The animated kids series Star Trek: Prodigy debuted in October with the fourth episode coming on Thursday. Today Paramount+ announced some details on how the rest of season one will roll out, along with confirmation for the next season.
Prodigy has only just begun…
Today Paramount+ announced that Star Trek: Prodigy has been picked up for a second season. According to Paramount+, the October 28 Prodigy debut had the top-performing premiere day out of any original animated kids series on the service.
Paramount+ also clarified that the first season of the show will comprise a total of 20 episodes. Previously it was assumed that Prodigy had been picked up for two 10-episode seasons. So today’s announcement for a second season means Paramount+ has ordered more episodes beyond the first twenty.
There is also an update on how the first season will be split up. After episode five streams on November 18, 2021 (the day of Star Trek: Discovery’s season four debut), Prodigy will take a short break. It will return on January 6th, 2022 with new episodes streaming each week until the first half of season one wraps up on February 3, 2022 (just before Picard season 2 debuts). The 10-episode-long second half of season one will be available on Paramount+ at a later date in 2022, to be announced.
Paramount+ has pushed the button to order more episodes of Prodigy
Season one schedule
Here is a quick guide to the season one of Star Trek: Prodigy release dates:
| Episodes 1/2: October 28 Episode 3: November 4 Episode 4: November 11 Episode 5: November 18 |
| Hiatus |
| Episode 6: January 6 Episode 7: January 13 Episode 8: January 20 Episode 9: January 27 Episode 10: February 3 |
| Hiatus |
| Episodes 11-20: TBA 2022 |
New episodes of Prodigy premiere on Thursdays on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada, where it’s also available to stream on Crave. It is available on Paramount+ in Latin American, the Nordic Countries, and Australia. Amazon Prime Video internationally on Fridays. It will debut in 2022 in parts of Europe with the launch of the Paramouint+ Sky partnership.
Keep up with all the news and reviews from the new Star Trek Universe on TV at TrekMovie.com.
Ah man. Just when I’m starting to enjoy the show it ends next week. That sucks( I’m happy it’s getting 20 episode season though)
Yeah, I gotta say this is the stupidest rollout schedule for a show ever. What kind of show premieres with a one-hour event, then only airs THREE more episodes before going on hiatus?!? Talk about killing the momentum. And if they really wanted to do it that way, then why didn’t they premiere it on October 21st instead of 28th so that we’d have a new Star Trek every week without that gap week, and not have TWO new Star Treks to watch next week?
The real problem with this schedule is that it reinforces the idea that Prodigy is just “filler” between seasons of LD/DIS, then DIS/PIC, as opposed to having it stand up on its own. It’s a good enough show to get a proper run, so I have no idea why Paramount+ is burying it like this. I’m guessing they’ll release episodes 11-15 after Picard finishes its 2nd season, then put Prodigy back on hiatus when Strange New World premieres, following that with the last 5 episodes of PRO.
I’ve watch 4 episodes now and so far this is just another unbearable show with the Star Trek name slapped on it that is written and made by people that wanted to make Star Wars.
The characters are stupid and do stupid things. The comedy is based on “oopsy” and nothing more. The story is already convoluted and nonsensical. But the biggest offense is that it has no Physics – it can’t and won’t even follow the ridiculous physics it creates for itself – that includes magic and a total disregard of gravity and breathing, btw.
I couldn’t get my 8 or 11 year old to sit through it – and the older one watches Star Trek TOS with me regularly. Why? “It’s so boring…” “It’s stupid that they keep accidentally learning how to make a starship work…”
Thanks, Paramount!
4 episodes?
I think you should prosecute the person who is forcing you to watch this and go through this terrible ordeal. It’s all his fault. You can’t even keep count of how many episodes, so mad you are after watching it. Disgusting. I hope the person responsible spends some time in jail for all this suffering.
unlike most of the internet, I try to give the writing staff the courtesy of a couple shows past the origin story before casting judgement, but thanks for the nasty response to an honest assesment of what Paramount is doing to Star Trek.
btw, you’all really think the episodes are completed the morning of release and aren’t distributed for review prior?
Dude, just admit you made a mistake.
Dude.
Yes, how may I help you?
It sounds like reading bad reviews of Paramount+ content is something of an ordeal for you.
Well that was dramatic.
It’s not hard to imagine you wrote this post months ago, and were holding it in the draft folder for just this occasion…..
It’s not hard to imagine he watched Star Trek Prodigy and didn’t like it.
Nothing in his statement was in any regard specific. He even talked about about four episodes, when only three are released.
But it it possible that both cases are true: He prewrote the rant and didn’t like it, thus releasing it now (a week too early).
