As the second animated series of the Alex Kurtzman era of Star Trek, Star Trek: Prodigy dove in to attract the next generation of Trek fans. The computer-animated series veered away from the typical Starfleet structure and instead focused on a group of young, super-intelligent aliens who discover and essentially start the abandoned spaceship USS Protostar to take them into space. With the guidance of a hologram Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) After traveling aboard the USS Voyager, the group finally made it to Earth at the end of Season 1, where they met the real Admiral Janeway aboard the USS Voyager-A. Their new mission? Find the whereabouts of the first Protostar crew!
With its youthful take on the Star Trek universe, Prodigy honored the canon of Gene Roddenberry’s universe but also served as an accessible entry point for a younger audience. Unfortunately, the series fell victim to Paramount+’s content budget squeeze and was canceled while the second season was in full production. Today, however, all 20 episodes of Season 2 are on Netflix, which is a story in itself.
Showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman tell IGN how their Emmy-winning series was saved, what happens to the kids in Season 2, how Kate Mulgrew (rightfully) rejected the idea of Admiral Janeway taking command of the USS Enterprise, and the realities of a potential Season 3.
How Star Trek: Prodigy Was Saved From the Streaming Dead Zone
If you thought audiences were shocked by the cancellation and removal of Star Trek: Prodigy from Paramount+ in June 2023, the Hagemans told IGN they were too. “When we heard the news, they were like, ‘This is what’s happening.’ And we were like, ‘Oh my God, how is this possible?'” that “Is it going to happen?” Dan recalls. “But at the same time, we were told that a lot of people at CBS were supportive of this idea, and Alex Kurtzman is trying to figure out a way to get this season on the air.”
And then Trek fans, who know all too well how to revive iterations of their series, got loud and proactive.
“It was awesome and huge,” Kevin says of their efforts to support the show. “It sparked a groundswell of support. I felt really confident. We were doing Season 2. We had probably done 10 episodes. We didn’t know where it was going to go and then we found out it was Netflix.”
Integration of Voyager-era Trek into Season 2
With the decision to continue production on Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2, the Hagemans say they were able to continue the second half of the season arc as planned.
“We didn’t want to lose the DNA of Season 1, which is a show that’s meant to introduce Star Trek to new audiences,” Kevin says. “And we wanted to continue to deliver the greatest hits, right? For example, there’s a thing called Tribbles. There’s time travel episodes. There’s a thing called the Mirror Universe. These are fantastic, fun elements of Star Trek that we can reintroduce to a whole new audience.”
At the end of Season 1, adventurer Dal R’El (Brett Gray), savvy Gwyn (Ella Purnell), and their “crew” travel to Starfleet Headquarters on Earth, where they discover that Admiral Janeway wants to include them in a mission to find out what happened to the USS Protostar. Before the kids commandeered it at the start of the season.
Kevin says that when it came to the timeline, they had to change some parts of the story to make it work. “We realized that Voyager was a floating museum. So we said, let’s create a new one!” Thus, the USS Voyager-A becomes the main ship to start Season 2 with Dal, Jankom (Jason Mantzoukas), Rok (Rylee Alazraqui), Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) and Zero (Angus Imrie) on board to continue learning and providing experimental information to Janeway for this mission.
“We knew that the relationship between the kids and their mentor in season 2 was going to change, going from the hologram Janeway to Admiral Janeway, who was a little tougher on them,” Dan says of Janeway’s change. So they brought in the best hologram in the universe, the Doctor from Voyager, voiced again by Robert Picardo.
“Since the Admiral doesn’t have time to be with them every day and at all times, we thought it would be perfect to have the Doctor get involved,” Dan explains of integrating the beloved character into their story. “We loved this idea that we’d always imagined[where]in series one, Janeway’s hologram is a bit of a Mary Poppins. In this one, the Doctor wants to be Mary Poppins but he’s more like a Mr. Belvedere,” he laughs. “He wants to be loved by the kids but the kids are like, ‘You’re not Janeway.’”
The season also officially welcomes Voyager cast member Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran), who was teased in the Season 1 finale. When asked how much freedom they had to play in the character sandbox, Kevin said it was really about getting buy-in from the cast and their approval of their character arcs.
“I’ll just say we always listen to our actors because they’re iconic characters,” Kevin says. “What do you think? Do you like it? And thank goodness they loved what we were doing because we’re growing them. Just like our kids, we’re growing them. Where’s Janeway now? Where’s Chakotay now? What’s next for these characters? It was so much fun and they had a blast.”
Dan admits that Mulgrew discouraged a major idea from Season 2. “There was a point where we were toying with the idea that the ship could be the Enterprise. We asked Kate, ‘What do you think if you’re the new captain of the Enterprise?’ and she wasn’t thrilled,” he laughs. “She said, ‘I’d rather it be Voyager.’”
Understanding Season 2 Time Travel and Asencia’s Return
With 20 new episodes set to mature and bring the young Starfleeters-in-training closer together, and to create major stakes along the way, the Hagemans say they turned to two specific story elements to craft the season: time travel and the return of villainous character Asencia (Jameela Jamil).
Admitting to being nervous about creating a complex time-travel story, Kevin says they sought approval from their theoretical physics advisor, Dr. Erin Macdonald. “We came up with drawings based on chicken drawings and she really looked at them,” he says.
“We look at her like she’s our teacher,” Dan adds. “So I think our proudest moment is when she says, ‘Yes, it works.’”
As for Asencia’s “Big Bad” role, the Hagemens owe it to their former Season 1 writers, Julie and Shawna Benson. “It was at the end of Season 1, and our instinct was to get rid of Asencia,” Dan admits. “She dies and they’re like, ‘No! She’s such a great character. We just had to keep her in the universe. She flies off in a pod and ends up there.'”
The Future of Star Trek: Prodigy
Warning: Spoilers for the Season 2 finale.
In the two-part season finale, “Ouroboros,” written by the Hagemen and Aaron J. Waltke, the door is left open for a whole new chapter of adventures with Captain Gwyndala and his number one, Dal R’El.
“Our first bad instinct was to want Dal and Gwyn to both be captains, because they both deserve it,” Kevin says with a grimace. “But David Mack, our Star Trek consultant, said, ‘That’s the worst idea in the world.’” Much discussion ensued among the writers until they settled on the “beautiful symmetry” of the pilot episode, where Gwyn is strapped into the captain’s chair as a prisoner. “[Her]sitting there now, as the captain, it gives me the chills,” Kevin says.
It’s now up to Star Trek fans to determine the future of the series, depending on how many hours the show gets watched on Netflix. “It would have to be a huge hit, so I’m hopeful,” Kevin says of the chances of a Prodigy season 3.
“I think it’s hard for a show to go beyond two seasons because it often takes a big hit to break through and have a bigger library of shows,” Dan continues. “Take Lower Decks, they ran for five seasons and they have 50 episodes. Prodigy has 40, so we’re not that far behind. Even if the numbers are big enough to warrant a 90-minute movie, let’s do it. Let’s start an animated franchise.”
The Hagemans just hope that Star Trek fans and non-Star Trek fans alike will give the show a chance. “The Star Trek community has embraced us,” Kevin says. “But we need to get the message out to kids who don’t know anything about Star Trek and who don’t even know about our show.”
“We’re very proud of the work that we did,” Dan concludes. “We’re happy that Season 2 ended the way it did. It closes the door, but at the same time leaves a window open for a fantastic Season 3.”
Star Trek: Prodigy is now available to stream on Netflix.