Ok. What is the chance of a Picard spinoff?

[Lakenheath 72]

Unless Prodigy brings in characters from DS9, we have seen the end of DS9 in a way. VOY is still having a presence with Kathryn Janeway, The Doctor, and Chakotay. I hope Prodigy does justice to Chakotay's character. In the later seasons of VOY, his presence was diminished on the show, with its focus on Janeway, The Doctor, and Seven of Nine. I liked how Seven's story ended with her being the captain of a Starship, being fully accepted by Starfleet and being able to create a family on the Enterprise-G.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I just think, personally speaking, that a more unified, focussed effort put behind one show would be better.

It can’t be that controversial to argue for quality over quantity can it?

If that one show was hypothetically Discovery, then yeah, it is very controversial to only focus on one.

For those people that hate it but enjoy SNW, for example, the more options the better. Fewer shows to choose from doesn't dilute the quality when you have different people and showrunners for each. Nobody is being stretched thin. Does the perceived writing quality of Michelle Paradise's show have any effect of the writing of Mike McMahan, for example?

 

[fireproof78]

It can’t be that controversial to argue for quality over quantity can it?

I think it depends on the show and the quality. One could argue that The Next Generation was a quality show but it didn't set my world on fire and I was left waiting for something I thought connected better to The Original Series.

I would love more quality but I'm also the weird one who is strangely ok with no Trek being produced because I have past Trek to enjoy.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

If that one show was hypothetically Discovery, then yeah, it is very controversial to only focus on one.

Of course. But then conversely it could just as easily be Strange New Worlds.

Not a favourite of mine I will admit, but a concerted effort behind a core values crowd pleasing show like that might even allow Trek to penetrate the mainstream again.

Basically there are pluses and minuses to both the strategy they utilised and the strategy I’m describing.

The more I think about it, the more I don’t want a Picard spin-off.

But to be honest I’m not really sure what I do want from Star Trek these days.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

But to be honest I’m not really sure what I do want from Star Trek these days.

In that case they should create even more spin-offs, until they come up with the right combination of elements that makes you happy.

The last time we got a spin-off from a Picard show we got Deep Space Nine. Discovery's spin-off was Strange New Worlds. A Picard spin-off likely isn't going to continue the same tone, it could be exactly what you want, exactly what you don't want, or anywhere in between. It's another chance to roll the dice, and with Trek shows getting cancelled all over the place there's certainly room for it.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

True, there is room for another series; however, cost is an issue. The cost of a single episode is $8 to 10 million dollars. To put that into perspective, for a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, the average cost was $1.3 million (or, in 2024 dollars, $3.6 million).

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

Basically there are pluses and minuses to both the strategy they utilised and the strategy I’m describing.

There are zero minuses to the concept they're using now for the fans. Execution, maybe, but not the concept.

There are only minuses to focusing on a single series. The ONLY positive is "There's a Star Trek show currently airing for a few weeks once a year."

Discovery was always going to be first. With your idea, there would be no SNW.

 

[fireproof78]

there's certainly room for it.

A cheaper show, maybe.

True, there is room for another series; however, cost is an issue. The cost of a single episode is $8 to 10 million dollars. To put that into perspective, for a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, the average cost was $1.3 million (or, in 2024 dollars, $3.6 million).

That really doesn't put it in to perspective.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Paramount's financial trouble definitely limits how much they can spend. But they're a media company, so they need to continue producing series people are interested in, or else their money problems will be even worse. After this year all they have left is maybe 20-30 more episodes of Strange New Worlds, Starfleet Academy and a one-off streaming movie.

 

[fireproof78]

Paramount's financial trouble definitely limits how much they can spend. But they're a media company, so they need to continue producing series people are interested in, or else their money problems will be even worse. After this year all they have left is maybe 20-30 more episodes of Strange New Worlds, Starfleet Academy and a one-off streaming movie.

Their financial troubles are only getting worse, so yes the austerity measures are going to get put in to full swing.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Producing expensive shows isn't a luxury they got to indulge in, it's their strategy for making money. They wouldn't have done it at all if they didn't believe it was the ideal way to rake in the cash.

 

[fireproof78]

Producing expensive shows isn't a luxury they got to indulge in, it's their strategy for making money. They wouldn't have done it at all if they didn't believe it was the ideal way to rake in the cash.

Oh, I agree. I think they just borrowed against their future and it is coming due. It creates a tension of needing to spend money to make money, and yet needing to reduce costs.

 

[alex08060]

I can see the new Enterprise having their own series but the TNG actors are just too old to continue anymore.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

There are zero minuses to the concept they're using now for the fans. Execution, maybe, but not the concept.

It’s not as simple as a 0%/100% game. It’s not all or nothing. How can it be? Almost nothing in life is like that.

There are certainly minuses to either approach as well as various plus points to either.

Anyway, not a super-fan of the tone of this particular branch of conversation. Seems like you’re getting cross or aggressive so I think I’ll leave it there.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

The last time we got a spin-off from a Picard show we got Deep Space Nine. Discovery's spin-off was Strange New Worlds.