How was that 4 th episode? Lolol
They haven’t even run four episodes yet (heck, if you ask me there haven’t even run three yet, though there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on that, but never mind…). If you have early access to these somehow, you may wish to clarify that, or everyone is going to assume (with justification) you’re talking about something without even having actually watched it, and are just making stuff up.
Based on what this viewer has seen in the mere 2 (“3”) episodes to which I have access, the characters aren’t stupid (well, one could argue about Dal in last week’s episode, but I think the point was that he was so untrusting of anyone else, which is reasonable given his experiences up to now, that he assumed everything Janeway told him was unreliable at best). They’re kids , the oldest of whom is about 16 or 17 (or the equivalent thereof) and the youngest merely 8 or so (!). And I’m not sure what’s so convoluted or nonsensical here.
He already said he had “early access” to episodes when he used the words “distributed for review prior.” No clarification is necessary. Early access is not as rarefied as some think, if one is in the media or the industry, or knows someone who is. I watched the pilot and David Bee’s review tracks with what I watched.
I know he said he had early access; that’s why I gave him the benefit of doubt rather than just assuming he was lying.
Having watched the premiere myself, though, I can attest it doesn’t track with what he said. Whether it’s any good or not is of course a matter of opinion, but I’d argue some of what he said is just plain wrong.
No, what he said was “ btw, you’all really think the episodes are completed the morning of release and aren’t distributed for review prior?”
I watched the pilot. It’s clear they’re aiming for a Star Wars vibe (although if you’re going to imitate Star Wars, Episode I isn’t the movie I’d have picked): cute kids who want to explore, droids, a Darth Vaderesque masked villain who answers to a secretive, luminscent overlord. BEyond that, I agree with a reviewer in an earlier thread who said much of it was “generic.” The animation was somewhat innovative, but aside from that nothing stood out as being particularly memorable, nor particularly cringeworthy (except perhaps Rock-Tak, who was annoying once declawed).
I remain unconvinced that throwing mass quantities of mediocre Star Trek up against a wall and hoping something sticks is a winning strategy, and I am mystified as to how series like BREAKING BAD or THE AMERICANS or SQUID GAME, or even storied old franchises like James Bond (which predates TOS) have prospered and attracted new fans without being kiddified.
It’s really hard to make a show about meth aimed at children.
This is such a strange forum sometimes.
I wish I could like comments, this one would definitely get an upvote from me.
My point exactly. Shockingly, it’s actually possible to create a cultural phenomenon without kiddifying it. Pre-Kurtzman Star Trek included.
Droids? What droids, where?
I’m actually in agreement with you on your second paragraph, but I don’t think a Prodigy article is the most deserving of the comment.
General Grievous, the triangle shaped Dalek things, the Medusan in a Portal 2 robot body
I’ll give you the triangles and Drednok (who is actually more droid than Grievous, who despite being referred to as a droid general was actually a cyborg). Zero isn’t a robot, but an energy being in a suit; he’s no more a robot than Kirk and Spock are when they’re spacewalking in TMP. Apart from Drednok, “droids” don’t play as great a role here as in Star Wars, which has some as central heroes.
Also the Palpatine-esque appearance of the girl’s father.
This is one of the most bonkers/unhinged complaints I’ve ever seen here. You know a show’s got to be doing well if this is the complaint you’ve created.
New Kid is happy to get more of Jankom Pog. New Kid likes Jankom Pog.
Scott is also a fan of Jankom Pog and Jankom Pog’s successful utilization of the first person.
Congrats on the 2nd season renewal. Loving the show.
Great news. I’m glad to hear that the a total of 40 episodes have been green lit.
I expect this means that toys from a major kids manufacturer will be in the pipe for release in 2022. I’ll be curious to see who Nickelodeon/Paramount+ grants the licence to.
The show is popular in our household of adults and (now) teens based on the 2/3 episodes released to date.
As Laurie has mentioned, there’s lots of Trollhunters comparisons being made by our teens rather than SW, but they also are looking for the Star Trek markers.
they already made a deal with playmates to make toys and figures for prodigy/discovery/picard/lower decks,and most likly strange new worlds is included in that deal
I’m sure someone will correct me, but is this the first time where I’ve seen someone comment on how the show actually performed (top performing premier day)? I’m assuming the other streaming shows are doing okay, as they keep getting renewed, but it would be interesting to actually know how they are doing…
No. They usually give us vague info to say they are happy without really informing anything. I remember Disco S1 and 2 being similarly celebrated in their premieres, and Picard S1 as well. Only LDS didn’t get this kind of “love” so far…
Wow, pretty surprising news all around. Good news is the show sounds like its a pretty big hit out of the gate to get such an early renewal. I think like a lot of people, I thought it already had a 2 season renewal like LDS had. So great news. And to know season 1 is 20 episodes is even better. It’s nice to have a much fuller season like the old shows again.
