Star Trek: Prodigy
Genre	Adventure Drama Science fiction
Created by	Kevin Hageman Dan Hageman
Based on	Star Trek byGene Roddenberry
Showrunners	Kevin Hageman Dan Hageman
Voices of	Brett Gray Ella Purnell Jason Mantzoukas Angus Imrie Rylee Alazraqui Dee Bradley Baker Jimmi Simpson John Noble Kate Mulgrew Robert Beltran Robert Picardo Jameela Jamil Wil Wheaton
Theme music composer	Michael Giacchino
Composer	Nami Melumad
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	40
Production
Executive producers	Ben Hibon Kevin Hageman Dan Hageman Rod Roddenberry Trevor Roth Katie Krentz Aaron Baiers Heather Kadin Alex Kurtzman
Producers	MacGregor Middleton Robyn Johnson
Running time	23–24 minutes
Production companies	Secret Hideout Roddenberry Entertainment Brothers Hageman Productions Nickelodeon Animation Studio CBS Eye Animation Productions
Original release
Network	Paramount+
Release	October 28, 2021 (2021-10-28) – December 29, 2022 (2022-12-29)
Network	Netflix
Release	July 1, 2024 (2024-07-01)
Related
Star Trek TV series

Star Trek: Prodigy is an American animatedscience fiction television series created byKevin and Dan Hageman. It is the tenthStar Trek series and was released from 2021 to 2024 as part of executive producerAlex Kurtzman's expandedStar Trek Universe.Prodigy is the firstStar Trek series to specifically target a younger audience,^[1][2] and the franchise's first solely3D animated series. It follows a group of young aliens in the 24th century who find the abandonedstarshipProtostar and learn aboutStarfleet.

Brett Gray,Ella Purnell,Jason Mantzoukas,Angus Imrie, Rylee Alazraqui, andDee Bradley Baker voice the young crew of theProtostar, withJimmi Simpson,John Noble,Kate Mulgrew,Robert Beltran,Robert Picardo,Jameela Jamil, andWil Wheaton also providing voices for the series. Kurtzman first mentioned a youth-focused animated series in January 2019 and it was confirmed a month later. The Hageman brothers were set as creators andshowrunners, andNickelodeon ordered two seasons ofProdigy that April, to be released on the cable channel after streaming onParamount+ first.Ben Hibon was announced as director and creative lead in August 2020. The series was produced byCBS Eye Animation Productions andNickelodeon Animation Studio in association withSecret Hideout,Roddenberry Entertainment, and Brothers Hageman Productions.

Star Trek: Prodigy premiered on Paramount+ on October 28, 2021, and began airing on Nickelodeon on December 17. The 20-episodefirst season ended in December 2022. Work had already commenced on thesecond season when the series was canceled and removed from Paramount+ in June 2023.Netflix picked up the series that October and released the first season for streaming in December 2023. The second season was released in France onfrance.tv in March 2024, and was released on Netflix that July. The series received positive reviews from critics and won twoChildren's and Family Emmy Awards. Despite the showrunner's plans for more seasons, Netflix decided not to continue the series.

In 2383, five years after theUSSVoyager returned to Earth at the end ofStar Trek: Voyager, a motley crew of young aliens find an abandonedStarfleet ship, the USSProtostar, in the Tars Lamora prison colony. Taking control of the ship, they must learn to work together as they make their way from theDelta Quadrant to theAlpha Quadrant.^[3][4] At the start of the second season, they join AdmiralKathryn Janeway aswarrant officers aboard the USSVoyager-A on a mission to find the original crew of theProtostar.^[5][6]

