The upcoming animated kids series Star Trek: Prodigy has been a bit of a mystery, but we learned a lot more during a First Contact Day event on Monday, including getting our first look at Kate Mulgrew’s Janeway.
Say hello to Hologram Janeway
Although it was announced last year that Kate Mulgrew would be reprising her role as Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy, it was a bit of a mystery as to how the character would fit into a show set on a derelict Starfleet ship commandeered by a group of alien teens. Today, Paramount+ released the first images of Janeway from the series.
Mulgrew will appear as the built-in “Emergency Training Hologram” on the ship, confirming TrekMovie’s hologram Janeway theory. The news was revealed by series executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman during today’s virtual global First Contact Day panels.
First look at Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy
Prodigy returns to the Delta Quadrant
Developed by Emmy-winners Kevin and Dan Hageman (Trollhunters and Ninjago), the CG-animated series Star Trek: Prodigy is being promoted as the first Star Trek series developed specifically for younger audiences. During the panel, the Hagemans also revealed that the series takes place in the year 2383, after the events of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Nemesis, and it is set in the Delta Quadrant.
Here is an updated version of the show synopsis:
[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.
New Prodigy group image including Janeway
Arriving in 2021
There was no news on a release date for Prodigy, except confirming previously reporting that it will premiere on Paramount+ later this year. Earlier during the First Contact Day events, it was revealed that the second season of Star Trek: Lower Decks would debut on August 12th, and the fourth season of Discovery will arrive in late 2021. It’s not clear where Prodigy will fit into that schedule, but a good guess would be for it to arrive in between Lower Decks and Discovery.
First look at Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy
First Contact Day continues…
There is much more to come on this big First Contact Day, with more announcements expected. So stay tuned to TrekMovie for our full First Contact Day coverage.
The free First Contact Day virtual panels will be available to view on-demand on Paramount+’s YouTube Channel and on Paramount+ in the U.S., following their initial airing on StarTrek.com/FirstContact today from 12:00-2:45 PM, PT/3:00-5:45 PM, ET.
Star Trek: Prodigy will premiere on Paramount+ in the U.S. It will be broadcast on Nickelodeon following its run on Paramount+. There are no details available at this time regarding the international release for Prodigy.
I’m officially impressed.
Love it!!
Looks great. We all assumed we’d get a look at Janeway if nothing else today. Turned out to be a great First Contact day. Let’s do it again next year.
Yeah a great First Contact day! I didn’t expect any of this other than just seeing an image of Janeway, but we got a lot of news and three trailers to boot. Pretty crazy!
I think it’s great!
They won’t get the same industry media hit that they would at an industry event, but they are really engaging their core audience.
I’m sad that we won’t see any new content until Q3 of 2021, but it looks like Q3 and Q4 will have a lot. Given Covid, it’s understandable.
I remember telling ML31 we should have Star Trek by the end of summer or early fall the latest just based on where the productions seem to be and it looks like that was right. The fact they have three shows all coming out the year (although the last show has to be in December) is still pretty good given everything.
I do suspect Picard was probably suppose to be one of the first shows to come out this year since it was suppose to start shooting last summer, but that’s life. Hopefully it will be worth the wait this time!
Yes, I do recall you calling it. Good call. I honestly don’t remember but did I suggest it would be longer? I might have…
Thanks!
And I don’t remember exactly what you said but I think you said the first show would come at the end of this year or beginning of the next one. And you could’ve been right of course, but I assumed (rightly) it’s no way they would want no new Star Trek off the air for that long; especially since they just rebranded All Access into Paramount+ and wanted to have one of their biggest brands with new content premiere at least within this year.
As I already said for Picard season 2 it probably was meant to be the first out of the gate and debut probably around sometime this spring. And then the next one starting in the summer and running through the rest of the year. They probably expected at least 8 months of new Star Trek for 2021 alone if 2020 wasn’t such a disaster.
I’m excited for this series. It looks great!
OMG, beautiful!!!!
I had this image in my head for months on how it could look and wow I didn’t really come anywhere close lol. This is very impressive. CGI animation just brings everything to another level!
And yes a lot of people called it! She’s a hologram after all, but I’m completely fine with that. I’m excited we’re going back to the Delta quadrant (which I also called ;))! That’s really cool! So we’re going to get a lot of those species again (please no Kazon) and they said it’s going to be a lot of canon surprises. So I suspect we will see the Borg again and probably other Voyager characters! Neelix could even show up (and I just killed the vibe lol). Always loved Neelix so I hope he does!
And frankly, if there is a time to bring The Doctor back, I mean this would be it. ;) But they may have updated the EMH obviously.