The bad news is obvious. Pulling the show after four episodes aired kind of sucks. The show is literally just starting and they are pulling it for six weeks? The thinking is just bizarre, especially when the point was to get an entire new segment of the audience into the franchise, kids, and they are left hanging after four episodes. Guess they know what they are doing but why not just air the first ten episodes straight through and air the next ten at a later date?
It was a bit odd both shows were going to air together when the original plan was to have the shows air one after the other. So it looks like they will mostly be sticking to that plan after all.
My guess…. Nick is playing the long game. They’ve probably missed their window to get Prodigy toys into stores by this Christmas, so they’re in no rush to put every episode out right now. Giving the show time to build familiarity over another twelve months works for them. Plus, kids have different viewing habits than the rest of us. I remember certain episodes of certain shows I’d watch on a daily basis on vhs when I was a kid. Must have driven my parents nuts.
Manufacturers generally know how long it takes to get merchandise into stores by Christmas, and the producers can time the release of new shows accordingly. Admittedly, the supply chain issues could have disrupted this particular show, but I think it’s far more likely the don’t want to compete with DISCOVERY.
Sure. Supply chain issues. Right…..
I think it’s clear they don’t want to overlap with Season 4 of DISCOVERY (which also shows they don’t fully believe the “these shows are targeted at completely different audiences” party line).
They’ve never denied there’s an overlap in viewership. They’ve always said they want this show to appeal to the young as well as the young at heart. They’re appealing to a younger demographic but they want old school Trekkies to watch too.
That schedule looks like they plan for Prodigy to be the filler between seasons of the live action shows and Lower Decks. It’ll be interesting to see if that works for audiences or results in many unhappy outcries about the disruptions in continuity, especially since it appears that Prodigy will be a very serialized narrative.
Ah, I see that Nickelodeon still employs the same bizarre, disjointed production/release schedule today that it did when I was a child. I still don’t get it.
I think Nickelodeon knows exactly what’s required to build and sustain an audience in the target age group.
The important thing to understand is that repetition is a plus not a minus for kids under ten or so.
They’re wired to want to see something again and again until they fully master all the content.
So, for a new show like Prodigy a few rewatches to build understanding and interest in the universe are likely needed.
Any parent of young kids knows the cry “Again!” for just about any new and interesting thing. In fact, the test of a new toy or show is how much repetitive “play value” it has.
I was surprised with ours that this continues into primary and school aged kids to a lesser extreme. Our kids had DVDs that they watched over and over again for several years, and happily rewatched shows on children’s cable and public television.
Then suddenly, shortly before middle grades, they switched to only wanting to see new content. It was quite a sudden and dramatic change in viewing habits.
I also note that the show will be on hiatus during the holiday season when kids will be bombarded with the old Christmas specials. So, it makes sense to compete with those.
Nice to know we’re getting a lot of it, though the length of these breaks raises questions about just what constitutes a season. If episode 10 (actually 9, since they’re counting the series premiere as two episodes when it ran as a single double-length episode, but never mind that…) appears on February 3 and then the second half of the season is in “late 2022” (when this season began in October 2021, or late 2021), then what makes it more of S1 and not just S2?
Still, this news does ultimately confirm we’re getting more than 20 episodes of this show (even if it indicates we’ll wait longer for a bunch of them than I initially thought), so that’s cool…
What I’m getting that season 1 will finish by the end of 2022 with 20 episodes. Season 3 will probably be in 2023 with an undetermined number of episodes, but probably at least 10.
Fantastic! I sense a lot of new, fresh energy in this show. Smooth sailing!
All I’ll say, as someone who hasn’t seen even a trailer for Prodigy so far, is that I think there are a lot of ppl out there who want to love new Trek, and many who genuinely do. But it feels like it all comes up…short. I’ve heard good things about Prodigy, but I bet few ppl are watching it. Paramount will never release the numbers, because as soon as they do, we’ll realize how far short of their expectations these shows are actually performing. I know no one, NO ONE outside the established Trek community that watches these shows. I know I’ve seen almost no memes about new Trek, which means it isn’t registering at all in the popular consciousness. Even TOS at this point in Discovery’s run had been canceled but hugely popular; Disco, by contrast, has made no presence at all in pop culture. We all WANT to love new Trek, but the fact of us wanting it is what makes it bearable. I think most viewers out there who aren’t already Trek fans try it, realize it’s all shoddy, and don’t watch.
