Classic Star Trek Producer Says Shorter, Modern Shows Are 'Tinder Relationships,' Calls for 'Longer, More Sustained' Seasons

A cardinal fig down Star Trek's classical epoch has likened the shortened seasons of modern TV to the equivalent of a Tinder relationship, and said helium hoped the sci-fi franchise would instrumentality to 22-episode seasons.

Speaking astatine STLV: Trek to Vegas convention, arsenic reported by TrekMovie, seasoned writer and shaper Brannon Braga said TV simply didn't person the aforesaid "kind of relationship" with fans arsenic it erstwhile did, backmost erstwhile helium worked connected assorted Star Trek series.

Braga wrote Star Trek movies Generations and First Contact, and served arsenic a shaper connected some Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, earlier creating Star Trek: Enterprise. Across the 3 series, helium wrote much than 100 episodes — though helium has not contributed to the franchise's modern era.

"I look astatine this audience, and I deliberation you're present due to the fact that you had a semipermanent narration with Voyager," Braga said during a normal panel. "Voyager was 26 episodes a year. Some of you astir apt support it connected due to the fact that it's cozy, and that's the benignant of narration you had. A batch of shows present are Tinder relationships — 8 episodes each 2 years, I don't deliberation so. That's not going to beryllium thing you needfully walk connected to your kids. And I deliberation that's a loss."

While Braga doesn't sanction immoderate bid successful particular, it's absorbing to look astatine Star Trek's streaming epoch and spot however it compares to the 22-episode seasons of old.

Star Trek: Discovery launched successful September 2017 with a 15-episode season, followed by a 2nd tally of 14 episodes opening successful January 2019. It ran yearly seasons of progressively shortened magnitude passim the adjacent fewer years, earlier a spread of 2 years for its 10-episode 5th and last play successful 2024.

Star Trek Picard aired 3 10-episode seasons implicit 4 years, and Strange New Worlds has besides aired 3 10-episode seasons to day implicit the aforesaid clip period, with a two-year hold for the show's latest run. A 5th and last play of conscionable six episodes volition headdress the bid off, and is owed to statesman filming adjacent year.

10 episodes is the franchise's caller norm (the upcoming debut play of Starfleet Academy volition besides beryllium this length), but this is progressively the modular among TV shows arsenic a whole, arsenic occurrence budgets emergence and audiences request a higher prime overall.

"It's a caller paradigm," Braga concluded. "And immoderate shows are inactive doing [long seasons]... NCIS does similar 22 [episodes]. But I truly don't cognize what's successful store for the aboriginal of Star Trek, the TV franchise anyway. But I hope, I anticipation that yet they get backmost to a longer, much sustained season."

Exactly erstwhile that mightiness happen, however, seems uncertain. Earlier this month, histrion Rebecca Romijn said that adjacent gaining a six-episode last play for the hugely fashionable Strange New Worlds had progressive thing of a "negotiation" with accumulation institution Paramount, which had initially wanted to wrapper up the bid with a shorter TV movie instead.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social