Exciting time to be a Star Trek fan! :)
If there was ever a place to bring Neelix back, this would be it.
There should be a copy of the EHM in the Delta Quadrant
Yeah, but that’s just gathering dust in a museum until the 31st century.
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Don’t spoil the 2023 film:
Star Trek – The Kazon Wars
<3
Works for me! It’s a little disappointing that they didn’t announce the premiere date, though.
They at least said this year so that’s great news. I suspect it will come after LDS since that’s the only one given a direct date.
I think they’ll probably release all 10 episodes at once with fairly short notice–whenever their algorithms say they need new content to drive up subscribers in the young adult/family market… so anytime between now and Christmas?
They almost certainly will not do that. They haven’t released an entire season of Trek all at once yet; there’s zero reason to start with this one.
I doubt Nickelodeon would get onboard with that. I think it will be weekly releases, probably on Nickelodeon first and next-day on Paramount+.
Nick wasn’t going to air it until after it appeared on +. So while I agree that it will be released on a weekly basis (like all the rest or +’s Trek) I don’t think it would affect Nick’s broadcast in any way shape or form.
Nice I actually like the setup as it is free of the stagnation of the TNG Federation. Really love the idea that some lost Federation ship sets up these kids playing Starfleet, maybe even setting up a UFP of their own while exploring the galaxy.
Just a little sad about the hologram being Janeway, guess that means won’t be a long lost Connie or Excelsior class.
They are back in the Delta quadrant. If the real Janeway couldn’t create a Federation type coalition when she was there for 7 years, I’m not sure how a bunch of kids can even with a holographic Janeway. And the Delta quadrant wasn’t having it lol. But Voyager never stayed anywhere very long to try it.
Well, I think that this is a a great chance to show a contrast with TNG style Federation “you should be like humanity, we are the greatest, all must be the same, even the Q learn from us” not being the way.
I think this is a chance for this new Federation to get back to the TOS more NATO like coalition – the Andorians are allowed to be aggressive, the Tellarites insular traders, the Vulcans all stoic and logical and putting down emotions, humanity kind of in the middle respected simply because we are so flawed, etc.
I hope we see lots of episodes where Janeway says something, the kids do it slightly different and the answer ends up somewhere in between.
That way we get some actual Federation building – something Voyager and the adults couldn’t pull off but these kids get to do.
Still… sad this isn’t a TOS Connie lost in the Delta Quadrant. For a while with the logo was kind of hoping it was going to be one of the twelve Constitution class heavy cruisers or maybe even the Enterprise-A. A chance to bring back more recognizable and cherished designs – movie era especially – but I guess we have SNW and the TOS uniforms/big E. Oh well.
Federation has progressed in the last century since Kirk. I wouldn’t hold my breath. But I never had an issue with how the Federation is shown in any century, especially the 24th. And since we are back in the 24th century, they will learn about that Federation today since that’s the Federation Janeway grew up in. But they will probably learn about the history of it too from Archer through Kirk’s time.
Keep in mind that Janeway was focused on getting home, not making a local UFP branch. Making an UFP coalition wasn’t her goal.
Also a good point. I think if they decided to make the Delta quadrant their home, they might’ve tried to create some type of coalition of like minded planets. But making something like the Federation would take decades. I have a feeling when the Federation was formed in the 22nd century, it probably wasn’t more than a dozen or so planets until the the 23rd century or when Starfleet built more ships and faster warp speeds.
Ah yes, Kathryn Janeway, WNBA all-star center.
I’m assuming Kate Mulgrew worked it into her contract that she got final say on leg length.
Kate Mulgrew’s legs are a tad too long but hey…. i’m up for watching this.
Hey, it’s a simulation…
I LOVE THIS CONCEPT! HoloJaneway! Plausible explanation! Great artwork! Bring, it. on!
During the panel, they mentioned that one of the main characters is a returning alien from TOS. I wonder which one it is. My guess would be that the robot looking guy is one of the many non-corporeal aliens from TOS. Many of them are advanced enough that they could have made it to the Delta Quadrant.
That surprised me as well. I thought he was going to say a VOY alien being back in the Delta quadrant I been rewatching all of TOS the last month and non of these look like any aliens that appeared on the show. At least not to my eyes. The fact no one has even suggested it before is more telling. Maybe it’s another alien they haven’t introduced yet?
Maybe inside that robo suit is a Medusa. It didn’t make much sense carrying them around in boxes, so now they can move on their own. It would be a spin on the lonely, depressive robot theme as the Medusa are unable to reveal themselves to another being for the danger of driving them insane…
Or it is that rocky Thing on the right…an Excaliban… it could bring back Abe Lincoln :-)
Maybe it is one of those Rock Monsters that Shatner wanted to use for Star Trek 5 but couldn’t get the visual effects right.
