The Star Trek franchise is at a moment of uncertainty: For the first time since 2017, there is no Trek in active production; the future of current Trek TV overlord Alex Kurtzman as the steward of the franchise is unclear as his contract with CBS Studios and Paramount nears completion; and Skydance Media has merged with Paramount, putting the fate of Gene Roddenberry’s storied franchise in the hands of new corporate owners. And this all comes at time when the newest (and recently cancelled) Trek show, Starfleet Academy, was on the receiving end of fan hate that Trek actor/director Jonathan Frakes recently told me was “dimensionally more painful” today than in his Star Trek: The Next Generation years.
Well, Frakes has never been one to not say what’s on his mind, and now in an interview with Trek Movie’s All Access Star Trek podcast, he’s addressed the topic of “trolls” once again… as well as his optimistic view that Star Trek will return.
Jonathan Frakes directs on the set of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
“I think, sadly, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our incredible franchise, it seemed very unfortunate that they’ve chosen this moment to not have any new Trek in production,” Frakes said while promoting the upcoming PanCAN Purple Stride walk as part of the Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer team.
“It seems like a very unfortunate irony. I’m sure that Trek will resurface, it always has, and it always will. And the power that Roddenberry invested in it seems to have made it through six decades,” he added.
Regarding the recent cancellation of Starfleet Academy, which Frakes directed an episode of in Season 1 — and which has one more season that’s already been shot and will still be released — the Trek legend acknowledged that he didn’t know exactly what the thinking was behind the decision at the studio or corporate level.
“Perhaps it’s the changing of the guard at Paramount+ and CBS [Studios],” he said. “Perhaps it’s indecision. Perhaps it’s the amount of money it costs to make how beautiful the show is…” Indeed, modern Star Trek has maintained a cinematic look that has been very expensive to produce (even if exact budget numbers have not been made public for the Kurtzman-era shows).
During the interview, he also addressed the suggestion that some of the critics of Strange New Worlds didn’t seem to even watch the show.
“Yeah, isn’t that unfortunate?” Frakes responded. “And that’s how Kurtzman felt. I got a call from Alex and Noga [Landau], who was his co-showrunner on Starfleet Academy. They were calling people to let them know that the show was kind of ‘on ice,’ I think was the phrase they used. And it was what you just said [critiques coming from people who hadn’t watched the show], they couldn’t not mention as a factor, the trolls.”
So while early talk of a new movie is going on within Paramount/Skydance, we at least still have Season 2 of Starfleet Academy to look forward to, as well as the final two seasons of Strange New Worlds, which have also already been shot. And beyond that, well… Riker once said he planned to live forever. Don’t be surprised if Star Trek does the same.
Talk to Scott Collura @scottcollura.bsky.social, or listen to his Star Trek podcast, Transporter Room 3. Or do both!
