I Hate That Star Trek Ending On Netflix Means Voyager’s Sequel Is Over

I hate that the end of Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix means that we're also losing the spiritual sequel to Star Trek: Voyager. As Paramount+'s joint venture with Nickelodeon, Star Trek: Prodigy was designed to introduce the Star Trek franchise to young audiences while also appealing to older fans with connections to Star Trek: Voyager. The animated series' Delta Quadrant setting ensured that Star Trek: Prodigy's main characters weren't already familiar with Starfleet, so Prodigy's younger viewers could learn about Star Trek's galaxy alongside Dal R'El (Brett Gray), Gwyndala (Ella Purnell), and the rest of the USS Protostar crew.

Star Trek: Prodigy was an unfortunate casualty of Paramount+ downsizing Star Trek. Paramount+ decided against streaming Star Trek: Prodigy's second season, and swiftly removed Prodigy season 1 from their catalog. A concerted fan campaign to save Star Trek: Prodigy led to Netflix buying streaming rights for both seasons and the option to produce a third—but that victory was short-lived. Despite Star Trek: Prodigy season 2's Rotten Tomatoes score being an unheard-of 100%, Netflix hasn't ordered Star Trek: Prodigy season 3, and seasons 1 & 2 will leave Netflix after 18 months.

No Star Trek: Prodigy On Netflix Means The End Of Voyager’s Sequel

I'm Disappointed Other Voyager Characters Won't Get the Prodigy Treatment

No Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix means we're also losing modern Star Trek's best Star Trek: Voyager continuation. Five years after the USS Voyager's homecoming, Star Trek: Prodigy caught up with Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran), and the Doctor (Robert Picardo). Even the USS Protostar itself had origins in Star Trek: Voyager's aftermath, because the Protostar was built to fix problems the Voyager crew created in the Delta Quadrant, until the Protostar—and Chakotay himself— were lost in Star Trek's timeline. Prodigy season 2 brought us the USS Voyager-A and Chakotay's long-awaited reunion with Janeway.

Star Trek: Prodigy's focus on its young characters brilliantly reframes Admiral Janeway, the Doctor, and Chakotay as mentors, putting their stories into a new perspective. Chakotay, especially, has more depth and heart than ever. So I'm genuinely disappointed that we won't see how Prodigy recontextualizes more Voyager characters through the eyes of Dal, Gwyn, Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), Zero (Angus Imrie), Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), and Maj'el (Michaela Dietz). Even Neelix (Ethan Phillips) could've been rehabilitated as a guide in the USS Prodigy's Delta Quadrant mission set up at the end of Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, but now we may never know.

The Doctor Will Represent Voyager In Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Robert Picardo's USS Voyager EMH Links The 24th and 32nd Centuries

Even though Netflix has opted not to renew Star Trek: Prodigy, I'm glad that Star Trek: Voyager will still be represented in upcoming Star Trek shows. In this case, the legacy of the USS Voyager falls on the holographic shoulders of Robert Picardo's 800-year-old Doctor in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, a Star Trek: Discovery spinoff set in the 32nd century. So far, we know that Starfleet Academy's Doctor is the USS Voyager's original EMH, and he'll be teaching Starfleet Academy's first crop of new cadets in 100 years.

Perhaps ironically, we actually have Star Trek: Prodigy to thank for the Doctor being part of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Starfleet Academy producer Alex Kurtzman was directly inspired by Picardo's Star Trek: Prodigy performance as the "Emergency Mentorship Hologram", so the Doctor's further character development from Prodigy won't be completely lost. But the return of just the Doctor feels like a consolation prize compared to what we could've had in Star Trek: Prodigy season 3.

We Need Kate Mulgrew’s Star Trek: Janeway To Happen

A Star Trek Project About Janeway Could Be The Next Best Voyager Sequel

If we don't get more Star Trek: Prodigy, we need Kate Mulgrew's Star Trek: Janeway to happen. During a panel at the 2025 Star Trek Cruise, Kate Mulgrew revealed that she was "pursuing talks" to return to Star Trek. Since it's unlikely Mulgrew would need to pursue further talks to continue voicing the different versions of Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Prodigy, this news suggests Mulgrew would play a live-action version of Admiral Janeway in a new Star Trek project. Star Trek: Janeway would almost certainly reunite the Star Trek: Voyager cast for new adventures.Right now, a new live-action Star Trek show—or streaming movie—starring Kate Mulgrew's Admiral Kathryn Janeway in the Star Trek: Picard era is still just a rumor. Mulgrew's "talks" with Star Trek producers could mean anything, and with Paramount+ reducing Star Trek content, I'm uncertain we'll get that many new Star Trek projects for a while. But in the absence of more Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Janeway is the best hope that we have for a genuine Star Trek: Voyager sequel in modern Star Trek.