Alex Kurtzman Says STAR TREK Still Has a Future on TV Despite Industry Shakeups
The future of Star Trek on TV might feel a little uncertain right now, but according to franchise overseer Alex Kurtzman, the conversation about what comes next is very much alive.
With one new series wrapping its first season, another nearing its eventual finale, and the entertainment industry going through a major shift behind the scenes, fans have been wondering if Trek’s presence on TV is about to slow down.
Kurtzman recently addressed that uncertainty and shared a cautiously hopeful outlook.
The latest addition to the franchise, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, just finished filming its first season. The series already has a second season planned, keeping the pipeline active for now.
Meanwhile, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is also continuing forward with its fourth and fifth seasons, though the fifth will bring the show’s run to a close.
Beyond that, the roadmap for Star Trek television becomes a little hazy. No additional series have officially been announced, and the franchise appears to be shifting some of its focus back toward theatrical films. That change would leave fans wondering what the long-term plan might be for Trek storytelling on the small screen.
Complicating things further is the business side of Hollywood. Paramount is currently in the process of major structural changes after its merger with Skydance.
David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, has indicated that if the company moves forward with acquiring Warner Bros., the streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max could merge into a single service. A move like that would naturally affect the direction of major franchises such as Star Trek.
So where does that leave the TV side of Trek?
Kurtzman recently spoke with TrekMovie and explained that discussions about future projects are already happening, even if nothing is ready to be officially revealed yet.
“I’ve had conversations with [the company] about the future of Star Trek. Yes, we’ve gotten nothing but support. Yes, there have been specific shows that have been discussed. And we’ll see.
“I’m truly at the beginning of the conversation with them now. And so I hesitate to say anything to you, because I don’t have anything to report yet. But I can report that the conversations are happening.”
Kurtzman also acknowledged that the ongoing corporate transition at Paramount Skydance is slowing things down across the company. With large-scale mergers and restructuring underway, development conversations are taking longer than usual.
“They are in the middle of—it’s not just drinking from one firehose; there’s probably 10,000 hoses. And so everything is just happening slower as a result of this massive time of transition.
“And that is not exclusive to Star Trek. That’s across the board. And at the same time, they’re moving as quickly as they can and should, because they want to be thoughtful and methodical.”
The franchise has been a constant presence on TV since Star Trek: Discovery reignited the small-screen era back in 2017. Since then, Paramount has expanded the universe with multiple series running simultaneously, including Strange New Worlds, Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, and now Starfleet Academy.
Whether the next phase continues that multi-show approach or takes a different direction is still unknown. What Kurtzman’s comments do confirm is that the future of Star Trek TV hasn’t been abandoned. It’s simply waiting for the dust to settle while the studio figures out its next move.