Maybe this is part of my issue?

In the old days, a spin-off meant new stuff.

These days it’s about finding new ways to spin the old stuff.

I dunno man, I’m just spitballing.

 

[Lord Garth]

Paramount's CEOs Say Bankers Have Been Hired to Sell Assets, Talk Job Cuts in Town Hall

Paramount Global's newly appointed Office of the CEO opened its employee town hall Tuesday by addressing the elephant in the room.

www.thewrap.com

I tried reading this but it's all in Legalese and Businessese. Maybe someone else can understand it more than I can... but the way this is looking, the number of Star Trek series will keep shrinking. So, like it or not, there will come a point where we're back down to one. That's the direction things look like they're going in.

Starfleet Academy is newer than Strange New Worlds, so I think it'll be the Last Series Standing.

But maybe it won't be one series. Maybe it'll be two. It's already two heading into 2025 anyway. Maybe they'll leave things where they are, quantitatively. So, if it's two series and not one, then I think Legacy will be greenlit after Strange New Worlds ends, and it'll overlap with Starfleet Academy.

After that, that's it. At least for this production era. It'll be a different regime afterwards, IMO.

 

[Danja]

Paramount's CEOs Say Bankers Have Been Hired to Sell Assets, Talk Job Cuts in Town Hall

Paramount Global's newly appointed Office of the CEO opened its employee town hall Tuesday by addressing the elephant in the room.

www.thewrap.com

I tried reading this but it's all in Legalese and Businessese. Maybe someone else can understand it more than I can... but the way this is looking, the number of Star Trek series will keep shrinking. So, like it or not, there will come a point where we're back down to one. That's the direction things look like they're going in.

Starfleet Academy is newer than Strange New Worlds, so I think it'll be the Last Series Standing.

But maybe it won't be one series. Maybe it'll be two. It's already two heading into 2025 anyway. Maybe they'll leave things where they are, quantitatively. So, if it's two series and not one, then I think Legacy will be greenlit after Strange New Worlds ends, and it'll overlap with Starfleet Academy.

After that, that's it. At least for this production era. It'll be a different regime afterwards, IMO.

Forty percent of P+'s subscribers signed up specifically to watch Star Trek.

It's one of Paramount's most reliable franchises (along with NCIS).

NCIS has been cranking out spin-offs like crazy (NCIS: Sydney, NCIS: Tony and Ziva, NCIS: Origins).

Unless Prodigy brings in characters from DS9, we have seen the end of DS9 in a way. VOY is still having a presence with Kathryn Janeway, The Doctor, and Chakotay. I hope Prodigy does justice to Chakotay's character. In the later seasons of VOY, his presence was diminished on the show, with its focus on Janeway, The Doctor, and Seven of Nine. I liked how Seven's story ended with her being the captain of a Starship, being fully accepted by Starfleet and being able to create a family on the Enterprise-G.

Quark and Kira have appeared on Lower Decks.

 

[fireproof78]

Paramount's CEOs Say Bankers Have Been Hired to Sell Assets, Talk Job Cuts in Town Hall

Paramount Global's newly appointed Office of the CEO opened its employee town hall Tuesday by addressing the elephant in the room.

www.thewrap.com

I tried reading this but it's all in Legalese and Businessese. Maybe someone else can understand it more than I can... but the way this is looking, the number of Star Trek series will keep shrinking. So, like it or not, there will come a point where we're back down to one. That's the direction things look like they're going in.

Starfleet Academy is newer than Strange New Worlds, so I think it'll be the Last Series Standing.

But maybe it won't be one series. Maybe it'll be two. It's already two heading into 2025 anyway. Maybe they'll leave things where they are, quantitatively. So, if it's two series and not one, then I think Legacy will be greenlit after Strange New Worlds ends, and it'll overlap with Starfleet Academy.

After that, that's it. At least for this production era. It'll be a different regime afterwards, IMO.

A quick read does not seem to indicate the cuts are focused on production sides, at least at first. The initial targets are in the marketing department and legal department, so those cuts will be interesting. They are also looking at restructuring international strategies by using licensees to host content, so they might be scaling back their streaming offering to rely on other infrastructure, so cut costs there.

The article speculates that it could be selling off assets like Pluto, then leasing them to stream content. An interesting idea, and no doubt others will be like, "That's what they should have done in the first place!"

That's my lay business understanding.

 

[James Cole]

The article speculates that it could be selling off assets like Pluto, then leasing them to stream content. An interesting idea, and no doubt others will be like, "That's what they should have done in the first place!"

Hilariously the FAST Tubi owned by Fox is more profitable than Disney+. Selling off Pluto when it's bound to become more lucrative later on is likely par for the course with Paramount.

 

[fireproof78]

Hilariously the FAST Tubi owned by Fox is more profitable than Disney+. Selling off Pluto when it's bound to become more lucrative later on is likely par for the course with Paramount.

Well, it's better than cutting back on production but yeah, they're looking short term and mid term and not long term. Though, the panic of losing 61% profitability is probably stinging hard.