From the very beginning, Strange New Worlds set out to honor what Star Trek has always stood for — boundless curiosity, hope and the belief that a better future is possible,” said executive producers Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers and Alex Kurtzman. “We’re deeply grateful to Paramount+ for the chance to complete our five-season mission, just as we envisioned it, alongside our extraordinary cast and crew. And to the passionate fans who’ve boldly joined us on this journey — THANK YOU. With three more spectacular seasons ahead for you to see and enjoy, this adventure is far from over.
There is a saying along the lines of "Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern". This is the third show after Discovery and Lower Decks to get cancelled after five seasons. Best I can tell no Paramount+ original show has made it past five seasons. The ones that technically have were moved the streaming service after most seasons had aired on broadcast TV so service only actually paid for a few seasons, not all of them. As a result its safe to assume that Paramount+ has a five season hard limit on their programming, something fans and TV show makers should be aware of if doing business with them.
This behavior would follow SyFy's policy which has a now nearly 25 year policy of ending shows after five seasons no matter how popular they are. SyFy is so stuck to the policy they went on a streak of ending their top performing shows almost 10 years in a row. Nowadays their budget is so gutted they can barely produce more than one show a season but that wasn't the case when the policy was first started.
Why five seasons? Typically most new shows have the actors, producers, showrunners and some writers sign five year contracts. They might get raises during that period but the real money comes after season five. That is when those contracts get renegotiated leading to significant raises for all involved. If a show is doing very well, the financial hit is worth it but it seems Paramount+ isn't going to bother to try to deal with it. Not a surprise since the network is apparently on shaky ground made worse by a merger with Skydance that may not go through for political rather than economic reasons.
So what does this mean for Star Trek as a whole? Starfleet Academy is in post-production probably for a first half 2026 release. After that who knows as the franchise is waiting on the merger to complete and what the new owners may do. Skydance was considered the best future for Trek and that remains true but financial limitations may also mean they just park the franchise for a while while get their debt and spending under control. Probably many months away of having any ideas.
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