A New Captain Janeway Spinoff “Is Being Pursued,” Kate Mulgrew Promises
A return to the old canon. Again.
After Star Trek: Picard ended in 2023, fans remained hopeful that a hypothetical sequel series, Star Trek: Legacy, could continue the story of the early 25th century, and extend the glory years of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager for several more seasons. But, now, with Legacy all but dead, there is a bit of hope for another show set in the same era and focused on someone fans have been wanting to see back in live-action for quite a while.
We’re talking about the possibility of Star Trek: Janeway, a series focused on the return of Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Kathryn Janeway, set sometime after the events of Prodigy and perhaps, after the events of Picard Season 3. Speaking to a crowd of fans during the official Star Trek Cruise, Mulgrew answered a question about the possibility of a Janeway-focused spinoff TV series, or, failing that, her returning to the franchise in any capacity.
“There is a conversation happening,” Mulgrew said, according to WhatCulture. “It is being pursued.”
Mulgrew has long been vocal about galvanizing fans, which partially resulted in Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 ending up on Netflix. But in terms of any new Star Trek series focusing on the post-Voyager era, nothing on the current Paramount+ slate fits that description. Strange New Worlds will run for at least two more seasons, and Starfleet Academy is expected to debut either later this year or sometime in 2026. At the same event on the Star Trek: The Cruise, Mulgrew expressed concerns that a Janeway live-action series might not live up to what fans wanted. And she also didn’t want to do a show as a “vanity project.”
Could Captain Janeway Still Return To Star Trek?
Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager Season 1 in 1995.
So, beyond a live-action Star Trek: Janeway show, how could Mulgrew return? In theory, Janeway could cameo in Starfleet Academy as a hologram of herself. The holographic Doctor (Robert Picardo) is already appearing in Starfleet Academy for that exact same reason, and Prodigy firmly established at least one holographic version of Janeway. Why not another one several centuries into the future?
It seems that although fans would prefer a live-action Janeway series, Mulgrew’s preference — and perhaps what she’s pursuing — would be to simply get a third season of Star Trek: Prodigy. In both seasons of that series, Mulgrew played not only the older Admiral Janeway but the holographic AI interface “Hologram Janeway” who guided the young stowaways on the USS Protostar.
“I’d like Prodigy to be optioned for a third season,” Mulgrew said in a pre-taped interview ahead of the cruise. So, if Janeway does return, it seems that would be Mulgrew’s preference. At least for now. Back when Star Trek: Picard was in development in 2018, nobody expected that the series would feature Star Trek: Voyager’s Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) as a series regular. Nor could anyone have expected that by Season 3, Voyager alum Tuvok (Tim Russ) would join Seven on screen for her big promotion.
There’s still a lot of love out there for the Voyager era, and clearly, all of this buzz could indicate that Mulgrew’s final appearance in the Trek mythos won’t be limited to Prodigy Season 2. But where she’ll beam in again, demanding black coffee, remains to be seen. A hypothetical Prodigy Season 3 would be the easiest way for Janeway to return. But it’s not the only way.
