this season of Prodigy is a full 20 episodes long. So, the question is, will all 20 episodes drop at once, as per standard Netflix practice? Or, will the season be split up somehow?
While some outlets are claiming all 20 episodes will drop on July 1, there’s been no confirmation from Netflix, CBS, Paramount, or the Hagemans on that detail. As of this writing, all we know is that Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 begins on July 1, 2024, on Netflix. Between then and now, it seems likely the distribution schedule of the episodes will be made clear, but until then, some Trekkies are preparing for one of the longest binges in Star Trek history.
Phasers on Stun!: How the Making — and Remaking — of Star Trek Changed the World
