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.
Star Trek: Prodigy is currently taking off on Paramount+ for Australian subscribers, with the two-part pilot episodes available from October 27. New episodes will arrive every Wednesday after that, and 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. If this sounds like a crew you’d want to party with, Paramount+ is the place to meet. Why not check out our list of the platform’s greatest films while you’re at it?
