Star Trek envisions an idealized version of the future, but the franchise's future may not be ideal. While I remain the eternal optimist who thinks there's plenty of reason to have faith in upcoming Trek shows, I just learned a Section 31 actor revealed an issue top brass like Alex Kurtzman and others are concerned about behind the scenes concerning the age of its fandom.
While it's true that the sci-fi franchise generated billions in revenue for streamers in 2024, Robert Kazinsky revealed in a video with TrekCulture that the median age of the Star Trek fandom is getting older, which can always be a problem for the longevity of a franchise. The actor, who played Zeph in Section 31, explained what he learned below:
I spoke to Alex and I spoke to [director Olatunde Osunsanmi] and they explained to me that 'Star Trek' is dying. And I don't know if people know that, but ... I was talking about 'Star Trek' at my gym where I fight, you know, I'm a boxer and I fight with a lot of kids — I don't fight them but, you know, train with them — [and] none of them knew what 'Star Trek' was. Can you imagine that? I mean, just conceive of that for a second, that they had never ... I would say 'Star Trek' and they were like, 'Star Wars?' I was like, 'No, Star Trek,' and they were like, 'Um I think I've heard of it.'
The younger generation is largely in the dark of Star Trek, and as much of a bummer as that is to hear, I'm not too surprised by that. The franchise's most recent attempt to pull in younger audiences was Star Trek: Prodigy, and it was canceled, saved by Netflix and now is in limbo for whether it will return for any new episodes. For what it's worth, it's a great series and worth binging with a Netflix subscription.
Star Trek needs younger fans, which may be why the franchise is skewing younger with a series centered on cadets in the upcoming Starfleet Academy. The series is loaded with a cast of younger actors, as well as big names like Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti for the older crowd. Also, let's not forget Starfleet Academy tapping classic Voyager star Robert Picardo to reprise his role as The Doctor, which I'm thrilled about. Hopefully with production recently wrapped on Season 1, we'll see the younger viewers flood in to watch this new show.
In any case, I do hope that if Star Trek is concerned about the age of its fandom, it will take more steps to try to pull in a younger crowd. That said, if the bulk of the fandom is older, there will have to be a way to balance serving its current audience. It's not an easy problem to fix, but hopefully the creatives working behind the scenes have solutions.
Star Trek: Section 31 is available to stream over on Paramount+. Maybe readers should start getting their younger children, nieces, and nephews into the franchise now so we can ensure we're still enjoying it decades from now.
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