Kate Mulgrew Talks Star Trek: Prodigy Season Three And Possible Live-Action Returns

Yesterday, Ellie (and Seán, too) sat down for an exclusive interview on the TrekCulture podcast with the one, the only, the invariably ineffable, Kate Mulgrew to talk Prodigy, planes, hopes for season three, live action, and a little bit of shipping.

The Star Trek: Prodigy San Diego Comic-Con panel provided Mulgrew a particularly emotional moment, telling Ellie and Seán that, as she "sat in the front row of this crowded auditorium" to watch a complete episode (Cracked Mirror) of season two for the first time, she was "very moved". "It actually brought a tear to my eye to see this reunion between Chakotay and Janeway," Mulgrew added.

Commenting on our resident J/C shipper's question as to the changes in the Janeway/Chakotay dynamic between Star Trek: Voyager and Prodigy, Mulgrew noted that, whilst she had to resist any implication of "some kind of intimate life with her first in command" in live action, "with the animation, other things are permissible". As Ellie then pointed out, Janeway had to make a good deal of sacrifices on Voyager in the "battle between Kathryn and the Captain". Asked if there were "any elements of Janeway's vulnerabilities [she] would have liked to have seen explored further," Mulgrew had the following to say:

Tuvok was her deep and dear friend, but you see with Chakotay, there was always that element of attraction, which Janeway had to discipline. So, I think if I could go back, I'd see more of that struggle. I lost my fiancé, I lost my dog, I lost my parents, I lost Earth 75,000 light-years away, and I've got a complement of 165 lost in the Delta Quadrant. So, I think to really shine a light on what that must have felt like a little more intensely would have been very exciting, and we can do it in Prodigy.

Whether or not they can continue to do so remains uncertain. Indeed, by 11am PDT on Sunday, as the SDCC panel wrapped up, we didn't get the piece of news we were all hoping for (#SetACourseForSeason3), but then "hope is never a foolish thing". It took a plane with a banner last time, so if it takes a plane with a banner again, there is no doubt fans will fly (it) into action. As Mulgrew put it to Ellie and Seán:

It would be a heartbreak to see this end. The fans adore it. You know what they did, they flew a little plane over Los Angeles saying bring back Prodigy, and Netflix bought it, so let's hope that Netflix has, I think, the prescience and the vision to option it again.

The brilliant mind behind the plane campaign, Michele Stokes (from the UK), might also expect to be contacted by Mulgrew, who told Ellie and Seán, "I want her [Stokes'] information!"

Also with the news out of SDCC that Robert Picardo is returning in the flesh to play his beloved holographic character in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and that another, brand new, first ever comedy live-action Star Trek show set in the 25th century is in the works, Seán rightly wondered if we could expect a "whacky sitcom for Janeway and Chakotay and crazy uncle Tuvok in the future," to which Mulgrew posited the following:

I wouldn't know anything about that. A whacky sitcom? How about a whacky romance! Let's just wait and see. The possibilities, as we say in space, are infinite.

In a further interview with CinemaBlend's Mick Joest, however, Mulgrew noted her reservations about returning to live action in any kind of "hubristic" fashion. "To come back [like that]," she added, "it would have to be spectacularly good. And I don't know if that's possible". That sentiment is equally a testament to Mulgrew's love for Prodigy and her desire to see it continue, going on to tell Joest:

I'd be really dashed if it weren't picked up, you know that? A part of me would really question, what are they picking up? What do they herald as great if not this animated series? Because it is unquestionably superior.

Mulgrew shared the same feeling with Ellie and Seán, as she commented on her hopes for the future of Prodigy:

I want it to happen. I love doing this show. I love this cartoon. These guys are geniuses, Kevin and Dan Hageman.

You'll certainly get no disagreement, here! In the meantime, we can all support Prodigy to the best of our abilities. To that point, towards the end of the SDCC Prodigy panel, it was announced that, from 29 July, Prodigy's second season would be available on digital download, arriving on Blu-Ray and DVD with special features on 12 November.

Whilst that seemed at first to be US-only, it was then confirmed by Aaron Waltke via FarBeyondTheStars on Twitter that season two was also available to download in Canada on iTunes/Apple TV. A marker of the power of fandom, within a few hours, Prodigy season two had already reached #1 on the Apple TV Top Chart in Canada, and #10 in the US. "Go fast!" really is the operative command!

All 20 episodes of Prodigy season two — and season one — are also available to stream on Netflix.