'Star Trek's Streaming Future Officially Confirmed by Paramount Ahead of Movie Reboot

2026 marks the 60th anniversary of Star Trek, which debuted its first episode on Sept. 8, 1966. While Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 is currently airing, the franchise celebration is more muted, as the series’ upcoming fifth and final season, along with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s upcoming second season, will mark the end of Star Trek‘s streaming era that began in 2017. Currently, no new Star Trek series are set to air after Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy wrap up, hinting at another franchise hiatus.

Jane Wiseman, the head of original programming at Paramount+, recently spoke with Deadline about the platform’s streaming future. One major topic was the future of Star Trek, given that Paramount+, formerly titled CBS All Access, launched with Star Trek: Discovery. Wiseman said that former Apple TV executive Chris Parnell is helping lead the genre television division, saying, “there’s no one better in that space, and there’s no one more in that space that I want on my team.” As for the future of Star Trek on streaming, Wiseman says they are talking to writers about upcoming Star Trek titles, trying to figure out the next big hook. She said:

“Well, it’s one of the reasons why Chris [Parnell] is here as the resident number one fan of the Star Trek franchise. And there’s so many people in this building, by the way, that are. It is our goal and it is our job to figure out what the next bounce of Star Trek is. We’re talking to a lot of writers, we are leaning on CBS Studios, and it is imperative that we figure out what the next iteration is in this franchise because it’s just too important. We also are in touch with Paramount Pictures, they have a Star Trek movie that’s in development.”

Since Star Trek: Discovery debuted in 2017, at least one Star Trek series has aired each year, with some years including multiple series. This era launched Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, along with the Paramount+ original streaming film, Section 31. All of this has aired while the Star Trek film franchise has stalled, with no new movie released since 2016.

After years of Star Trek 4 being stuck in development hell, a new theatrical Star Trek film is in the works by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. With that a high priority for Paramount Pictures, that might explain why the television series are slowing production to build excitement and anticipation around Star Trek‘s return to the big screen. A similar tactic was used in the 2000s, as the conclusion of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005 marked the first time in nearly twenty years there was not a Star Trek series on television. Yet it helped make J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek in 2009 feel like a long-awaited return for the franchise.

With both Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy set to end in 2027, the franchise will close out a ten-year era of massive expansion and a whole new host of fans. While the future is uncertain, Paramount+ clearly is not abandoning Star Trek. Given the fact that Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled after only three seasons and ultimately grew into one of the most successful multimedia brands of all time, it is clear Star Trek will never truly be gone. When it returns, it will likely take a new direction, signaling a new era that can hopefully live long and prosper.