It’s a great time to be a Star Trek fan. With five ongoing series currently in production and/or airing, we’re getting both quantity and quality. Next on the slate is Star Trek: Prodigy on Paramount Plus.
Prodigy is an animated take on the franchise, and it’s looking to shake things up by attracting a younger audience with kid-friendly adventures across the Final Frontier.
So, who’s in it? What’s it about? And when and where can you watch it? Read on for everything we know about Star Trek: Prodigy.
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What is Star Trek: Prodigy About?
Star Trek: Prodigy follows a group of young outcast aliens who discover an abandoned Starfleet ship, the Protostar. Looking for a better future for themselves, they commandeer the ship and set out on a series of adventures.
Unlike previous Star Trek series, none of the Prodigy crew has any flight experience, and none are members of Starfleet. They have to learn to crew their new ship, learning about the ideals of the Federation and Starfleet as they go. Hot on their tails are two mysterious villains, Diviner and Drednok. While their motives are still unclear, Paramount has revealed that Diviner is the father of one of the runaways, Gwyn.
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The series takes place in the year 2383, after the events of Star Trek: Voyager. And it’s set in the Delta Quadrant, like Voyager before it. So our heroes are far from Earth and the Federation. How a Starfleet ship got this far from home, and who had control of it and why, remain to be seen.
Star Trek: Prodigy is one of five series in the current iteration of the space exploration franchise. It joins the ongoing Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks, as well as the upcoming Star Trek: Stranger Worlds on Paramount’s roster of Star Trek shows.
Another animated Star Trek?
Animated Star Trek shows are nothing new.
Star Trek: The Animated series aired in 1973 and 1974 over two seasons and followed the adventures of the original Enterprise crew from the original Star Trek series.
More recently, Star Trek: Lower Decks has followed a group of low-ranking crew members aboard a Starfleet ship. That animated series is ongoing and also available to stream on Paramount Plus, like the other new Star Trek shows.
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Paramount states, however, that Star Trek: Prodigy is the first Star Trek — animated or otherwise — aimed at younger audiences. The original Star Trek: The Animated series was a Saturday morning cartoon, so it’s perhaps wise to take that distinction with a grain of salt, but the series trailer does set it apart from its current counterparts.
Lower Decks features some adult humor and references to the series history, and it seems generally geared to an existing Star Trek fanbase already invested in the franchise. Prodigy, in addition to its 3D digital animation and distinct aesthetic, has a different tone. It has the air of a series for young viewers, and is at the very least the first Star Trek for younger viewers in this era of the storied franchise.
When and where can you watch it?
Star Trek: Prodigy will premiere on October 28, with an hour-long season premiere. Later episodes will likely be shorter.
It will be available exclusively as a streaming show on Paramount Plus.
Read: Everything you need to know about Paramount Plus
New episodes will be available weekly on Paramount Plus, as with other Star Trek shows.
Paramount has not yet revealed whether we can expect more seasons later on.
Who’s involved?
Star Trek: Prodigy features a few familiar voices provided by big-name stars and up-and-coming young talent.
Confirmed voice actors and the characters they play are as follows:
- Ella Purnell as Gwyn
- Brett Gray as Dal
- Jason Mantzoukas as Jankom Pog
- Dee Bradley Baker as Murf
- Angus Imrie as Zero
- Rylee Alazraqui as Rok-Tahk
- Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway
- Jimmi Simpson as Drednok
- John Noble as Diviner
The series was developed by the Emmy-winning Kevin and Dan Hageman, known for their work on Trollhunters and Ninjago. Ben Hibon directs. Executive producers, along with Kevin and Dan Hageman, are Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Katie Krentz, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth.
Prodigy is produced by CBS Studios’ Eye Animation Studios and Nickelodeon.
What to expect from Star Trek: Prodigy
In addition to a series trailer, Paramount has revealed some important details about the show. But there are still some questions left open as to how Prodigy will fit into the broader Star Trek universe.
Below are a few hints, rumors, and remaining question marks about the upcoming show:
- At least one familiar face (and voice) will appear in Star Trek: Prodigy. Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager, will return to voice the iconic character. Or rather, She’ll voice a holographic version of Janeway. The Voyager captain serves as the starship’s built-in emergency training hologram, guiding the young heroes along on their journey.
- Robert Beltran, who played Janeway’s second in command, Chakotay, in Voyager has revealed he’ll also be returning and lending his voice in Prodigy. We don’t yet know if he’ll also be a hologram or if we’ll see him back on Earth or elsewhere in the Alpha Quadrant. It’s also possible he’ll voice another character altogether.
- Other Star Trek actors have lent their voices to Star Trek: Lower Decks. These include Jonathan Frakes as William Riker, Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris, and John de Lancie as Q. And Star Trek: Picard has featured Frakes along with Jeri Ryan, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, and Jonathan Del Arco in their previous roles as Seven of Nine, Deanna Troi, Data, and Hugh, respectively. Will Star Trek: Prodigy include these or other familiar Trek stars?
- Star Trek: Voyager featured a Starfleet ship trapped in the Delta Quadrant slowly trying to get back to Earth and the Federation in the Alpha Quadrant. Will the crew of the new crew of the Protostar also gravitate towards the Federation? Will they have the chance to formally become members of Starfleet with the help of Janeway? Or will their path lead elsewhere?
That’s everything we know so far about Star Trek: Prodigy. And even a few things we don’t but look forward to finding out.
You can check it out at the end of October on Paramount Plus.