Paramount+ has announced that it will be removing four series from its streaming service at some point next week – Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, Queen of the Universe and The Game. The news comes ahead of Paramount+ merging with the Showtime streaming app next Tuesday.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the four series, and likely more to come, are being removed in order for the streamer to take a tax write off in a move similar to recent content removals on the Max and Disney+ streaming services.
In a rather euphemistic statement, a Paramount+ spokesperson stated, “The Paramount+ series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, Queen of the Universe and The Game have completed their runs on Paramount+ and will not be returning to the service.” Interesting choice of wording as it implies that there was a set availability time duration for these shows from the beginning of their commissioning for the streamer, which seems unlikely, especially given that both Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies and Queen Of The Universe only released their final episodes of their current seasons within the past few weeks.
The cancellation of Star Trek: Prodigy comes as a surprise given that the streamer had previously
renewed the animated series for a second season, which is currently nearing completion of its post-production. Prodigy is now the second Trek series that the streamer has pulled the plug on, following the cancellation of Star Trek: Discovery this past March. However, Prodigy‘s removal from the streamer is a first for the franchise which has been seen as a cornerstone of Paramount+ and its predecessor CBS All Access. Both seasons of the show will be shopped to other outlets.
