The latest Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season came to an end, and our resident Trekkies sat down to discuss the new season and the end of the Alex Kurtzman era. Since the merger between Paramount and SkyDance finalized, changes have been afoot at the studio. One of the biggest changes has been the end of the historic streaming run for Star Trek, which unleashed a third wave of shows and one streaming original film.
Editor-in-Chief Joshua M. Patton reviewed the first season of Star Trek: Discovery for a now-defunct site. He reviewed and wrote coverage for each new show and season. Jaimie Rixom is also a longtime fan of Gene Roddenberry’s universe. Over at the Tachyon Pulse YouTube channel, he covers news, rumor, and debate, while also reviewing most of the episodes. Patton and Rixom have very different views about how well these shows support the legacy of this universe.
A Wide-Ranging Discussion Of The End Of The Kurtzman Era And Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4
With the end of the current Strange New Worlds season, Rixom and Patton each took a look back at the penultimate edition of the most well-received Star Trek series so far. Season 4 was a mix of classic sci-fi stories and Strange New Worlds‘ infamous genre-swings, from a fantasy romance to a puppet episode. Surprisingly, both Fandom Rising contributors had mixed feelings.
Along with the discussion of the penultimate Strange New Worlds season, they chatted about the reasons Paramount is dismantling Star Trek on TV, which ultimately comes down to money. They discuss whether the pending merger with Warner Bros. means Star Trek is more or less likely to be sold off as the new mega-studio tries to manage its massive debt load. Patton and Rixom also look back at the way Strange New Worlds and The Original Series complement or conflict with each other.
Star Trek’s Future Is Uncertain Beyond A New Film Reboot
Earlier this year, a Star Trek insider spoke to Tachyon Pulse about the future of Paramount’s oldest and most profitable franchise. This person, with knowledge of studio executives’ thinking, said that if the new reboot film from John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein fails to meet certain benchmarks, Star Trek could “go away.” What that means exactly is anyone’s guess.
Star Trek has been under threat before, of course. First NBC canceled the series in 1969, only for it to become the most popular hour-long syndicated drama on TV for 20 years. Only Star Trek: The Next Generation — which debuted in syndication, the first hour-long drama to do so — unseated TOS. TNG was also the first sequel series to surpass its predecessor in popularity and longevity. In 2005, a new executive regime at Paramount ended the 18-year run that began with TNG. Star Trek returned in 2009 with a film reboot, and then the launch of CBS All Access, which became Paramount+, kicked off the third wave of TV shows.
However, with Warner Bros. now under the SkyDance/Paramount umbrella, Star Trek is no longer the most important franchise. From DC Comics to the Harry Potter universe, WB has many more lucrative options to explore in TV and film. Will Star Trek once again defy conventional wisdom or could this finally be it for the final frontier? Check out the discussion above!
