Posted in: Paramount+, TV | Tagged: lower decks, star trek

Star Trek: Lower Decks Creator "Had at Least Two Seasons More" in Mind

Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan said there were at least two more seasons in mind if Paramount hadn't ended it with five seasons.

A five-season run in any era is always considered at least a modest success, but unfortunately, in the current streaming era of TV, it tends to mean far fewer episodes than a generation ago, when 20+ episodes were the norm. If a series reaches five seasons, it typically qualifies for syndication and for networks to purchase rights to air reruns. With shifting standards and the inherent reluctance to move on from the biggest network hits like Friends, Seinfeld, or The Big Bang Theory, it's far more likely that fans will miss out on newer hits unless they have the appropriate streaming subscription. That being said, Star Trek: Lower Decks easily wins the distinction as the most successful animated series of the franchise since it lasted five seasons across 50 episodes, which is far more than its predecessor in Star Trek: The Animated Series and its contemporary and younger-targeted Prodigy, which lasted only two seasons across Paramount+ and Netflix. If it weren't for the studio's strict adherence to the five-season commitment, creator Mike McMahan revealed he still had more to mine that would have continued the adventures of the U.S.S. Cerritos as the first dedicated comedy series of the franchise.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Creator Mike McMahan on Seasons 6 & 7 Plans That Would Have Expanded More in the 'Deep Space Nine' and 'Voyager' Territories

"Couldn't be prouder of the five we made, but I had at least two seasons more in me. Wanted to hit up the Delta and Gamma quadrants. One more Vindicta holodeck movie. Meet a weirdly nice leftover Weyoun, more stories with the whales and Kayshon, T'Lyn, and Ensign Olly. Lots of stuff," McMahan responded to a grateful fan for the series run that was "longer" than The Original Series. While the fan was correct in having more seasons, TOS had 80 episodes, with the first season having 29, the second having 26, and the third and final having 24, whereas Lower Decks had 10 each season.

One thing Lower Decks does have that NO OTHER Star Trek series has is representation from every pre-Paramount+ Trek series cast with George Takei (TOS), Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis (The Next Generation), Nana Visitor, Armin Shimerman, Max Grodenchik, and Chase Masterson (DS9), Robert Duncan McNeill, Garrett Wang, and Tim Russ, and Jolene Blalock (Enterprise). If that wasn't enough, you also had major supporting guest appearances from Alice Krige (First Contact/Voyager), Jeffrey Combs (DS9), James Cromwell (First Contact/Enterprise), and the Strange New Worlds crossover episode that saw the live-action cast animated with Lower Decks stars Tawny Newsome's Mariner and Jack Quaid's Boimler making their jump to live-action.

Couldn't be prouder of the five we made, but I had at least two seasons more in me. Wanted to hit up the Delta and Gamma quadrants. One more Vindicta holodeck movie. Meet a weirdly nice leftover Weyoun, more stories with the whales and Kayshon, T'Lyn and Ensign Olly. Lots of stuff.

— Mike McMahan (@mikemcmahan.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T22:27:42.536Z

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