• Brett Gray as Dal R'El:
  A 17-year-old "maverick" of unknown species who takes the role of captain on the USSProtostar.^[7] Dal later learns that he is an augmented human with DNA from multiple alien species.
• Ella Purnell as Gwyndala:
  A 17-year-old Vau N'Akat nicknamed "Gwyn" who dreamed of exploring the stars while growing up on her father's prison asteroid.^[7] A talented linguist, she has learned many alien languages.
• Jason Mantzoukas as Jankom Pog:
  An argumentative 16-year-oldTellarite.^[7] Having been born before the Tellarites joined the Federation, he awoke on a long-range sleeper ship. He handles repair duties on theProtostar.
• Angus Imrie as Zero:
  AMedusan—a noncorporeal, genderless, energy-based lifeform—who wears a containment suit to stop others from going mad at the sight of them.^[7]
• Rylee Alazraqui as Rok-Tahk:
  A shy, 8-year-oldBrikar.^[7] Despite being large and strong, she defies being typecast as the ship's security officer and instead develops an interest in science.
• Dee Bradley Baker as Murf:
  An apparently indestructible Mellanoid slime worm with good timing and an appetite for ship parts.^[7][8] The character was initially added as a joke, with Dal arriving to find a "semi-sentient blob" had joined the crew, but the writers soon fell in love with the idea of having a "dog-type character" in the series that children would enjoy.^[9] In the second half of the first season, the writers gave Murf a character arc beyond "just eating things",^[10] with the character evolving to have a more humanoid form.
• Jimmi Simpson as the Drednok:
  The Diviner's and the Vindicator's deadly robotic enforcers.^[11] Co-showrunner Kevin Hageman said the robot was "very still, and silent, and soft-spoken", which contrasted with the more driven personality of the Diviner.^[9] Simpson described Drednok as a more verbose version of the character Maximilian from the filmThe Black Hole (1979).^[4]
• John Noble as the Diviner/Ilthuran:
  Gwyn's father and a ruthless tyrant who controls the asteroid Tars Lamora and searches for theProtostar.^[11] The character, and Noble's performance, were inspired byRicardo Montalbán'sStar Trek villainKhan Noonien Singh.^[4] The character initially just appears floating in a tank, which was inspired by the floating Guild Navigator creature fromDavid Lynch'sDune (1984).^[12] The second season includes a younger version of the character who uses the name Ilthuran.^[13]
• Kate Mulgrew asKathryn Janeway:
  In the first season, Mulgrew primarily voices theProtostar's Emergency Training Holographic Advisor which is based on the likeness of Janeway, the former captain of theUSSVoyager.^[3][14] She also voices the real Janeway, now a Starfleet Vice Admiral who commands the USSDauntless in the first season and the USSVoyager-A in the second.^[15]
• Robert Beltran as Chakotay : The original captain of theProtostar and Janeway's former first officer, stranded through time travel on the Vau N'Akat homeworld.
• Robert Picardo asthe Doctor (season 2): An Emergency Medical Hologram onboardVoyager
• Jameela Jamil as Asencia : A member of the Vau N'Akat, also known as the Vindicator, who seeks to instigate a war between the Vau N'Akat and the Federation.
• Wil Wheaton asWesley Crusher (season 2): A former Starfleet officer who is now aTraveler with power over time, space, and thought.

In June 2018, after becoming soleshowrunner of the seriesStar Trek: Discovery,Alex Kurtzman signed a five-year overall deal withCBS Television Studios to expand theStar Trek franchise beyondDiscovery to several new series, miniseries, and animated series.^[19] After the announcement ofadult animated comedyStar Trek: Lower Decks, Kurtzman said in January 2019 that there would be at least one more animated series released as part of his expansion. This would be a "kids-focused" series that could potentially be released on a different network from the more adult-focused streaming serviceCBS All Access (later rebrandedParamount+) where the otherStar Trek series under Kurtzman were being released. Kurtzman said other animated series would be different fromLower Decks in both tone and visual style. The latter could potentially be achieved through different technology.^[20]

Kevin and Dan Hageman joined the series as writers by mid-February 2019, whenNickelodeon was in talks to air the show since its viewers match the series' younger target audience. The project was expected to be a "major tentpole series" for the network under its new presidentBrian Robbins.^[21] A month later, Kurtzman confirmed the project and said negotiations with Nickelodeon were almost complete. He expected the series to be ready for release in 2021 or 2022.^[22] Nickelodeon officially ordered the series in late April 2019 and the Hageman brothers were confirmed to be writing and executive producing the series alongside Kurtzman,Secret Hideout's Heather Kadin,Rod Roddenberry (the son ofStar Trek creatorGene Roddenberry) and Trevor Roth ofRoddenberry Entertainment, and CBS Television's animation executive Katie Krentz.^[23] Kadin revealed in October 2019 that Nickelodeon had ordered two seasons of the series due to the animation work that was required. She also explained that the Hagemans were hired due to their work on previous children's series that did not play down to the audience and were still watchable for older viewers. She felt olderStar Trek fans would be able to watch the series with their children to introduce them to the franchise.^[24]

