Star Trek Animated Series Confirmed on Nickelodeon

Waking up this Thursday morning will be a downer for some Star Trek fans...now that the second season of Discovery has come to its explosive end, our small screens are once again devoid of new Star Trek content to consume. However...the producers of Star Trek are not resting on their laurels, and The Hollywood Reporter today brings us news that kids’ TV network Nickelodeon has given a series order to a new animated Star Trek show.

From The Hollywood Reporter: “The cable network has given a series order to an animated Trek show from Emmy-winning writers Kevin and Dan Hageman and Star Trek franchise captain Alex Kurtzman. The untitled, CG-animated series will follow a group of teenagers who discover a derelict Starfleet ship and use it to search for adventure, meaning and salvation.”

Now, just to be clear, this is a different animated series than the previously-announced, “Lower Decks” series from Rick and Morty producer Mike McMahan. Lower Decks is an adult-oriented show exclusive to CBS All Access, whereas the new Nickelodeon show will focus on kids and - notably - is the first of the new raft of Star Trek series to be carried on a platform other than CBS All Access.

THR quotes Ramsey Naito, executive VP of animation and development at Nickelodeon: "Partnering with CBS Television Studios and the creative masterminds behind the Star Trek franchise is an incredible opportunity and allows our audience to discover rich characters and new stories. Star Trek is a franchise loved by generations of fans around the globe, and adding Nickelodeon as home to the next animated series is a perfect fit."

Like other Star Trek series before it, this one is likely to be used as a test vehicle of sorts; this new animated series is one of the flagship shows for CBS’s brand new Eye Animation Productions.

Hopes are riding high not just at CBS for the success of the show, but at Nickelodeon, too. The new animated Star Trek is one of a handful of shows that it hopes will reinvigorate the network. Among other plans are an update of the sketch comedy show “All That”, a SpongeBob SquarePants spinoff, and a new animated Paddington series.

Finally, it’s worth just a footnote to say that Nickelodeon is owned by parent company Viacom, who also owns Paramount Pictures, owner of the Star Trek film franchise.