Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy is an upcoming American animated television series created for Nickelodeon by Kevin and Dan Hageman. It is part of an expansion of the Star Trek franchise headed by executive producer Alex Kurtzman. Prodigy follows a group of teenagers who use an abandoned starship to search for adventure. The Hageman brothers serve as showrunners of the series, with Ben Hibon directing.

Star Trek: Prodigy
Created by
  • Kevin Hageman
  • Dan Hageman
Based onStar Trek
by Gene Roddenberry
Directed byBen Hibon
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
Production
Executive producer(s)
Production company(s)
  • CBS Eye Animation Productions
  • Secret Hideout
  • Roddenberry Entertainment
Release
Original networkNickelodeon
Chronology
Related showsStar Trek TV series

Kurtzman first mentioned the series in January 2019, and it was confirmed a month later with the Hageman brothers and Nickelodeon involved; it is the first series of Kurtzman's expansion to not be released on CBS All Access. The series received an official two-season order from Nickelodeon in April. It uses computer-generated animation, differing from previous animated Star Trek series, and is intended for younger audiences than previous series in the franchise. Hibon's role was announced in August 2020.

Star Trek: Prodigy is set to premiere in 2021.

Premise

A group of "lawless" teenagers use an abandoned starship to search for adventure.[1]

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1TBABen Hibon[2]Kevin and Dan Hageman[3]2021 (2021)[4]

Production

Development

In June 2018, after becoming sole showrunner of the series Star Trek: Discovery, Alex Kurtzman signed a five-year overall deal with CBS Television Studios to expand the Star Trek franchise beyond Discovery to several new series, miniseries, and animated series.[5] After the announcement of adult animated comedy Star 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 service CBS All Access where the other Star Trek series under Kurtzman are released. Kurtzman said other animated series would be different from Lower Decks in both tone and visual style, with the latter potentially being achieved through the use of different technology.[6] Kevin and Dan Hageman had joined the series as writers by mid-February 2019, and Nickelodeon was in talks to air the series as its viewers match the younger target audience the series was intended for. The project was expected to be a "major tentpole series" for the network under its new president Brian Robbins.[3] 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.[7]

Nickelodeon officially ordered the series in late April 2019, with the Hageman brothers confirmed to be writing and executive producing the series alongside Kurtzman, Secret Hideout's Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry (the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry) and Trevor Roth of Roddenberry Entertainment, and CBS Television's animation executive Katie Krentz.[1] Kadin revealed in October 2019 that the series had received a two-season order from Nickelodeon due to the work required to create the animation for the series, while Kurtzman said the series had a title that had not been announced yet. Kadin explained that the Hagemans had been hired because of their work on previous children's series that were not "playing down" to the audience and were still watchable for older viewers. She felt the series would be something that older Star Trek fans could watch with their children to introduce them to the franchise since "it’s such a big franchise, [it can be hard] to get into as a kid". She added that the series would feature serialized story elements.[8] In an article on the Star Trek franchise in January 2020, The Wall Street Journal listed the series with the title Star Trek: Prodigy.[9] This title was officially confirmed that July, along with a 2021 release date. By that time, Ramsey Naito was overseeing the series for Nickelodeon as EVP of Animation Production and Development.[4]

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.[2] Kurtzman noted that work on the series' animation and writing was "barreling ahead, full steam ahead" at that point, in contrast to the live-action Star Trek series for which production was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]

Writing

The Hageman brothers announced the series' writers room in July 2019, which includes Julie and Shawna Benson, Diandra Pendleton-Thompson, Chad Quandt, Aaron Waltke, Lisa Shoop Boyd, Nikhil Jayaram, Erin McNamara, and Keith Sweet.[11] Star Trek author David Mack served as a consultant and adviser on the series.[12] Astrophysicist Erin Macdonald also served as a consultant on the series after being hired as a general science advisor for the Star Trek franchise.[13] Kurtzman stated in August 2020 that the writers were close to completing their work for the first two seasons of the series.[10]

