Paramount+ Sets STAR TREK Spring Slate: PICARD and STRANGE NEW WORLDS Dates, Plus DISCO, SNW, and LOWER DECKS Renewals
Barring any more unexpected scheduling changes, Paramount+ today has set up a springtime slate of Star Trek episodes that will keep the fanbase moving at Warp 9 all the way though the first half of 2022 — hope you’ve got your inertial dampers cranked to max!
As you already know, Star Trek: Prodigy is wrapping up the last three episodes of its winter run this month, with another 10 episodes of Prodigy to arrive later in 2022 — but this is just the start of a 25-week, 29-episode run of non-stop Trek that will stretch into July.
Following a few more weeks on hiatus, Star Trek: Discovery will be back with six more episodes starting February 10, bringing Season 4 to a close on Thursday, March 17.
Paramount+ has officially confirmed that Discovery will return for Season 5, a long-awaited (yet utterly-expected) announcement that will see Captain Burnham and crew back for more adventures — likely in 2023, however no formal Season 5 date has been announced today.
We have, however, confirmed that Season 5 will be 10 episodes, bringing the series in line with the other Star Trek shows currently in production. (The 13-15 episode range of Seasons 1-4 was likely a Netflix requirement, as Season 5 will be the first planned for Paramount+ specifically.)
Originally planned for a February debut, the Season 2 premiere of Star Trek: Picard will arrive on Thursday, March 3 for a ten-episode run that will overlap the final three weeks of Star Trek: Discovery Season 4.
As has already been made public, Picard Season 3 is already in production and likely will debut in 2023.
The much-anticipated arrival of Captain Pike, Number One, and Lieutenant Spock — and the crew of the USS Enterprise — is now just over three months away, as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will debut Thursday, May 5 for a 10-episode run on Paramount+. The premiere date coincides with the Star Trek: Picard season finale.
As expected, Strange New Worlds has been officially renewed for a second season and will likely debut in 2023. (Savvy fans may have already seen hints about the show gearing up for production on Season 2 around the web.)
After all of the new live-action Star Trek episodes have finally beamed down, we’re back to animation as Star Trek: Lower Decks will return for Season 3 later this summer (as previously announced; we expect early August based on past years) — but the crew of the USS Cerritos will continue their journey into 2023, as Lower Decks will officially return for a fourth season.
Are you exhausted as we are yet?! Because while this massive expansion of 2022’s schedule is great news, answering a lot of questions that many of you have been asking about the upcoming shows — the one question that is still on everyone’s mind has yet to be addressed…
When will our friends around the world get to see these shows? Star Trek: Picard is expected to remain a Prime Video exclusive outside of the US/Canada as with Season 1, so no change is forthcoming, but the lack of Paramount+ availability around the world in most global regions means that finding a way to watch Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — and for many, Discovery as well, after the Netflix debacle in November — is a mystery that needs solved quickly.
No news has been made today regarding Paramount+ expanding into other international territories, but ViacomCBS does have a large investor presentation planned for February 15 — so it’s possibly more on that situation may be addressed as part of that corporate event.
Today’s news is accompanied by a statement from Star Trek franchise boss Alex Kurtzman, praising this newly-expanded slate of Star Trek programming.
quote: “Four years ago, we made a promise to grow ‘Star Trek’ into something it had never been before, and thanks to the incredibly hard work done by our many talented showrunners, writers, and directors, along with the extraordinary support of CBS Studios and Paramount+, we’re keeping our word,” said Alex Kurtzman, architect and executive producer, “Star Trek” franchise.
“Now our current shows are set up for the future as we work to build ‘Trek’s’ next phase of programming for years to come.”
For those of you in the US and Canada, at least, here’s what your next six months looks like:
JANUARY 20: Prodigy 108 JANUARY 27: Prodigy 109
FEBRUARY 3: Prodigy 110 FEBURARY 10: Discovery 408 FEBRUARY 17: Discovery 409 FEBRUARY 24: Discovery 410
MARCH 3: Discovery 411 — Picard 201 MARCH 10: Discovery 412 — Picard 202 MARCH 17: Discovery 413 — Picard 203 MARCH 24: Picard 204 MARCH 31: Picard 205
APRIL 7: Picard 206 APRIL 14: Picard 207 APRIL 21: Picard 208 APRIL 28: Picard 209
MAY 5: Picard 210 — Strange New Worlds 101 MAY 12: Strange New Worlds 102 MAY 19: Strange New Worlds 103 MAY 26: Strange New Worlds 104
JUNE 2: Strange New Worlds 105 JUNE 9: Strange New Worlds 106 JUNE 16: Strange New Worlds 107 JUNE 23: Strange New Worlds 108 JUNE 30: Strange New Worlds 109
JULY 7: Strange New Worlds 110
LATER IN 2022: Lower Decks Season 3 — 10 episodes
LATER IN 2022: Prodigy Season 1.5 — 10 episodes
EXPECTED IN 2023: Picard Season 3 — 10 episodes
EXPECTED IN 2023: Strange New Worlds Season 2 — 10 episodes
EXPECTED IN 2023: Discovery Season 5 — 10 episodes
EXPECTED IN 2023: Lower Decks Season 4 — 10 episodes
EXPECTED IN 2023: Prodigy Season 2 — Episode Count TBD
This “10-episode sesson” shit is fucking BULLSHIT. Removing all the filler eps that grew characters & expanded worldbuilding is part of what makes these shows falter. I can tell you a shitload about Garak or Uhura or Crusher or Rom or Chakotay or Hoshi. I can’t really tell you shit about Rios or Owosekun or Tendi or Culber or others in the Discoverse. Like, I know some things, but these characters are poorly fleshed out.
Go back to 22-24 episode seasons. Shit, give me 20-episode seasons. Something more than fucking AusterityTrek. Posted by Krenim (Member # 22) on :
TL;DR: Section 31 show? What Section 31 show?
Posted by Spike (Member # 322) on :
I'm only looking forward to Lower Decks. It's the only show that really cares about Star Trek's legacy and continuity. Though Picard in the alt universe setting might be entertaining as well.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
In 2002, if someone had told me "In twenty years, there are going to be five Trek series running concurrently, and you're not going to be interested in watching a single one of them", I'd have thought that idea was crazy. Oh well.
Posted by Zipacna (Member # 1881) on :
This is all great news, but as two of these (Prodigy and Strange New Worlds) will be going directly onto Paramount Plus I suspect that the theme music for these will be "Yo Ho Ho, It's a Pirate's Life for Me" for quite a few viewers until the service finally launches over here in the UK & Europe. Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
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