So A CBS Studios Exec In A Pissing Contest With Their New Boss Is What Actually Cancelled Trek
People are quoting this Deadline article out of context a lot and saying how it's a "no news" comment when they say expanding Trek is imperative to them, but if you read the whole thing and not just the questions pertaining to Star Trek, there's a lot being said between the lines.
-When Wiseman was brought in, she immediately directed Paramount+ to commission a major expansion of the Trek franchise (as well as other non-Trek stuff). Instead, CBS Studios cancelled SNW at the then-height of its popularity.
-When P+ then said they wanted to go after white space segments ("White Space" being the old radio term for unused and undeveloped segments in their programming) including female-forward YA dramas, shows starring strong female ensemble casts, and action shows that appeal to both men and women (like Lioness), CBS Studios instead developed a YA show starring a male lead with Starfleet Academy that was just as much an action-comedy as it was a YA drama. It also never commissioned a strong female cast or action show.
-When P+ said they're pulling out of original sitcoms in favor of doing next-day streaming of linear TV sitcoms, CBS Studios instead commissioned scripts for that Risa sitcom from Tawny Newsome that never got made - despite the show having never been greenlit, no less.
-When P+ said they want so much new Trek ASAP that they're even taking offers from other studios, CBS Studios instead put an end to working on Trek with Kurtzman and, as far as we know, haven't entered or even entertained the idea of entering an agreement with any other production companies to work on anything related to Star Trek.
-When asked outright what the plan for Trek is, she didn't give a non-answer, she said that they're leaning heavily on CBS Studios to get stuff out NOW. That's not something you tell a member of the press! That's the corporate diplomatic way of saying "if Bob from accounting doesn't get me his TPS report by the end of the day, he's out of a job!"
This doesn't sound like Paramount wants less Trek, so much as CBS Studios being pissed that Wiseman was put in charge of Paramount+. I'm now very optimistic about a new Star Trek show coming sooner than we expect it to, but also very pessimistic about how good its first season will be due to how they're clearly going to rush into pre-production and through the production and post-production in order to recover from CBS Studios dropping the ball so hard.