In an article on theStar Trek franchise in January 2020,The Wall Street Journal listed the series asStar Trek: Prodigy.^[25] This title was officially confirmed in July, along with a 2021 release date.Ramsey Naito was overseeing the series for Nickelodeon as EVP of Animation Production and Development.^[26]Ben Hibon was announced as director, co-executive producer, and creative lead for the series in August 2020. Naito described Hibon as "an incredible storyteller and a world builder with a distinct vision" for the series.^[27] In February 2021,ViacomCBS announced thatProdigy would debut on the streaming service Paramount+ along with the rest of theStar Trek Universe.^[28] Paramount+'s EVP of development and programming, Julie McNamara, said they would have the "best of both worlds" with this move by introducing the series to fans of the otherStar Trek series on the service before bringing it to new audiences on Nickelodeon. She added that viewership data from CBS All Access showed that fans ofStar Trek also watched the animated seriesThe Legend of Korra on the service, and this was another factor in deciding to addProdigy to Paramount+.^[29] At that time, thefirst season was revealed to have 20 episodes.^[30]

A 20-episodesecond season was officially confirmed by Paramount+ in November 2021.^[31][17] First-season writerAaron Waltke was promoted to co-head writer and co-executive producer of the second season.^[32] A year later, Waltke said he had discussed continuing the series beyond the first two seasons with the Hagemans and they hoped it could run for seven seasons before expanding to films;^[33] Kevin Hageman elaborated that he thought theStar Trek franchise could use an "epic animated film series that have a new adventure every couple of years that the whole family can go see".^[34] In June 2023, Paramount+ canceled several original series and removed them from the streaming service in exchange for a "content impairment charge". This includedStar Trek: Prodigy, and came as part of wider cost-cutting changes being made by many streaming services.^[35] The series was also not expected to return to Nickelodeon.^[36] The crew continued work on the second season while CBS searched for a different streaming service or network to release it.^[35][37] In October 2023, the series was picked up byNetflix.^[38]

In June 2024, the Hagemans expressed their hope that the audience on Netflix would be big enough for the service to order a third season, though they felt this was unlikely. They were also still open to continuing the series through a film franchise.^[39] By May 2025, Netflix decided to let the license for the series expire. The Hagemans said the series' removal from the streaming service was "disconcerting" but it was not due to "lack of viewership or anything nefarious". They remained hopeful that another service would pick up the series so it could continue, saying "the next generation ofTrek fans deserve it".^[40] No work on a third season had begun by that July, and it was considered unlikely byTVLine's Matt Webb Mitovich who pointed to Netflix's decision to let the license expire andParamount Global Content Distribution's marketing of the second season as the "final season".^[41]

The Hageman brothers announced the series' writers room in July 2019, which included Julie and Shawna Benson, Diandra Pendleton-Thompson,Chad Quandt, Aaron Waltke, Lisa Shultz Boyd, Nikhil Jayaram, Erin McNamara, and Keith Sweet.^[43]Star Trek authorDavid Mack served as a consultant and adviser on the series.^[44] AstrophysicistErin Macdonald also served as a consultant on the series after being hired as a general science advisor for theStar Trek franchise. She worked in the writers room,^[45] and unlike the otherStar Trek series—for which she focused on scientific accuracy—her role onProdigy was focused onSTEM education for the series' younger target audience.^[46]

The series features a group of young aliens from the distantDelta Quadrant who learn aboutStarfleet and its ideals, which introducesStar Trek concepts to new, young audiences. Kevin Hageman felt young viewers may not be able to identify with the "fully formed officers" who star in mostStar Trek series, soProdigy starring younger characters also helped with the target audience being engaged.^[47] Waltke explained that the first two seasons were written to tell one continuous story across four 10-episode "mini-arcs".^[17] He said the series would change in tone each season as the characters grow up because the writers saw the series as a story about young people joining Starfleet and moving up the ranks. Waltke also said the series would not ignore the events of otherStar Trek projects set during the 2380s,^[18] including the concurrent seriesLower Decks andStar Trek: Picard. The writers worked with the showrunners of the other series to ensure continuity.^[48]