Animation

Kurtzman expected it would take around a year for the series' animation work to be completed.[7] In May 2019, Kurtzman said that the series would be "nothing like" the first animated Star Trek series and was "something that has never been done before in" Star Trek,[14] adding a month later that it also would be "a really different show" from Lower Decks. He explained that unlike previous animated Star Trek series, this one would feature computer-generated animation and was aiming for a more cinematic style that he compared to the series Love, Death & Robots "in terms of beauty and lighting and cinema".[15] Kadin further compared the style to the Hagemans' previous work on Ninjago and Trollhunters.[8]

Marketing

The series' title and logo were officially announced at the "Star Trek Universe" panel during the July 2020 Comic-Con@Home convention.[4]

Release

Star Trek: Prodigy is set to premiere in 2021 on Nickelodeon.[4]

gollark: Don't do it!
gollark: Wait, you have *two* prizes?!
gollark: I will be able to do that eventually, and I think others already can.
gollark: Technically, it's a droog.
gollark: <:smh:399440841401303040>

References
  1. Thorne, Will (April 24, 2019). "Animated 'Star Trek' Series Greenlit at Nickelodeon". Variety. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  2. Petski, Denise (August 10, 2020). "'Star Trek: Prodigy': Ben Hibon To Direct & Co-Executive Produce Nickelodeon Animated Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (February 13, 2019). "'Star Trek': Nickelodeon Near Deal For Kids Animated Series From Alex Kurtzman, Hageman Brothers & CBS TV Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  4. "Nickelodeon and CBS Television Studios Announce Title of Original Animated Series, Star Trek: Prodigy" (Press release). Nickelodeon. July 23, 2020. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020 – via The Futon Critic.
  5. Otterson, Joe (June 19, 2018). "Alex Kurtzman Sets Five-Year CBS TV Studios Pact, Will Oversee Expanded 'Star Trek' Universe". Variety. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  6. Goldberg, Lesley (January 8, 2019). "'Star Trek': Second Animated Series, More 'Short Treks' Coming to CBS All Access (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  7. Pascale, Anthony (March 26, 2019). "Interview: Alex Kurtzman On Future Of 'Star Trek: Discovery,' Section 31, 'Lower Decks' And More". TrekMovie.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  8. Reilly, Ken (October 7, 2019). "Exclusive: Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin on that Nickelodeon Star Trek Show, If We'll See a Discovery Movie, Picard Season 2 (!), and Much More". TrekCore.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  9. Flint, Joe (January 22, 2020). "CBS Bets Big on 'Star Trek: Picard' to Boost Streaming Business". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  10. "'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 4 Writing Already Underway, 'Strange New Worlds' To Shoot In 2021". TrekMovie.com. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  11. Dan & Kevin Hageman [@brothershageman] (July 31, 2019). "Every ship needs a crew. Welcome aboard! We are proud to announce our very talented Writers' Room for @Nickelodeon's untitled @StarTrek animated show: @TheJulieBenson @shawnabenson @DiandraWrites @QuandtumTheory @GoodAaron @Shoopeedoobydoo @nsjayaram @E_Mac777 @TheKeithSweet" (Tweet). Retrieved December 22, 2019 – via Twitter.
  12. "Star Trek Author David Mack Is Consulting On 'Lower Decks' And Something "Classified"". TrekMovie.com. July 9, 2019. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  13. Shurley, Neil (March 31, 2020). "Interview: Star Trek's New Science Advisor Dr. Erin Macdonald On Putting The Sci In Sci-Fi". TrekMovie.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  14. Ordoña, Michael (May 9, 2019). "'Star Trek' was canceled 50 years ago. Now, the franchise is flying warp speed ahead". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  15. Wright, Matt (June 18, 2019). "Alex Kurtzman Gives Updates On CBS Star Trek TV Franchise". TrekMovie.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
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