RUMOR: Skydance Issued Alex Kurtzman Ultimatum That Could Result In Year-End Termination, Strange New Worlds To End With Season Five
It seems after years of failure on Paramount Plus, the Alex Kurtzman era of Star Trek has reached an impasse with the Skydance acquisition looming. A new rumor suggests Kurztman has until the end of the year to deliver a solid plan for the sci-fi franchise or he will be ousted.
Alex Kurtzman has been at the helm of the Star Trek franchise since the JJ Abrams reboot, infamous for destroying the brand with Discovery, which stomped on continuity and turned the feel of Star Trek into something dark and edgy, focused on identity politics rather than actual scientific exploration. Discovery’s ratings were low as a result, and it was canceled after five seasons despite being planned for seven.
Fans also turned their backs on Lower Decks, a parody that made fun of Star Trek more than anything else, with jokes that shouldn’t have lasted beyond a first season, and Picard, where the legacy of The Next Generation was destroyed with more dark, edgy sci-fi that made no sense for the setting, until season 3 delivered some nostalgia with a new showrunner at the helm.
Perhaps the worst failure of the Kurtzman era, however, was Section 31. Originally a Discovery spinoff show, Section 31 was distilled down into a campy TV movie that had no target audience. Even mainstream media outlets turned on Star Trek at this point and it was not received well by fans.
Even with all of these, there are so many more Star Trek shows which were pitched that didn’t make it, including a Khan Noonien Singh backstory show and a Seven of Nine led Titan show that both were squashed. All the while, fans have been clamoring for Legacy, a Next Next Generation where it actually feels like Star Trek again.
Now, the Tachyon Pulse Podcast has revealed he has two insiders who are confirming trouble for the Alex Kurtzman Star Trek era.
In a recent video titled “Star Trek EXCLUSIVE as new Paramount owners give Kurtzman last chance” he goes into detail as to what’s happening with Skydance acquiring Paramount—which is still in process because of federal regulations. The feeling is that the acquisition will go through, and Skydance has set up offices within the Paramount building to talk Star Trek and get the feel of the business.
Reports are that the new owners are not happy with what Kurtzman has done, and that he’s on the hot seat, confirming rumors that his contract is up in the middle of this year and he potentially won’t get renewed. Apparently, Skydance has extended him through the end of 2025, with an ultimatum that he has to develop three new Star Trek shows they believe will be successful to replace the ones going off the air—and they have to be sustainable for the business.
The reason for three is because at the height of Kurtzman Trek, there were always three going, whether it was Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks, or eventually swapping Picard with Strange New Worlds. That’s enough content to keep a streaming network going with short seasons, and they want to have similar.
On top of this, the podcast stated that Strange New Worlds is slated to end with Season 5, with season 4 already in production, giving the show one more before it’s off the air.
It appears that Skydance doesn’t have faith in the upcoming Starfleet Academy, another Discovery spinoff, and we won’t see results of the ratings of that show until it premieres next year, which will be at a point Kurtzman will either get an extension or be terminated. It could very well be the last Kurtzman Trek fans ever see.
Tachyon Pulse emphasizes that he confirmed this with two insiders, one of whom is positive or neutral to the Kurtzman regime, to give it more validity.
What do you think of this rumor, Alex Kurtzman is out at the end of the year, unless he can deliver three solid Star Trek series, and that Strange New Worlds will end with season 5? Leave a comment and let us know.
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I wish Kurtzman would just go away. Let someone who loves the IP take over the reigns.