Strange New Worlds renewed for a fourth season

[Danja]

I know this but I don't see it as a cancellation. Because a real cancellation doesn't happen like that. In a real cancellation, they don't air the 5th season that was filmed.

They did it with Disco.

Even if they aired it, they wouldn't bother to make it suitable for the finale. Or they cancel it after it aired.

You assume that Paramount adheres to principles of "justice" and "fairness".

They don't.

I don't think Paramount sees it as a cancellation either. They just watch the episodes and look at the scripts for the next season. They say that's enough and reshoot the last episode or make it suitable for the finale with additional scenes. I think Paramount has a 5-season argument for Star Trek. My guess is that they will either approve the 5th and final season and close it. Or they will cancel the 4th season and wrap up the story with 2 TV movies or 1 3-hour TV movie.

Or they'll do what they did with Disco and cancel it at the last minute (P+ cancelled the show while the cast was at sea on the Star Trek Cruise).

 

[oktay]

They did it with Disco.

I know.

You assume that Paramount adheres to principles of "justice" and "fairness".

They don't.

they have remained connected thus far.

Or they'll do what they did with Disco and cancel it at the last minute (P+ cancelled the show while the cast was at sea on the Star Trek Cruise).

Discovery was cancelled yes. But it wasn't cancelled at the last minute. After the 5th season was filmed to be broadcast in 2022 or 2023, they announced that the 5th season would be the final season in 2023 and postponed the 5th season to 2024 and re-shot the last episode for 2 months to make the finale suitable. Can you tell me which other platform has done this for their own TV series? I don't see it as a cancellation because of this situation personally. I think Paramount didn't see it as a cancellation when they cancelled it either.

 

[oktay]

the cast was at sea on the Star Trek Cruise).

I understood after researching the subject. What you mean is that the actors probably didn't even know the show was canceled. But they gave the show a chance to pick up the pieces. As for SNW, if the Skydance deal isn't going to be the end of everything, I think they'll give them a chance to pick up the story somehow, like they did with disco and other canceled shows.

 

[oktay]

Or they will cancel the 4th season and wrap up the story with 2 TV movies or 1 3-hour TV movie.

What I mean here is that after filming the 4th season, they could finish the series with 1 or 2 TV movies instead of the 5th season.

they have remained connected thus far.

I tried to say that they acted fairly here. Except for the players not telling me in advance.

 

[Nerys Myk]

What I mean here is that after filming the 4th season, they could finish the series with 1 or 2 TV movies instead of the 5th season.

I tried to say that they acted fairly here. Except for the players not telling me in advance.

They might not have your number.

 

[oktay]

They might not have your number.

google translate.

 

[Firebird]

SFA is cheaper to produce than SNW.

[CITATION NEEDED]

 

[oktay]

Except for the players not telling me in advance.

I mean, apart from the fact that the actors and production crew were not 'given' any information beforehand.

 

[Danja]

[CITATION NEEDED]

Starz CEO On Developing Replacements For Shows As They Become More Expensive After 3-4 Seasons

Starz CEO talks managing content costs with new series to offset expensive longer running ones.

deadline.com

With Starz set to become a pure play standalone public company by year end, CEO Jeff Hirsch is out talking up its strong points and how it competes in a crowded streaming landscape — price increases, bundling, and most importantly, he said, containing content costs with a slate of new shows in development as later season series get costly.

“When seasons go from one to two to three to four [seasons], three to four is where the cost really pops because most of the actors get bigger raises, and you have to really manage that. So, you have to have in your portfolio of development shows that can actually replace shows as they get into later seasons,” he said at a Deutsche Bank media conference today, providing one of the most blunt assessments of a practice introduced by Netflix and embraced by other streamers where shows produced under the Cost Plus model are often canceled after 3-4 seasons when they get too expensive.

Shows become more expensive to produce after 3-4 seasons.

If an earthbound drama like Power becomes more expensive to produce after 3-4 seasons, imagine how much it costs to produce an SFX spectacular like Strange New Worlds.

Disco was a proving ground, a test bed in many respects.

 

[Firebird]

That's anecdotal evidence from other networks that aren't Paramount/CBS, and also doesn't account for the marquee names that are part of Starfleet Academy's above-the-line costs. Giamatti and Hunter aren't going to be working for SAG scale minimums, you can be sure of that. You're not comparing apples to apples here.

Unless we see some sort of line budget breakdowns for the two series, anything is merely speculation.

 

[Tuskin38]

In a real cancellation, they don't air the 5th season that was filmed.

uh, no?

Cancellations can come in many forms.

 

[oktay]

uh, no?

Cancellations can come in many forms.

I don't think the way Discovery was cancelled is similar to the way series are cancelled on today's streaming platforms.

 

[oktay]

Starz CEO On Developing Replacements For Shows As They Become More Expensive After 3-4 Seasons

Starz CEO talks managing content costs with new series to offset expensive longer running ones.

deadline.com

Shows become more expensive to produce after 3-4 seasons.

If an earthbound drama like Power becomes more expensive to produce after 3-4 seasons, imagine how much it costs to produce an SFX spectacular like Strange New Worlds.