Technically, I believe they said one of them has a tie in to the original series. Interesting distinction.
OK the show takes place in the year 2383. Is that the same year that LDS takes place too?
If so kind of funny because we now have two 24th century shows taking place at the same time, just like the 90s, only animated. ;)
And one is back in the Delta quadrant once again!
EDIT: Just found my answer, it’s set 3 years after LDS.
Season 4 of LDS will probably be set in 2383.
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A Janeway-Holo in the delta is really interesting BUT I really need for Janeway (and the doctor) to show up in Picard so we actually get an update on the character and where she is post-Nemesis.
Me too. I still hope we get the real Janeway on the other shows. It would be fun to see an animated Admiral Janeway on LDS too and compare.
Was just thinking to make it more fun – everyone can show up from the data banks. You can have Isaac Newton teaching a lesson from human history, James (no middle inital allowed) Kirk give his opinion, Spock jump in, Sisko come in and Janeway! You can even have them give conflicting opinions and then have the kids have to figure it out for themselves!!
I think that would be great and really help kids understand that life isn’t one set answer and that solutions can come from anywhere!!!
If Janeway is a hologram, could the EMH be there too?
Why not? I would be shocked we wouldn’t see the Doctor make an appearance well. I would LOVE THAT!!!!! He could be there too, just kept as surprise until we get closer.
Except that Starfleet had already moved away from the Louis Zimmerman model as the EMH. We saw them wanting Bashir as the model and then Andy Dick.
Jesus I forget about the Andy Dick EMH. I hope that one crashed and burned long ago.
BUT, it doesn’t stop the Zimmerman technical hologram from showing up. ;)
Except the Voyager EMH surpassed any expectations so they might’ve unretired Zimmermann model, or just make copies of the Doctor (with his permission) and tout him as “new EMH with an old face”.
You know was just thinking – EVERYONE FROM TREK CAN SHOW UP.
I think it would be awesome if they get different advice from different characters from Trek. Spock shows up, Kirk, Janeway, McCoy, Sisko, etc.
Even have them give differing opinions that the kids can pick and choose!
I’d throw Saavik in there, I think having a half-Romulan half-Vulcan trainee brings something to the table.
Wow that’s actually true. They CAN all show up thanks to it being animated. Also why I think we’ll see more Voyager characters as well. But I would love to see holodeck characters of TOS, DS9, TNG, etc. Throw in Enterprise, Discovery and SNW too.
You forgot LDS….LOL!!!
sorry….bad attempt at humor………….
Actually I didn’t. But since they are all lower deckers, they haven’t really made a contribution to history like Archer’s, Sisko’s or Kirk’s crews has. Although Mariner should probably set the record for officer whose been demoted the most in Starfleet history. ;)
Could the derelict ship they are on be the Voyager itself?
Surely Voyager made it back to the Alpha Quadrant.
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Why would Voyager return to the Delta Quadrant shortly after they finally made it back home? And if Voyager did return to the Delta Quadrant, why would it be deserted? This isn’t meant to antagonize you. The proposed setting (abandoned Federation ship in the Delta Quadrant 5 years after the end of VOY) creates a number of open questions.
From a marketing standpoint it probably also makes more sense to introduce a new ship than go with an existing design.
There were a bunch of duplicates, if I remember rightly. Cloned ship, time doubles etc. Also Kirsten Beyer wrote they went back…
Your right but ugh. I hope not the Intrepid class.
Possibly a real version of the Dauntless? Maybe that’s where Arturis got the idea?
Loving this as this is the most alien crew ever.
Thinking about this, I wonder how old would that starship be when they find it? At first I thought it would be older starship, 20+ years old, maybe even older. But knowing what we know, it seems like it’s going to be a pretty new starship instead.
It only takes place five years after Voyager gets home. And since Janeway is the emergency hologram, obviously the program wasn’t installed until after they got back, so this sounds like it’s going to basically be a brand new ship and all the latest 24th century technology (and none of that old 23rd century stuff like spore drives). Kind of exciting to be back in a relatively new 24th century starship again if my assumption is right.
It sounds like you said, but not necessarily has to. Janeway ETH seems to be new “software” but that does not mean the “hardware” is also new. The ship could have gotten an update, even after stranded in the Delta quadrant. I think it would be a smarter move to use an older ship type.
Besides of that I think they gave her the wrong uniform. Agewise the ETM looks more Mrs Columbo era Mulgrew than Voy era Mulgrew. She should at least have a
TNG season 1 uniform.
