After over a decade of no new Star Trek on our TV screens, the shows have now been coming at a wonderful clip since the 2017 debut of Star Trek: Discovery. In just a few years we've gotten several new series, with more on the way, and now we know that an old favorite is returning to the franchise after two whole decades away. That's right, fans, the fantastic Kate Mulgrew is coming back as Captain Kathryn Janeway!
Kate Mulgrew's return will actually come in the new animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, which is set to debut on Nickelodeon some time in 2021. The announcement was made by the official Star Trek Twitter page, and you can take a look at it below:
Well, this does come as quite a surprise, doesn't it? Kate Mulgrew played Captain Janeway for all seven seasons of Voyager, from 1995 through 2001, but moved on with her career once the show was over. She went on to several other memorable roles, especially that of Red on Orange is the New Black, but when it became clear that Trekkies were going to be treated to tons of new Star Trek soon, the first question many fans thought of was whether or not we'd be able to see some of our old favorites again.
This question factored even more in the minds of fans everywhere when we found out that Patrick Stewart would return to one of his beloved roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard for Star Trek: Picard. When Mulgrew was asked about possibly returning to Janeway should the opportunity arise, she seemed truly appreciative of the time she had with the character, but unlikely to jump at the chance to inhabit her again.
While Picard did bring Voyager's Jeri Ryan back to play Seven of Nine, we don't know if Kate Mulgrew was approached about a return as Janeway for that show. Luckily, though, any reticence she may have had for getting back into the Star Trek saddle has clearly been taken care of now. While not much is currently known about Prodigy, we do know that the series will follow a group of "lawless" teens who decide to use an abandoned starship (which I'm just going to guess right now that they found a way to steal) so that they can search for adventure throughout the galaxy.
And, it does sound like Kate Mulgrew is also very excited about this new venture and her part in it. She also tweeted about coming back as Janeway, and you've got to love her enthusiasm:
Obviously, the big question now that we've gotten this glorious news out of the way is just how will the good Captain Janeway end up interacting with our band of lawless teen explorers? We don't know yet how many episodes of Prodigy will feature the classic character, but I'm betting right now that if we only get one or two episodes with her, Janeway will somehow end up coming across the teens while she and her crew are stuck in the Delta Quadrant.
At any rate, Janeway is tough but still caring (like all the good Starfleet captains we've seen), so the kids will be lucky to have her around for however long she's with them, even if she has to give them a good talking to while she's there. As long as they have enough coffee for her, everything should be alright.
We don't know when Star Trek: Prodigy will premiere on Nickelodeon yet, or when Kate Mulgrew will make her debut as Captain Janeway, so be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for details. In the meantime, check out our guide to fall TV to see what you can watch in the coming weeks!
