News Season 2 will be the last (show cancelled)

[Farscape One]

That’s… not how that works. You don’t sink more money into a production and greenlight another season simply because you built a single set in a different way.

You mean the supposedly biggest set created for a STAR TREK series?

Of course they'd want to get the most out of it. They would get more mileage out of two 10 episode seasons than a single 10 episode, particularly since Giamatti is not appearing in season 2... his paycheck alone was a big chunk of budget. Even though it didn't work out this way, they would get more viewers, more content for Paramount+, more potential dvd sales, etc.

If they weren't looking to maximize what they already put into SFA, they would have waited until season 1 premiered to see how that went. A set that size would cost a lot of money in storing and lack of use of that space for other potential projects. They were making a bet that it would pay off. It just didn't, that's all.

 

[Firebird]

You mean the supposedly biggest set created for a STAR TREK series?

Of course they'd want to get the most out of it. They would get more mileage out of two 10 episode seasons than a single 10 episode, particularly since Giamatti is not appearing in season 2... his paycheck alone was a big chunk of budget. Even though it didn't work out this way, they would get more viewers, more content for Paramount+, more potential dvd sales, etc.

If they weren't looking to maximize what they already put into SFA, they would have waited until season 1 premiered to see how that went. A set that size would cost a lot of money in storing and lack of use of that space for other potential projects. They were making a bet that it would pay off. It just didn't, that's all.

You don’t build an entire series around the construction of a set. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Every show builds their main standing sets and amortizes the cost across whatever episodes they have. You don’t build a set and then decide what your series order is.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Wasn't it comissioned for 2 seasons from the get go? Like always planned for at least a second season before any work began on it.

It does seem odd that they would comission a second season purely based on a response to how much was spent on set construction. Picard season 2 was greenlit prior to season 1 releasing as well.

I would wager it is far more likely if the second season wasn't planned prior to any construction or casting that it's early renewal much like Picard was motivated by optimism that what it offered would mobilise a large fanbase and/or to hype that the show's future was somewhat secure (being cancelled after 1 season is depression for viewers and not uncommon these days).

 

[Farscape One]

You don’t build an entire series around the construction of a set. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Every show builds their main standing sets and amortizes the cost across whatever episodes they have. You don’t build a set and then decide what your series order is.

You're twisting what I said. I never said they built the series based on the set. I said they were going to try to get the most out of it.

When you have such a massive build, you're going to want to get your money's worth out of it. They were betting they would by greenlighting a second season long before the first even aired.

 

[Farscape One]

Wasn't it comissioned for 2 seasons from the get go? Like always planned for at least a second season before any work began on it.

It does seem odd that they would comission a second season purely based on a response to how much was spent on set construction. Picard season 2 was greenlit prior to season 1 releasing as well.

I would wager it is far more likely if the second season wasn't planned prior to any construction or casting that it's early renewal much like Picard was motivated by optimism that what it offered would mobilise a large fanbase and/or to hype that the show's future was somewhat secure (being cancelled after 1 season is depression for viewers and not uncommon these days).

It was given a second season after they were already in the middle of filming season 1. As far as the public, anyway, it was not a 2 season order from the start.

There's definitely a factor of optimism and possible hype, sure.

 

[camdudetenger2018]

I still contend it would gotten more seasons solely if the merger didn't happen. How many? I'm not sure. But more than two.

i think there should have been at least 6 seasons but with 10 episodes along with at least 10 star trek starfleet academy movies between the starfleet academy seasons along with before a new season starts and after a season ended

 

[BillJ]

i think there should have been at least 6 seasons but with 10 episodes along with at least 10 star trek starfleet academy movies between the starfleet academy seasons along with before a new season starts and after a season ended

You would quickly bankrupt your studio and be out of a job.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Having come to a sort of numb acceptance there wont be a third season the only thing Im currently upset about is the rumour that there will be less Reno in season 2 she was wonderful. Lura'thok was also wonderful so hopefully there aren't any scheduling conflicts this time so she can pick up that missing screen time.

I've decided her name is better that way and it helps me deal witht the inconsistencies of her being called Commander Thok and Commander Lura interchangeably.

I hope there's plenty more Vance too. Oded Fehr is always a treat. Hopefully without Braka there are still enough plot reasons to keep him involved, more post Burn rebuilding would be nice.

 

[Farscape One]

The rebuilding after the Burn was the one thing about the 32nd century that was actually interesting.

