‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Showrunner Fears Cancellation On The Horizon, Tells Fans “If You Want More, You Should Be Vocal About It Now And Not Wait”
In light of the franchise’s current state-of-fluctuation, Star Treck: Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan has admitted that he fears the worst for the animated series’ continued existence.
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McMahan, whose notable credits include co-creating the fellow adult-oriented Solar Opposites with Justin Roiland and serving as the supervising producer on the ‘Pickle Rick’ episode of Rick & Morty, shared his uncertainty towards Lower Decks‘ future while speaking on its fourth season to Cinemablend‘s Mick Joest.
Asked amidst their conversation if he felt that the recent ending of Picard, cancellation of Prodigy, and announced plans for Discovery to come to a close in 2024 were cause for concern regarding Lower Decks, McMahan asserted, “Yeah, I mean, listen, we’re in weird times.”
“Everything is changing,” the showrunner noted of the franchise’s ongoing line-up shuffle. “I think everything’s gonna continue to change. I would say nothing is safe. I don’t have any bad news for anybody, but also, I think you shouldn’t assume that this stuff is gonna stick around unless you vocally and watch it early on.”
“I do not know if we’re going to have another season after the season we’re working on right now [Season 5],” he added. “Lower Decks could very well be a five-season show.”
In light of this feeling of doubt, McMahan then informed Cinemablend’s audience, “So, if you love Lower Decks as much as I do, I would say make sure to watch it and get people to watch it now.”
“A letter writing campaign after a show gets canceled, it’s helpful, but what’s more helpful is campaigning to get more eyes on the show when it’s airing because it gives me the ability to push for more seasons,” he continued. “I would love to finish Lower Decks with the plan that I have for it.”
Concluding his thoughts, the showrunner posited, “I would say, take Prodigy looking for a new [network], and take a look at Picard being wrapped at Season 3, and at Discovery wrapping as well. I would say read those as signs that if you want more Lower Decks, you should be vocal about it now and not wait.”
McMahan would later reiterate his call to arms while speaking to Inverse‘s Ryan Britt.
“If people want more Lower Decks, they’ve got to tune in and get a couple of other people to tune in,” he told the outlet. “So instead of a letter-writing campaign, let’s all watch Lower Decks right away, please. I’m working on Season 5 right now, but by the time people realize Lower Decks has been [hypothetically] canceled, it will be too late. We do these seasons a year in advance. So the only trick here is early and consistent viewership. That will help me make more Lower Decks.”
Notably, though this latest, Paramount-produced, and streaming-oriented era of Star Trek is entering into a period of production uncertainty, it does not appear that its time has quite yet come to a definitive end.
Following the conclusion of Alex Kurtzman’s poorly-received opening salvo of Star Trek content, the franchise will continue to live on in the recently-renewed Strange New Worlds.
The previously-announced Starfleet Academy series and Section 31 movie are also slated to be included in this ‘new chapter’ of Star Trek, but as these two have not received any concrete updates in some time, their role in the franchise’s future is currently unknown.
Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ first four seasons are now streaming on Paramount Plus.
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