I’ll be the first to admit that I came late to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I came about a quarter century late to the story, as I only recently watched all of the series for the first time. However, like many, those who loved it at the beginning and those who came late, like me, I love the show. While I had some issues with the Deep Space Nine finale, the show on the whole is incredible.
As a fan of all things Star Trek, I’ve been using my Paramount+ subscription to also enjoy all the new shows that have come out over the last few years. It’s been great to see the Original Series era continued with Strange New Worlds and to see what happened after The Next Generation with Picard. But, hang on one second. Why has there been no follow-up series to Deep Space Nine?
Deep Space Nine Pioneered Serialized Star Trek
Today, serialized storytelling is the norm; a purely episodic dramatic series is the outlier. Twenty-five years ago, of course, things were very different. Star Trek itself was almost exclusively episodic storytelling, coming during an era when being able to watch every single episode wasn’t nearly as easy as it is today.
But, speaking as somebody who recently binge-watched all of Deep Space Nine over a period of weeks, the show was ahead of its time in this way. It was the first truly serialized Star Trek series, making it the perfect candidate for a modern follow-up that would continue the story. And yet, this is the series that has seen the least love on streaming.
Real Connections To Deep Space Nine Have Been Limited In New Star Trek Content
We’ve seen four new Star Trek TV series, with a fifth on the way, and a movie, all on Paramount+ since the streaming service launched. Those various shows have straddled timelines, genres, and even mediums. Whatever your favorite Trek show had been before this era, there’s something to scratch that itch, except DS9.
Technically, DS9 as a series has had a significant impact on modern Trek, as the show originated the concept of Section 31, the covert branch of the Federation that has played a key role in the movie of the same name and Star Trek: Discovery. That connection to DS9, however, has never been particularly relevant to the new stories being told.
Storyline-wise, the most significant connection to Deep Space Nine didn’t come until the third season of Picard when a group of renegade Changelings became the main adversary. However, that season was also all about reuniting the original The Next Generation cast, so while it might have made sense to bring in DS9 characters, there was surely no room for them.
Other than that, beyond a few references in Star Trek: Lower Decks, DS9 has largely been ignored, even though there are a lot of really interesting places for a follow-up series to go.
Picard Got Three Seasons But What About Sisko?
I love Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard as much as anybody. I watched all three seasons of Picard, and if they made six more, I would watch them all. Still, Next Generation had arguably the most satisfying finale of any Star Trek series to date, making the need for another show, at least from a storytelling standpoint, less necessary.
Meanwhile, the Captain of Deep Space Nine is a character whose story was left very open-ended, creating a real reason for a new show and a direction for it to go. Just what has Benjamin Sisko been up to for the last quarter century?
I didn’t love the decision to leave Sisko’s character in a sort of limbo at the end of DS9, but that’s what happened, so let’s use it to do something interesting with the character. Did he return to the station shortly after the finale aired, or has he been gone the entire time? What did the time that he spent with the Bajoran prophets do to him, and what has it meant to the Federation at large?
These are questions I would love to get answers to, and I’m sure there are other fans who would feel the same way.
A Solid Idea For A New DS9 Series Has Already Been Pitched
There’s another reason that the fact that a follow-up doesn’t exist is wild, and that's because the idea for one already exists, and it’s a solid start.
As part of the 2019 documentary What We Left Behind: Looking Back At Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, several of the show’s original writers got together and talked out an idea for what would have essentially been Episode 1 of Season 8 of the series. Importantly, this wasn't an idea for what the next episode would have been, had it been made 25 years ago, but how they would make a new episode if they were making it now.
The details of what they do aren't important, so I'll avoid spoilers. What’s important is that it’s exactly the sort of series that we’re getting today as continuations of other popular franchises. It’s the DS9 version of Picard or Cobra Kai. Even if we didn't get exactly this idea, the writers have already been contemplating what would happen if the show were to return.
Why A Deep Space Nine May Not Have Happened Yet
While it’s easy enough to tell Paramount they’re missing the boat on a Deep Space Nine series, there are some real reasons such a show may not have happened yet. First and foremost, there’s the fact that, while the show was and is clearly popular, it may not be popular enough.
It was ahead of the curve with serialized storytelling, but there’s little argument that the decision to make the show that way had its costs. The series did bleed viewers throughout its run. It’s possible that a lot of people, even people who consider themselves Trek fans, just haven’t seen all of it. That was certainly the case for me for a long time.
There's also the fact that, in the last 25 years, we've unfortunately lost some key members of the cast. Rene Auberjonois, who played station security chief Odo, passed away in 2019. His loss would be keenly felt by any attempted reboot. Aron Eisenberg, who played the Ferengi Nog, also died in 2019
On top of all that, there’s some question as to how interested Avery Brooks would be in returning to play Captain Sisko again. He’s done very little acting since finishing the show and is essentially retired now. He might not have much interest in doing even an eight or ten-episode TV season, never mind more than one, and a DS9 series without Sisko is essentially a non-starter.
To be sure, Star Trek is far from over, and it seems likely that sooner or later somebody is going to see potential in doing something with Deep Space Nine. It’s just very odd that it hasn’t already happened.
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