NOVEMBER 8, 2021 - With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88%, top ratings for an animated premiere on its network, and a lot of buzz in the air, it’s not surprising that the powers-that-be at ViacomCBS are eager to capitalize on the early success of Star Trek: Prodigy. However, what may seem surprising is just how they decided to do it. After just three episodes, they’ve announced that the popular animated Trek series is already renewed for a second season (no surprises here!). But they also added some unexpected news: that Prodigy is going on mid-season hiatus AND that the season will be twice as long as originally thought.

In a press release distributed Monday, ViacomCBS not only announced the renewal but also laid out the schedule for the rest of Prodigy’s debut season. The show will take a six-week mid-season break after episode five, which drops Thursday, November 18th (the same day as the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery season 4). The show will return after the holidays on Thursday, January 6th with five additional episodes to round out the first half of season one. Additionally, although Prodigy was originally expected to have a 10-episode run, 10 additional episodes to finish off the season will be released at “a later date next year, to be announced,” to bring season one to a total of 20 chapters.

Show creators Dan and Kevin Hageman celebrated the renewal announcement on Twitter by also welcoming a new writer to the show, Jennifer Muro. Muro has a strong pedigree in animated adventures, having contributed scripts and stories for shows like Justice League Action, Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, and Disney XD’s Spider-Man series. In the same tweet the Hagemans also revealed that season one writers’ assistants Erin McNamara and Keith Sweet II had been promoted to become official Staff Writers.

More episodes, more seasons, and more writers are healthy signs for Star Trek: Prodigy, the first animated Trek series for kids since the 1970s. Catch the first three episodes now on Paramount+.