The Lower Decks star hopes the series will succeed Futurama and return

The final episode of Star Trek: The Lower Decks aired on Paramount+ on December 19, 2024, ending the show’s five seasons. “Lower Decks” was just the latest Star Trek show to be cut from the schedule as part of the franchise’s major downsizing. In 2017, Paramount began putting all its eggs in one Star Trek-themed basket, and fans of the trek were treated to six Trek shows at once. However, over the past few years, five of those six shows have been canceled, and one of them (“Star Trek: Prodigy”) has been pulled from Paramount+ altogether. It looks like the executives at Paramount don’t want to spend the money needed to keep all these Star Trek shows going.

As of this writing, only Star Trek: Brave New Worlds has a definite future. There is also a Star Trek: Division 31 TV movie coming out in 2025, and a new Starfleet Academy TV series is in production. Other Star Trek movies and TV shows are also in the early stages of development, but only time will tell if they get made.

The end of the “Lower Decks” was a sad moment for Trekkies. Of all the new Star Trek shows that have aired, this one has seemed to be the most universally loved, keeping the core principles of Star Trek while still featuring crass humor and far-fetched characters. The series ended with the USS Cerritos still fulfilling its years-long mission, now equipped with a new captain. The adventures will continue. We just can’t look at them anymore.

Of course, some are already hopeful about the idea of ​​a grand return of “Lower Decks” in the near future. Indeed, lead actress Toni Newsom, who played the mischievous troublemaker Beckett Mariner, recently told Variety that she hopes Lower Decks can be like Futurama, another animated sci-fi show that has been known to be canceled and resurrected several times.

Futurama, created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, debuted in 1999 and was set in the early 31st century, when Earth has become a melting pot of humans, aliens, mutants and robots. The show only lasted four seasons on Fox before being canceled in 2002. However, Futurama DVDs sold incredibly well, and Comedy Central took notice. In 2009, the channel financed four direct-to-video Futurama movies, which easily carried over to the entire new season. However, after these four films, Futurama hit a wall again. It was canceled a second time. Comedy Central must have seen an opportunity and resurrected the show a second time in 2010, eventually airing 52 more episodes. Then it was canceled a third time. Then, in 2023, Hulu stepped in and resurrected it once again. New series are broadcast to this day.

This arc is well known to fans of science fiction television, including Tony Newsom. Star Trek: The Lower Decks may be over, but now everyone knows that shows like this can easily be resurrected if there’s enough demand. She said:

“As far as people creating it, we all would love to do it. I don’t know who’s writing the check for this, so I don’t know if they think it’s possible. But (show creator) Mike (McMahan) He has stories for these characters. He didn’t finish. None of us want Noel (Wells), let alone the rest of the bridge team and our recurring characters.'”

As far as we know, “Lower Decks” was canceled not because the play did something wrong. It’s more likely that it was simply cut from the Paramount+ lineup for budgetary reasons. In that case, the numbers would simply have to go up to guarantee a resurrection.

Newsom also said she is open to any format and medium. “Futurama” became four films. Why not four films “Lower Decks”? There was even a crossover episode of “Lower Decks” in which Beumler (Jack Quaid) and Mariner played their respective characters in live action. Newsome would like any new Lower Decks idea to come to fruition, saying:

“So we’re all in the game. I would love the movie. I’d love to do it live because we need to see Noel and Gerry (O’Connell) and Eugene in human form… Human form.”

“Humanly” as Noel Wells’ character, D’Van Tandy, is Orion.

However, the “Lower Decks” may face an uphill battle. Paramount had long held the rights to Star Trek, and they were the only ones capable of bringing Lower Decks back into production. If they suffered from low budgets (and Paramount has been in a tough spot for the past few years), then no amount of goodwill will bring back any show. Futurama had the advantage of passing hands; it went from Fox to Comedy Central to Disney-owned Hulu. Other outlets were more willing to take the risk. “Lower Decks” would have to go to the same studio that already canceled them.

But there is a precedent for this too. Newsome can point to the cancellation and resurrection of the animated sitcom Family Guy, which was canceled by Fox in 2002 due to low ratings. Family Guy reruns were a big deal on Comedy Central, and Fox decided to revive the series after a three-year hiatus. Since then, the series has been in production and is currently in its 23rd season.

The message is clear: Lower Decks fans need to buy blu-ray and rewatch episodes on Paramount+. If the numbers are high, Cerritos could very well be back.