DuringNew York Comic Con in October 2020,Kate Mulgrew was announced to be reprising her role ofKathryn Janeway fromStar Trek: Voyager. Further casting for the series was expected to be revealed in the following months.^[14] Kurtzman said bringing Mulgrew back was part of the Hagemans' initial pitch, and he felt their reasoning was compelling enough to meet his requirements that "legacy characters" like Janeway only be revisited for a specific reason. The production had approached Mulgrew about starring in the series a year before the official announcement, and Kurtzman was surprised that her involvement had not leaked during that time.^[49] Mulgrew was initially reluctant to join the series, but after several months of negotiations she was convinced to reprise her role by the idea of introducingStar Trek to a new generation of fans.^[50] The series' version of Janeway is a hologram aboard the USSProtostar that is based on the original character's likeness,^[3] though the actual Janeway also appears.^[15] The hologram Janeway helps train the series' bridge crew of six young misfits,^[3][29] who are all aliens rather than humans in a first for theStar Trek franchise.^[51] The main voice cast was announced in June 2021, including Rylee Alazraqui as Rok-Tahk,Brett Gray as Dal,Angus Imrie as Zero,Jason Mantzoukas as Jankom Pog,Ella Purnell as Gwyn, andDee Bradley Baker as Murf.^[7] At the end of August,John Noble was announced as voicing Gwyn's father, the Diviner, withJimmi Simpson cast as the Diviner's robotic enforcer Drednok.^[11]

When the series was announced, Kurtzman expected it would take around a year for each season's animation work to be completed.^[22] During their initial discussions when Hibon first joined the project, the Hagemans said that they wanted to create an "epic" scope without losing the characters and emotion. Using computer-generated animation was the logical choice for Hibon, as he felt it would give the production all the tools they needed to create a cinematic series that was on-par with the live-action entries in the franchise.^[47] Using CG animation also differentiatedProdigy from the previousStar Trek animated series,Star Trek: The Animated Series andLower Decks.^[52][53] The series' design style was first developed through 2D drawings before being animated with3D CG animation,^[47] and Kurtzman compared it to the animated anthology seriesLove, Death & Robots in terms of "beauty and lighting and cinema".^[53] Kadin further compared the style to the Hagemans' previous work on the animated seriesNinjago andTrollhunters,^[24] while Kurtzman said the series' animation was feature film-quality and would hold up if projected in cinemas.^[29] In August 2020, Kurtzman said work on the series' animation was "barreling ahead, full steam ahead" in contrast to the live-actionStar Trek series that had been delayed by theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[54]

The series' designers tried to make the initial designs feel more grounded than previousStar Trek series. Their intention was to integrate more of the "classic language" ofStar Trek designs intoProdigy as the main characters move closer to the Federation and Starfleet.^[47] TheProtostar, the central ship of the series, has a similar design to the USSVoyager. The series' opening title sequence follows theProtostar through various spatial anomalies, planets, and debris fields that form into images of the main cast.^[55]

External videos
Star Trek: Prodigy opening credits presents the series' title sequence with main theme composed byMichael Giacchino,Twitter video from the "Star Trek on Paramount+" channel

In August 2020, Kurtzman saidNami Melumad had been hired to compose the music for a newStar Trek series after impressing with her work on theStar Trek: Short Treks short "Q&A". He did not reveal which series she had been hired for, but it was believed that this could beProdigy based on Melumad'sTwitter activity.^[56] She was confirmed to be composing for the series in October.^[57] The main theme was composed byMichael Giacchino, who supervised Melumad'sShort Treks work and also composed the music for theKelvin TimelineStar Trek films.^[55][58] Melumad was comfortable working with Giacchino's theme after their previous work together, and because her style was influenced by his.^[59]

