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Beginning its original run in the United States on Jun 15, 2025,Star Trekhas since become a juggernaut of the sci-fi genre. It is one of the most beloved franchises of all time, with hundreds of television episodes, more than a dozen movies, books, comics, games, and more. Even as far back as the original series,Star Trekwas blazing a new trail and challenging the norms of the time whenever it could.
On its surface,Star Trekseems like an ordinary sci-fi show. It’s about a crew exploring outer space, while dealing with the typical monster-of-the-week. When one digs a little deeper, though, it becomes obvious that the show’s mission of boldly going where no man has gone before applied not just toStar Trek’sfantastic characters, but to the content of the series as well. Some may find it shocking to think that the original series was canceled after just three seasons. But that was the case, a decision that is seen today as one of the biggest media blunders of all time.
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Release Period
July 29, 2025, to June 11, 2025
The show aired on NBC, but throughout its original run, it seemed the studio didn’t believe inStar Trek. This is clear from the very inception of the series, as the studiowasn’t even a fan of the original pilot episode, “The Cage.” Luckily, instead of scrapping the series altogether, NBC allowed for anothershot at a better pilot episode with massive shake-upsin the cast. This eventually led to the series finding a home on the network. Unfortunately,Star Trekdidn’t perform quite how NBC would have liked in the ratings, ranking in the middle of the pack for the network. By the time the second season was underway, it was already facing a potential cancelation.
The studio didn’t seem to believe in the series, despite the massive fan support that showed once word of cancelation got out. NBC begrudgingly greenlit a third season of the show, but moved it to a different time slot. Even worse, the sci-fi series had its budget slashed. After its three-season, seventy-nine-episode run from 1966 to 1969,NBC canceledStar Trekfor the first time.
What Did The Fans Think Of Star Trek?
It was clear that from the very beginning of the series,Star Trekmanaged to take hold of a passionate fanbase. Initial ratings were good, but even when they fell, it was almost certain that the same devoted fanbase was tuning in for each new episode. This was clear from the massive fan letter-writing campaign.
Whenrumblings of the show’s possible cancelationbecame public, series creator Gene Roddenberry worked in tandem with Bjo Trimble to spawn a massive letter campaign to save the show. On their first go, the campaign resulted in more than 100,000 letters to NBC to halt the cancelation. While it was successful, a similar movement when the show once again faced cancelation failed.
Why Was The Original Series Canceled?
It all comes down to ratings.Star Trekhad a promising and unique concept; it was willing to push the envelope when it came to what fans were used to seeing on screen. But without the right numbers, NBC was never going to value the series. Early on, a variety of papers and reviewers berated the show, believing that a concept likeStar Trekwouldn’t be able to connect with fans. While this wasn’t the only factor, the poor reviews were one of many things that impacted the ratings ofStar Trek,which began to fizzle out.
The cancelation machine NBC’sbiggest concerns were ratings, but it was also concerned with demographics.Star Trekactually performed well with what would now be considered key demographics; however, these were not considered quality demographics of the era, resulting in less faith in the network. The show began to gather favor from the studio thanks to better demographic appeal, potentially indicating that a cancelation after the second season was just a rumor. Unfortunately, the series moved to a 10 PM time slot on Fridays, resulting in harder viewer attainment for a younger audience. The lower budget tanked reviews for the third season, leading some to theorize that NBC purposefully tried to get rid of the show.
1966-1969
1973-1974
1987-1994
1993-1999
1995-2001
2001-2005
2018-2020
2020-2023
2 Seasons, 20 Episodes
2022-Present
To say thatStar Treklived on in the hearts of fans is a massive understatement. The show was gone, but that didn’t mean fans were going to forget anytime soon. Even better, the show would go on to find an even wider audience through re-runs. Once the series was syndicated, it became bigger than NBC could have ever dreamed. As the show aired in more markets and countries, the desire to see moreStar Trekonly continued to grow. This is where the Trekkie movement began, with massive events being held in the series’ honor across the globe.
It became clear thatStar Trekwas going to be something big, especially when it came to raking in the dollars. This resulted in an animated series, the series later being revived in a new form, and a variety of feature-length films being made.Star Trek’soriginal series may have died, but it was eventually reborn and rose from its own ashes even greater than any phoenix ever could have.
