It’s been nearly two months since Star Trek: Prodigy was cancelled at Paramount+ and removed from the streaming service, and while the already-aired episodes remain available through digital purchase (and coming to Blu-ray in September), the rest of the series continues on in production.
 
Where (and when!) that next twenty-episode season will be available is the question on every Prodigy fan’s mind — and at the annual Las Vegas Star Trek convention last week, Prodigy creative leads Kevin and Dan Hageman, Aaron Waltke, and Jennifer Muro brought some updates on the show’s future (which we shared in our August 5 report).
 
With the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA actors’ strikes continuing, there was very little chance for any of the convention guests to talk about Star Trek, due to the limitations placed on the attending actors while striking… but animated productions operate under a separate writers’ union, which meant that Star Trek: Prodigy was the one Trek production that could action be discussed without limitation.
 
With that in mind, we at down with showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman for an extended chat — where the pair shared their thoughts on the WGA strike, the ongoing search for Prodigy’s new home, the new starship USS Voyager-A, merchandising potential, and more.
 

TREKCORE: One of the reasons we’re even able to have this conversation today is because Prodigy — and similar work through The Animation Guild (TAG) — is separate from the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. Could you share your thoughts on the strike, given that you’re also WGA members?

KEVIN HAGEMAN: I was just on the picket line the other day with my kids, you know? I’m trying to balance striking for live-action work, and finishing our show, which is animation work – and we’re so, one-hundred-percent behind what the WGA is asking for.

DAN HAGEMAN: We’re not just striking for us, we’re striking for the next level of writers. But on top of that, I feel like we’re striking for people who aren’t even part of the writing community – because this whole A.I. business is going to be a topic for the next ten years. People have to be willing to fight for labor now, and if they don’t fight for labor now…

KEVIN: The change right now is that there used to be movie studios and television studios who really cared about the content. It was a closer, smaller business – but now it’s so much bigger, and it’s these giant corporations with entertainment as a just a little offshoot of what they do. So they don’t care as much, and I think you’re seeing that disparity happen in the divide.

TREKCORE: On that topic… what was your reaction when you learned that Prodigy was leaving Paramount+?

DAN: Well, Kevin and I are stubborn optimists. We were disappointed, but that was quickly replaced with…

KEVIN: Hope.

DAN: Hope, right. And not just hope, but a thought that “This could be good! This could help the show!” You know, finding a new home could open up new opportunities to get people who aren’t usually watching Star Trek to see Prodigy. We want our show to find a wider audience —

KEVIN: And to bring people to Trek.

TREKCORE: You’ve said there are ongoing talks to find Prodigy a new home, and that you’re “99% confident” that a new home will be found. Are you two involved in that search?

KEVIN: When interested parties with offers come forward, we’re going to be a part of that conversation. But right now, it’s all at a super-high level. The heads of CBS are talking to the heads of — hypothetically, of course — Netflix, or Amazon, or whoever. All we know at our level right now is that there’s active talks happening, right now.

Everyone, not just us, everyone, whether people within Secret Hideout or within CBS, everyone is very supportive, and very, very confident that we will find a home. I just don’t know when or where!

TREKCORE: And in the meantime, post-production on Season 2’s twenty episodes continue — you’ve still got a handful to finish. How long do you expect that to take?

DAN: I think we’re going to be wrapping up Episode 20 in December, which isn’t something that has changed — it’s the same calendar we’ve been working with since before the announcement. That didn’t change anything, which is a huge sign of support from Secret Hideout.

KEVIN: It was a sign of support from CBS and from Secret Hideout, saying “We love this show and we need the show to finish. We need to complete the show.” They stepped up so that we could do that.

TREKCORE: Speaking of Season 2, in that fantastic tease for next season, we get our first look at the new USS Voyager-A. Was there a lot of debate around what ship would be part of Season 2’s story?

KEVIN: Oh boy, there was great discussion about which ship to use. As you know, these ships are like characters, so we had to also make sure we chose a ship that wasn’t going to be used by the other Trek shows. We landed on the Voyager-A, and we’re so happy we did.

The new Season 2 clip is available to watch on StarTrek.com.

TREKCORE: The ship is called a Lamarr-class vessel — named for scientist, inventor, and actress Hedy Lamarr. What was the inspiration for that choice?

KEVIN: It was our science advisor, Dr. Erin MacDonald, who had first brought up Hedy’s name, and as we all dug into her history, we knew she was perfect for our new Voyager.

TREKCORE: We’ve only got a glimpse of the ship so far, but can you tell us who is responsible for its design?

KEVIN: While many hands were on that ship, most of the credit goes to our supervising director Ben Hibon. That guy is a true artist, and the love he put into that design is almost tangible.

TREKCORE: You’ve talked about hope for more toys and merchandise — like the rest of the character action figures, a Protostar toy starship…

DAN: The stuff already released has been selling out! People are waiting like four months to get their orders for the toys.

KEVIN: I think it’s just hard, when it comes to toys and merchandise — there are certain tried and true brands, right, like Star Wars, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…

DAN: The stores feel comfortable with those things, or with superhero toys, because they will go on the shelf and there’s a big fanbase for them.

KEVIN: These days Star Trek action figures are not like a no-brainer; it’s a new thing that’s unproven. So it’s gonna take some time — I think it’s going to be a growing curve, but I feel very hopeful that we will grow and we’ll get there.

TREKCORE: What can Prodigy fans do to support the efforts that might be happening behind the scenes?

DAN: I think they’re doing exactly what they —

KEVIN: They’re doing more!

DAN: More than we ever asked for, or expected.

KEVIN: All the noise they’re making out there is fantastic. I don’t think that telling Paramount+ to pick us back up again is going to happen; I think they’ve made their choice. Now it’s about telling Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, or whoever that “Hey, here’s a great freaking show!”

DAN: Just tell people about the show! Because I think Prodigy looks like one thing from an outsider’s perspective — it could look like a young show, or a show that someone might not be into. But when people say “There’s some great storytelling in there!” or “You don’t even need to have children to enjoy Prodigy…”

KEVIN: Spread the word, it’s an all-ages show.

TREKCORE: And I’ve seen people of many different age groups approach you just today, telling l you how much they love the show.

KEVIN: Yeah. It’s been amazing to see the adults who love it and recognize it — but I imagine that there’s still a really large percentage of Star Trek fans who haven’t given Prodigy a shot yet.

TREKCORE: They may think “Oh, that’s just for kids.”

KEVIN: Right, that it’s not for them. You expect it’s not for you, but it’s actually for everyone. So I think, hopefully, it will continue to grow.

DAN: We feel confident in the show, and there’s no reason for us not to. We’re biased, but we love it.

KEVIN: And everyone in our crew who’s seen Season 2 are just like, “There’s so much great stuff that people need to see!”

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.