Melumad was the first woman to compose the music for aStar Trek series, which she said was "a huge honor, and [a] great responsibility".^[60] When she first joined the project, the showrunners sent her aSpotify playlist with music that they listened to while developing the series, which included Giacchino's score for the filmJohn Carter (2012).^[59] Giacchino's advice to Melumad was to not overuse the series' main theme orthe originalStar Trek theme byAlexander Courage, so they would feel earned when they do get used.^[60] She settled on using the main theme only in the most triumphant moments for the main characters.^[59] Melumad composed several other themes, including for each of the main characters. To represent Jankom, Melumad used thetrombone and "a little bit of a clumsy" melody. Zero's theme uses apiccolo, while Gwyn's features a "keyboard-y kind of bell tone sound". Melumad did not repriseJerry Goldsmith's main theme fromStar Trek: Voyager to represent Hologram Janeway, since the character represents Starfleet in general within the series and because she felt the young target audience would not recognize the theme anyway. She did say that the music becomes "moreStar Trek-y" as the series goes on.^[60]

The title and logo were revealed at the virtualStar Trek Universe panel during the July 2020Comic-Con@Home convention,^[26] while Mulgrew's casting was announced at another virtualStar Trek Universe panel for New York Comic Con in October 2020.^[14] A first look at the main characters was released during the February 2021 ViacomCBS Investor Day,^[51] and a first look at Hologram Janeway was revealed during the "First Contact Day" virtual event on April 5, 2021, celebrating the fictional holiday marking first contact between humans and aliens in theStar Trek universe.^[3] At theTelevision Critics Association press tour in August 2021, the opening title sequence was revealed along with Giacchino's main theme.^[55] After being the dominant producer ofStar Trek collectible figures in the 1990s,Playmates Toys returned to the franchise in 2022 with new figures based onProdigy.^[61][62] To promote the series' Nickelodeon debut, the family-friendly, space-themed interactive experience at CAMP Experience inBrooklyn, New York, was redressed to beProdigy-themed from July 22 to August 29, 2022.^[63][64]

Star Trek: Prodigy premiered on the streaming service Paramount+ on October 28, 2021,^[71] and on the cable channel Nickelodeon on December 17.^[72] The first season was broadcast in Canada onCTV Sci-Fi Channel,^[73] and was released in other countries as Paramount+ was made available to them.^[74] The season was removed from Paramount+ when the series was canceled in June 2023.^[35][37]

In October 2023, Netflix picked up the series for streaming in the U.S. and most international territories. Excluded were Canada, where the series would remain on CTV.ca and the CTV App, and European countries whereSkyShowtime (a combination of Paramount+ andPeacock) was available. The first season was released on Netflix in December 2023.^[38][75] The second season was made available in France onfrance.tv on March 22, 2024,^[76] before it was released on Netflix on July 1.^[77] After Netflix decided to let the license for the series expire, the first season was removed from the service on June 24, 2025. The second season will be removed on December 31.^[40]

Thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported a 94% approval rating for the first season, with an average rating of 8.1/10 based on 18 reviews.^[78]Metacritic gave it a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[79] For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.5/10 based on 6 reviews.^[80]Star Trek: Prodigy currently holds the highest Rotten Tomatoes critic score of any series or film in theStar Trek franchise.^[81][82]

Two tie-in novels were published on January 17, 2023:Star Trek: Prodigy – Supernova, written by longtimeStar Trek author Robb Pearlman, is a "middle-grade" story based on the video game of the same name; andCassandra Rose Clarke'sStar Trek: Prodigy – A Dangerous Trade follows the series' young crew as they attempt to trade a Starfleet battery for new parts with a group of rogue traders who plan to steal theProtostar.^[91] A third novel,Star Trek: Prodigy – Escape Route, was published on August 1, 2023. Also written by Clarke,Escape Route sees the crew of theProtostar take a detour to an uncharted moon that Murf wants to explore.^[92]

Outright Games, avideo game publisher that focuses on family-friendly properties, announced a new video game inspired by the series in April 2022.^[93] TitledStar Trek Prodigy: Supernova, the game was developed by Tessera Studios forPC,Xbox,PlayStation,Nintendo Switch,Steam, andStadia. It was the firstStar Trek video game aimed at younger players. The story, written byProdigy staff writer Lisa Boyd, follows Dal and Gwyn as they attempt to save their friends, theProtostar, and an alien planetary system from a supernova.^[93][94] The game features the series' main cast reprising their roles, including Mulgrew, and was released on October 14, 2022.^[94]Nintendo World Report said that "[w]hile combat can get a little repetitive, the puzzles are genuinely inventive."^[95]Nintendo Life liked the game's puzzle design but called the combat "perfunctory".^[96]

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