Disco was a proving ground, a test bed in many respects.

I guess this explains why the Star Wars and MCU shows that are still on air today don't last more than 2 or 3 seasons.

 

[Danja]

I guess this explains why the Star Wars and MCU shows that are still on air today don't last more than 2 or 3 seasons.

Most Marvel shows don't make it past ONE season!

 

[Vagabond Elf]

Is it? I can't imagine that cast comes cheap. Nevermind that it sounds like they've pulled out all the stops in terms of set and production design. They also have to rent studio space from Pinewood in Toronto. Whereas SNW is filmed in Mississauga at a CBS owned studio.

I can't speak from experience in the film and tv world, but in almost every business I've worked in, the cost of renting space was a tiny fraction of the cost of labour. And in Toronto, all the hundreds of carpenters, electricians, painters, caterers, drivers, janitors, and so on that are needed to make the show happen will be a lot cheaper than in Mississauga. First, wages in Canada are usually lower (in terms of buying power) than a comparable job in America; second, even if they're similar, all those crew will be Canadians or at least Canadian subjects being paid in Canadian dollars - which is a savings of 25 to 35% right there.

It's generally announced that filming something in Canada is cheaper than in America unless you have to import huge numbers of people, so I don't see why Star Trek would be an exception there.

 

[Vagabond Elf]

I guess this explains why the Star Wars and MCU shows that are still on air today don't last more than 2 or 3 seasons.

Most Marvel shows don't make it past ONE season!

I mean, partly this is due to a shift in storytelling style. Fifteen years ago, an episode of a TV show was mostly self-contained; even if there was an ongoing arc like Buffy or Babylon 5 or Lost the individual episodes were mostly their own thing. And so a show's run didn't have a clear end point, it just kept going until there wasn't enough money in it any more.

But nowadays, especially in a show meant for streaming, the entire season is usually one long story. More like a novel, right? With each episode being just a chapter in that story. Which means the season has a defined end point, and many shows don't have a second or third or fourth story planned. "Wandavision," to take an easy example, was never meant to be more than it was - it's a single, self-contained story, and with the last episode the story is over. There's nothing to make a Season 2 about. And so we get shows that are only going to last one or two or three seasons because that's the end of the story, there's nothing more to say.

 

[HotRod]

And in Toronto, all the hundreds of carpenters, electricians, painters, caterers, drivers, janitors, and so on that are needed to make the show happen will be a lot cheaper than in Mississauga.

CBS Studios in Mississauga is just "down the road" from Toronto. Usually no more than a 30 minute drive. Plus, pretty much as rule, things are cheaper in Mississauga then they are in Toronto.

 

[oktay]

Most Marvel shows don't make it past ONE season!

I know but now they will give up on this with the new Daredevil TV show and make more 'continuation seasons'. But they will probably make 2 or 3 seasons. I think they will be 'new upcoming TV shows'.

 

[Danja]

But nowadays, especially in a show meant for streaming, the entire season is usually one long story. More like a novel, right? With each episode being just a chapter in that story. Which means the season has a defined end point, and many shows don't have a second or third or fourth story planned. "Wandavision," to take an easy example, was never meant to be more than it was - it's a single, self-contained story, and with the last episode the story is over. There's nothing to make a Season 2 about. And so we get shows that are only going to last one or two or three seasons because that's the end of the story, there's nothing more to say.

Perhaps it's for the best.

In the past, too many shows floundered around past the point of relevance (Lost and Farscape got tangled up in their own intricate, interlacing plotlines. It got to the point where the shows's own writers and producers couldn't make sense of it! )

NCIS has completely overturned its cast several times over the past twenty years.

I mean, partly this is due to a shift in storytelling style. Fifteen years ago, an episode of a TV show was mostly self-contained; even if there was an ongoing arc like Buffy or Babylon 5 or Lost the individual episodes were mostly their own thing. And so a show's run didn't have a clear end point, it just kept going until there wasn't enough money in it any more.

It was much more practical when shows were produced with the intention of syndicating them (Filmation's He-Man never had a pilot for that reason. There was never an episode that showed how Prince Adam came to be He-Man.)

 

[Noname Given]

Even S4 is questionable (Now-former Disney CEO Bob Chapek renewed She-Hulk for S2. Current CEO Bob Iger came aboard and cancelled the renewal.)

Incoming Paramount CEO David Ellison may or may not allow the renewal to proceed.

Skydance/Paramount is said to be moving away from its cable business (cutting MTV and rebranding and scaling back Niclelodeon), in favor of focusing on its streaming business.

SNW has been the most popular Trek franchise show in its first two seasons, and pre production on S4 continues on track to start filming in March 2025. They are probably starting making the virtual environments for the AR wall right now.

Given they want to focus on streaming, I doubt SNW S4 is on any chopping block at this point. If SNW S3 continues to draw viewer hours at a high rate, I'd say a SNW S5 is all but assured, but yeah, unless S4 does incredible, SNW S5 will be it's last.

But we'll see in two years.