I feel like pretty much every show on P+ is awful – Picard, Disco, the new Spongebob series, the new Rugrats – and the app itself is buggy and aggravating. It’s like we keep getting the lowest quality versions of everything, and we want to say we’re grateful for the new content, but mostly it serves to divide, and to remind you of the quality that came before but is sadly now absent. All of new Trek is nostalgia Trek, leeching off the original and memorable storytelling of the past and rehashing it in the cheapest way to get more subscribers. That’s the business model of all media these days, and I’m so, so sick of it. If Prodigy is good – great. But I bet it’s more dumb characters doing dumb things and lens flares and explosions, and actually not very daring or different after all.
Extremely well put. Even PICARD, which I like, is a nostalgia play. Does P+ even have ANYTHING that can compete with the likes of SQUID GAME on Netflix or JACK RYAN on Amazon? Is this massive explosion of “meh” Star Trek meh products influencing the cultural zeitgeist in the least? By this point into TNG’s run, the public at large recognized “resistance is futile.” Where is that today?
Well… You’re not wrong.
Although I did enjoy the pilot episode(s) of Prodigy, the next episode was still “meh”. But make no mistake… These 2/3 episodes of Prodigy are easily the best thing Secret Hideout has produced (and it’s not even close). But that said, I would not disagree with your post. Just look at how these threads react to the “nostalgia” laden episodes. Most here love them. They loved seeing Riker on Picard and Lower Decks. They loved seeing the Talosians and the Guardian of Forever on Star Trek Discovery. They love Lower Decks because it’s little more than a huge fangasm of “member berries. So I think your reasoning is likely sound.
I’ve only watched the pilot, but it will interesting to see if the Medusan teaches the Force to the puprle guy or the white girl- if either of them are Force-sensitive. My jaw almost hit the floor when it was revealed at the end of the pilot that the Genera Grievous-like villain really was General Grievous, when he transformed into Grievous insectoid mode.
I just can’t get into Prodigy, it’s too childish for me, just doesn’t seem aimed at all ages and really is targeting the preteens to the point where I feel not alienated per se just like the show was beating me over the head saying this isn’t for you.
Fair play to it for doing its thing and if it helps my beloved franchise continue to grow then I celebrate it. But much as it pains me I’ve found a star trek I will have to pass on.
I have found that Prodigy aims for higher ages than Lower Decks does…
I know some Berman Trek lovers who also love Kurtzman Trek also wanted longer seasons – there you go, are you happy now?!
Yes
Yes thank you.
Not a Berman Trek or Kurtzman Trek lover. But yes. Like the longer season. Not a fan of the giant breaks, however.
Er… sort of? To be honest, if they’re taking a break of (at least) five months in the middle of the season, it’s going to feel like this supposed 20-episode single season is really just two 9- or 10-episode seasons anyway, regardless of whether they call it that or not.
But the important thing is that regardless of exactly how many season divisions they decide to declare and where they put them, they apparently intend to produce many episodes of this show, and as I like this show, I consider that a good thing.
My daughter loves watching Star Wars and MCU content with me. But much to my chagrin, I could never get her into Star Trek. Prodigy is the first Star Trek show that she genuinely likes watching. For that reason alone, it’s a success in my book.
Yeah, I had the same wish, didn’t work for me. At least my oldest will sit and watch original series episodes with me.
I can’t get them away from Star Wars and Disney+ however. Thankfully they like the original 3 films more than any of the others, and they’ve watched and rewatched Favreu’s Mandalorian show (action with great character based comedy and cuteness). I actually had a “my grandparents voice” moment when I shouted from across the house that Disney+ was going to rot their brains and make them go blind – now go outside and play in the fresh air (!!) : )
So I thought Mandalorian was merely ok…I’m not the biggest SW nut, but I don’t think there’s like a lot of character development. It’s pretty hollow adventure storytelling. What I will say, however, is that it’s incredibly violent – there is so much senseless murder in that show that they can only get away with because Mando is a “badass bounty hunter” and he shoots pew pew laser beams. I want to make a super-cut of every death in Mandalorian, edited alongside really gory, bloody gunfight deaths from other shows and movies, just to prove how completely unacceptable this level of murder would be in an “all ages” show if it wasn’t hiding behind the sheen of sci-fi raygun spectacle.
hiatus for streaming shows are really annoying. It was one thing when live ratings mattered over the holidays, but times have changed. You can’t take the CBS out of the service I guess…
I like Prodigy but the hiatus thing is stupid! Why did they do this? I’m looking forward to hearing Tony and Laurie discuss this because I don’t get it.
Like the 20 episode season.
Wouldn’t mind the breaks if they weren’t as long as they are.
My guess is P+ has way more churn than they care to admit and are hoping this will keep the sucribers.