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The final episode of “Star Trek: Lower Decks” aired on Paramount+ on December 19, 2024, marking a dignified conclusion to the series’ five seasons. Lower Decks was just the latest Star Trek series to be canceled during a major downsizing period for the franchise. In 2017, Paramount began going all-in on a Star Trek-branded card, and Trekkies were treated to six Trek shows running simultaneously. However, in recent years, five of those six shows have been canceled and one of them (“Star Trek: Prodigy”) was removed from Paramount+ entirely. It seems Paramount bosses didn’t want to spend the money needed to keep all those Star Trek shows alive.
At this point, only Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has a clear future. There will also be a TV movie, Star Trek: Section 31, in 2025, and a new series, Starfleet Academy, is in production. Other Star Trek films and TV series are also in early development, but time will tell if they will come to fruition.
The end of Lower Decks was a sad moment for Trekkies. Of all the new Star Trek shows that aired, it seemed to be the most universally popular, as it maintained the core principles of Star Trek while also featuring crass humor and fake characters. The series ended with the USS Cerritos still on its year-long mission and now with a new captain. The adventures would continue. We just can’t watch them anymore.
Of course, some have already floated the idea of a major return of Lower Decks in the near future. In fact, the lead actress is Tawny Newsome, who played the mischievous troublemaker Beckett Mariner, recently told Variety She hopes that “Lower Decks” can be like “Futurama,” another animated sci-fi show that has been famously canceled and revived several times.
Can lower decks pull a Futurama?
“Futurama,” created by Matt Groening and David The show only ran for four seasons on Fox before being canceled in 2002. However, DVDs of “Futurama” sold incredibly well and Comedy Central took notice. The network financed four direct-to-video “Futurama” films in 2009, which conveniently resulted in an entirely new season. However, after these four films, “Futurama” once again reached its limits. It was canceled a second time. However, Comedy Central must have seen the opportunity and revived the series a second time in 2010, ultimately producing 52 more episodes. Then it was canceled a third time. Then, in 2023, Hulu stepped in and resurrected it again. New episodes are still being broadcast to this day.
Fans of science fiction television, including Tawny Newsome, are familiar with this storyline. “Star Trek: Lower Decks” may have ended, but everyone now knows that such series can easily be revived if there is enough demand. She said:
“As far as the people creating it, we would all like to do that. I don’t know who writes the check for this, so I don’t know if they think it’s possible. But (show creator) Mike (McMahan) There are stories upon stories for these characters. He’s not finished yet. Me, Jack (Quaid), Eugene (Cordero) and the rest of our bridge crew and our recurring characters are all like, “Yeah, we’ll be the next ‘Futurama,’ whatever you want.”
As far as anyone knows, Lower Decks wasn’t canceled because the show did anything wrong. It’s more likely that it was simply dropped from the Paramount+ lineup due to budget constraints. In this case, the numbers would simply have to increase to justify a resurrection.
Sometimes they come back…again
Newsome also said she is open to any format and medium. “Futurama” became at least four films. Why not four Lower Decks movies? There was even a crossover episode, “Lower Decks,” in which Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Mariner played their characters in live-action. Newsome would like to see any new “Lower Decks” idea come to fruition, saying:
“So we are all ready. I would love a movie. I would love a live-action film because we need to see Noël and Jerry (O’Connell) and Eugene in human form. …human-like form.” .”
“Human” since Noël Wells’ character, D’Vana Tendi, is Orion.
However, the “lower decks” could face an uphill battle. Paramount has long owned the rights to Star Trek and they would be the only ones capable of bringing Lower Decks back into production. If they suffered from low budgets (and Paramount has found itself in a difficult position in recent years), then no amount of goodwill would bring any show back. “Futurama” had the advantage of overtaking the hands; It moved from Fox to Comedy Central and Disney-owned Hulu. Other providers were more willing to take the risk. “Lower Decks” would have to go to the same studio that already canceled it.
But there are precedents for this too. Newsome could point to the cancellation and resurrection of the animated sitcom “Family Guy,” which was canceled by Fox in 2002 due to low ratings. However, reruns of “Family Guy” were big business at Comedy Central, and Fox decided to restart the series after a three-year hiatus. The series has been in production since then and is now in its 23rd season.
The message is clear: Lower Decks fans need to do it Buy the Blu-rays and rewatch episodes on Paramount+. If the numbers are high, the Cerritos could well return.