 

[cooleddie74]

You would quickly bankrupt your studio and be out of a job.

Amongst other problems that would arise.

 

[BillJ]

The rebuilding after the Burn was the one thing about the 32nd century that was actually interesting.

I was a big fan of the Spore Drive. It just ended up being a tool for nostalgia bombing the audience.

 

[fireproof78]

Spore drive is still fantastic.

 

[Fateor]

Honestly, writing has been on the wall for a long time, even before Academy began production. All the studios with streamers became victim of "the produce as much IP content as fast as you can" problem, which was never going to be sustainable over the long term.

You can see the same thing happening with Star Wars and Marvel content as well. To a lesser extent, The Lord of the Rings. Look at how much Star Wars and Marvel content we were getting every year at the beginning of the streaming era compared to what we're getting now. The twin strikes certainly didn't help matters any and probably just accelerated the end.

The first domino to fall for Star Trek was Paramount choosing not to carry Prodigy season 2. Then canceling Discovery when everyone involved was expecting a season 6. Lower Decks was still getting good ratings and still has a strong following, but that still got canceled. Strange New Worlds almost didn't even get a fifth season, and then only got a condensed one at that. So, looking at the big picture and that pattern, I imagine that Academy would have gotten the ax regardless. Like everyone else, they overextended and had to pull back.

No, Star Wars and Marvel content was a victim of Disney not keeping a tight reign on the directors they hired to produce their content.

Hence you got things like Acolyte and Secret Invasions near 30 million an episode cost.

And Prodigy's cancellation was likely connected to Academy given it occurred within a month of when Academy started production, and Paramount has a long history of stopping Star Trek things that would be the same as other airing Star Trek things. And Prodigy's general concept and story was functionally identical to Academy. (Just done a lot better.)

 

[BillJ]

Spore drive is still fantastic.

Just another CBS Trek failure, from my perspective.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Just another CBS Trek failure, from my perspective.

Nah. It was cool. Hardly the first and hardly the only piece of fantastic Starfleet technology to show up and never be heard from again. Besides, they gave a perfectly valid reason as to why the spore drive became unviable -- the extinction of the tardigrades.

 

[Fateor]

Nah. It was cool. Hardly the first and hardly the only piece of fantastic Starfleet technology to show up and never be heard from again. Besides, they gave a perfectly valid reason as to why the spore drive became unviable -- the extinction of the tardigrades.

Tardigrades weren't needed for the Spore Drive to work.

They were needed for long range spore drive travel in the pre-tos era because the ships computers weren't capable of calculating things beyond X distance.

Which, like many things, the later season Discovery writers forgot.

 

[Tosk]

It's only been a while since the SFA finale, and already I have to keep reminding myself that the show isn't actually finished.

It really feels like it's done.

 

[Dar70]

Having come to a sort of numb acceptance there wont be a third season the only thing Im currently upset about is the rumour that there will be less Reno in season 2 she was wonderful. Lura'thok was also wonderful so hopefully there aren't any scheduling conflicts this time so she can pick up that missing screen time.

I've decided her name is better that way and it helps me deal witht the inconsistencies of her being called Commander Thok and Commander Lura interchangeably.

I hope there's plenty more Vance too. Oded Fehr is always a treat. Hopefully without Braka there are still enough plot reasons to keep him involved, more post Burn rebuilding would be nice.

Reno was definitely a bright spot in Season 1. Especially at the end. If there is less of her in 2 that is a shame. She wasn't in season 1 as much as I would have liked to start with so I'm guessing she will get maybe 2 appearances.

As for Oded. He was also doing , Your Friends and Neighbors at the same time as SFA season 2 I think. And also happily gearing up for the 4th Mummy film. So who knows what his involvement will be....

 

[Dar70]

I do think that the character is generally a miss in SFA. Actor is good, but being gay in an environment that pretty much accepts everyone isn’t much of a story.

I think he would’ve been better served by stories that tell what it was like to be a gay person in an environment that doesn’t readily accept them.

Though I have no idea what season two holds.

It really was a miss. They didn't give him much to do. But I don't think they could do a story that doesn't readily accept. By the 23rd century most prejudice was gone. So surely by the 32nd it's been totally eradicated. Well at least in Star Fleet.

 

[Set Harth]

You can't really eradicate attitudes you don't like. You can suppress them through punishment or threat of punishment and force them underground.