Kate Mulgrew, who famously portrayed Captain Kathryn Janeway (later an Admiral) in “Star Trek: Voyager” from 1995 to 2001, got real in a TrekMovie.com interview published Thursday, January 8 about what she thinks of the cancellation of “Star Trek: Prodigy.”
Getty“Prodigy” is a computer animated series that premiered in October 2021, and starred Mulgrew as the voice of the ship’s Emergency Training Hologram as well as Janeway in some episodes. Mulgrew said she wasn’t happy about the cancellation, and explained why she’s hesitant to sign on to another “Star Trek” project.
Kate Mulgrew On Prodigy Cancellation: ‘Just a Shame’
On June 23, 2023, “Star Trek: Prodigy” fans were left stunned when Variety published a report saying the series was among four shows being cancelled by Paramount+. Not only was production shut down, but the show was also entirely pulled from the streaming platform.
The report said a Paramount spokesperson explained, “The Paramount+ series ‘Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,’ ‘Star Trek: Prodigy,’ ‘Queen of the Universe’ and ‘The Game’ have completed their runs on Paramount+ and will not be returning to the service. We want to extend our thanks to our tremendously talented cast and crew and our producing partners for their passionate work and dedication on these programs, and we wish them all the best on their future endeavors.”
Mulgrew has not been shy about voicing her disapproval of the decision. TrekMovie says she reacted by saying, ““Oh, is it lost now? So it’s somewhere floating. But this is the story of genius in Hollywood. Dan and Kevin Hageman are geniuses. Everybody knows that. And they created something that I think filled a deeply needed hole. The kids – the little kids, not the teenagers, not the young – the little kids, who are absorbent sponges when it comes to things like the Prime Directive, understanding that if I take your hand, we can do this better together. The very sound tenets of Star Trek. And she had such an eclectic crew. And I loved being the hologram and the captain and the admiral, and it’s just a shame. But of course, we could stand here all night complaining about why the good things went away.”
Kate Mulgrew Thinks ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Didn’t Give Janeway a Proper Sendoff
GettyMulgrew, who hadn’t another star turn as Red in “Orange Is the New Black” years after wrapping “Star Trek: Voyager,” didn’t react fondly to the idea that “Prodigy” might be her character’s swan song, according to TrekMovie.
The outlet quotes her as saying, “That would be too bad, because they truncated it. They abbreviated it. They didn’t give it its head. They didn’t fulfill its promise. And whether they did it intentionally or not, or out of boredom or out of ennui, or out of too much content, or whatever they were thinking, in terms of Janeway’s legacy, it’s not the best way to go out is it? A cartoon that didn’t see its potential. It was great, but it wasn’t – it needs to get to the finish line. The whole legacy thing is truthful, but it’s also about ego.”