Yeah that’s a good point. Maybe they just installed her in all their ships after what happened with Voyager. And thinking about it, wouldn’t she be wearing either a First Contact or Lower Decks uniform? Since the VOY uniforms were phased out by fifth season of DS9.
But I’m not complaining. Her uniform is still one of my favorites in Star Trek and that’s what we’re use to see her wearing.
Tony and Laurie will have a lot to unpack for this weeks “All-Access” podcast. Looking forward to the discussion on Friday.
Looks very promising! I really like the storyline and the animation style! I am so happy and eager to see Janeway again! I hope they name a release date and an international distributor soon. I really hope that international distribution mess of the fantastic Lower Decks and Short Treks Season 2 will not repeat again. I am HAPPY to pay any streaming service to watch any Star Trek Show on the US release day (or the next). So just take my money and give me more Trek. :-)
… and I can’t stop to wonder which Starfleet ship will be featured with a Janeway hologram…? It must be a ship from Voyager otherwise it would not have a Janeway hologram…
Do you suggest it is a Delta Flyer?
Yeah, I would bet something on the line of the Delta Flyer or a spacecraft like a runabout/big shuttle (Voyager did lost some of them after all ;-) ). With that handfull of people to operate a big starship for a crew of several hundred people could get very stressfull und tiresome for our new prodigy crew. ;-)
I know it is way too fanboyish, but I would wish it were the Constellation. Planet Killer could be a wormhole device and that would mean we could have a Matt Decker in Delta quadrant series.
Well I think the Constellation is toast, but could have been one of the other constitution class cruisers.
That being said since not TOS and they have holograms, I’m not a big holodeck fan but now that I think about it they can have Spock, Decker, any of the Trek characters offering advice!
Would be kind of funny to see Janeway, Kirk, Sisko, Saavik, etc all give different advice and have the kids have to figure it out!
If it is just a group of a handful of teenagers doubtful they could run an entire Constitution class starship that was designed to be staffed by 400+. Even with automation it would be rough for them to handle.
It’s got to be a smaller thing. Maybe bigger than a Runabout but certainly smaller than a Connie or even Miranda class.
It’s possible I missed the explanation, but I don’t understand why there would be a hologram of Janeway on a ship that is not Voyager. Is it a derelict Starfleet ship? Can someone explain? Thanks.
I think the idea is once Voyager got lost in the Delta quadrant for 7 years, Starfleet decided that other ships would need some type of training or assistance if they got lost and far enough where they can’t contact Starfleet. So they initiated the Emergency Technical Hologram and made it into Janeway using all her experience, skills and knowledge on what to do in this situation.
Yes it’s suppose to be a derelict ship. We don’t know how yet obviously. Either the original crew were killed, had to abandon it, etc and the kids found it later.
I probably won’t watch it, but it looks like an impressive production. Why aren’t there any pips on Holo-Janeway’s collar?
Maybe there are no pips because the Holo-Janeway is a training hologram and doesn’t have real Janeway’s rank.
What’s with the bizarre leg length for her character?
Did she perhaps play Center for Starfleet Academy’s basketball team? Who knew? LOL
Same people that made the Ready Player One theater poster?
Watch the scene in Robocop where Dick Jones falls out the window at the end. Suddenly his arms got weirdly long in that one shot.
Funny how talking about her long legs reminded me of that.
Not bizarre actually. The proportion is correct for women.
It’s having the perspective point so low that’s throwing it off for adults. The perspective point is just above her knees not her shoulders or head.
Take a look at adults from kindergarten height and you’ll get it.
To kids, Janeway will need to look tall even if she’s short for human norms.
No rank insignia? Rude. (Ok, I know she’s not really a captain, but if she’s styled after the “real” Captain Janeway…)
Also, didn’t they initially say it was an abandoned Starfleet ship these kids find? If so, is it literally just gonna be one of Voyager’s many discarded shuttles? Otherwise, what’s it gonna be doing in the Delta quadrant & why would it have a hologram based on Janeway on it? (If it was an older Starfleet ship that’d somehow made its way across the galaxy over a matter of decades or even centuries – kinda like the Kelvin timeline Enterprise crew finding the 22nd century USS Franklin a hundred years after it’d crashed on Altamid – it’d not have anything to do with Voyager/Janeway).
It’s still crazy that Janeway has her own show again! And now that it’s back in the Delta quadrant just a few years after Voyager ended, it’s basically a sequel to that show.
I even remember saying once that I never saw Janeway getting another show and here we are! Amazing!
BTW, has anyone actually said where does the the title Prodigy come from? Did they say that was the name of the ship? If so, how I missed it, I’m not sure.
Just confirming the most obvious theory. Janeway is a built in hologram who will help the “lawless teens” (eyeroll) learn their lessons.