Ready for the next next generation? Star Trek: Prodigy is the latest spin on Starfleet’s never-ending exploration of the galaxy, with a few exciting twists to draw in young sci-fi fans.
Firstly, the series features a crew of rebellious teens, courting a Nickelodeon audience. There’s also that slick, vibrant CG animation: a tad more sophisticated than Star Trek: Lower Decks. But established Trekkies will be pleased, too, with the return of Captain Catherine Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) as a wise holographic advisor.
The only bad news? UK fans will be forced to wait until the debut of Paramount+ in 2022 to see Star Trek: Prodigy. Paramount’s streaming service is only reaching UK viewers sometime next year, at which time the first season of Star Trek: Prodigy should be among its top offerings. The show is set to live long and prosper from there: a second season has already been confirmed for 2022.
The bright character designs in the trailer below might make you realise just how anthropocentric our Star Trek stories tend to be. Star Wars too, for that matter. Why do the heroes always have to be those boring, two-legged, carbon-based human creatures? The crew of young Delta Quadrant aliens who steal the USS Protostar and take to the skies are all way more visually exciting.
Alongside heroes voiced by Mulgrew, Brett Gray, Ella Purnell, and Jason Mantzoukas, we’re getting a Medusan character (“a noncorporeal, genderless, energy-based lifeform who wears a containment suit to stop others from going mad at the sight of them”) and “an indestructible blob with good timing and an appetite for ship parts”.
Guest voices include Jimmi Simpson as the villainous Drednok, John Noble, Daveed Diggs, Jameela Jamil, and Jason Alexander. It sounds like quite the cosmic party, worth building up some hype for. Maybe you can check out Lower Decks on Prime Video to keep your Trekkie needs met until 2022?
