Janeway Spinoff And Prodigy Cancellation

January 8, 2026

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Kate Mulgrew discusses the possibility of a Star Trek: Janeway spinoff and her thoughts on the abrupt cancellation of Star Trek: Prodigy. After seven heralded years as the Captain of Star Trek: Voyager, Mulgrew returned as Admiral Janeway (and Hologram Janeway) in the short-lived but beloved Star Trek: Prodigy.

The first female Captain to lead a Star Trek series, Kate Mulgrew’s Janeway inspired a generation of fans. Captain Janeway paved the way for Star Trek on Paramount+’s cavalcade of female Captains, which now includes Academy Award winner Holly Hunter, who leads Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as Captain Nahla Ake.

TrekMovie‘s Laurie Ulster spoke to Kate Mulgrew at Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s world premiere red carpet in New York City. Mulgrew confirmed she and Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman “are talking” about a live-action Janeway spinoff.

In 2024, Mulgrew dismissed a Janeway pitch that she “didn’t understand,” but Kate is open to reprising Janeway, although “it has to be something pretty great.” Read Mulgrew’s quote below:

“That’s right. If it’s good. It’s possible. But it has to be something pretty great.”

“I just think that it’s very, very important to adhere to what we’re doing here, which is the message of hope, the mission of promise, excitement, danger. And Janeway’s mind is the mind of somebody who can go anywhere at any moment, on a dime. And I’d like to go back to that, but only if it’s excellent.”

Kate Mulgrew also discussed how Netflix not ordering more Star Trek: Prodigy is a poor way for Janeway’s legacy to end:

“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… it’s truthful, but it’s also about ego.”

Kate Mulgrew wasn’t aware that Star Trek: Prodigy‘s rights on Netflix had expired, and that her animated series is no longer available to stream. Mulgrew elaborates on the “shame” of Prodigy having no streaming home:

“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.”

Netflix’s 18-month option on the rights to stream Star Trek: Prodigy expired on December 31, 2025. However, Paramount+, which abruptly canceled and purged Prodigy from its streaming service in 2023, hasn’t re-added the animated series to its slew of Star Trek content. The only way to watch Star Trek: Prodigy now is to own it on physical media.

At the end of 2024, Kate Mulgrew dropped news at a convention that Alex Kurtzman approached her about a live-action Janeway pitch that she rejected, saying, “I’m not sure it has all of the elements that I would need to have.” However, Janeway remains eternally popular, and Mulgrew would reprise her iconic role in the right project.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has ties to Kate Mulgrew’s work in Star Trek: Prodigy. Admiral Janeway, her holographic doppelganger, and The Doctor (Robert Picardo) mentored the young heroes of the USS Protostar when they joined Starfleet Academy in the late 24th century. 800 years later, The Doctor is an instructor at the 32nd-century Starfleet Academy.

The future of the Star Trek TV franchise on Paramount+ is up in the air. Although Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will each have two seasons premiering in 2026 and 2027, Paramount Skydance is reportedly making Star Trek streaming content “a priority.” Whether Star Trek: Janeway will be favored among the many percolating pitches for new Star Trek shows remains to be seen.

Star Trek: Prodigy was the most unfairly mistreated Star Trek series of the modern era, especially considering the incredibly high quality of the show. While it doesn’t look like Star Trek: Prodigy will return, Kate Mulgrew’s epic run as Kathryn Janeway will hopefully still get a fitting conclusion that properly honors the former Star Trek: Voyager Captain’s legacy.