Star Trek Discovery season 4 will not be shown in most regions, including the UK as Paramount has pulled the show from Netflix. They aim to use the show to launch Paramount Plus to parts of the world in 2022.
The show was due to air on Friday 19 November, 24 hours after it is shown on Paramount Plus in the US. More than four years after the series was launched on what was then CBS All Access in North America and Netflix in the rest of the world, Discovery was pulled from Netflix at midnight on Tuesday 16 November.
Fans were given the 3-day notice via a tweet from the official Star Trek Twitter account.
The statement reads: “To our international Star Trek: Discovery fans, we know you are anxious to hear our plans for season four so we wanted to update you.”
“Internationally, the upcoming season of Star Trek Discovery season 4 will now premiere exclusively where Paramount Plus is available in early 2022. This means the new season, and all previous Discovery seasons will be available internationally in 2022 as Paramount+ expands globally.”
The statement signed off with “we can’t wait to show you what’s in store…Let’s fly!”
As to be expected it did not go down well with many people calling for a boycott of Paramount and others talking about pirating the show.
What was even more egregious is the fact that actors from the show appeared at Destination Star Trek in London at the weekend promoting the show. They were completely unaware of the actions Paramount was about to take.
Anthony Rapp who plays Paul Stamets on Discovery tweeted in response to the news:
“I hereby reach out to our many international #StarTrekDiscovery fans, who are understandably upset at the last-minute news that you won’t get to experience Season 4 until 2022. We cast members just found out about this as well, & we share your disappointment & frustration.”
“We remain deeply grateful to you all. We hope that when the show makes its way to you, you will continue to support the hard work that we all have done to bring Discovery to life. We are all of us saddened that you will have to wait months longer to experience Season 4.”
I hereby reach out to our many international #StarTrekDiscovery fans, who are understandably upset at the last-minute news that you won’t get to experience Season 4 until 2022. We cast members just found out about this as well, & we share your disappointment & frustration.
— Anthony Rapp SAG-AFTRA National & NY Board Member (@albinokid) November 17, 2021
ViacomCBS Networks International streaming boss Kelly Day told Deadline on Tuesday “As we rapidly expand our global streaming footprint, we are bringing more of our top titles home to ViacomCBS for Paramount+ markets around the world. We have a strong global and local content pipeline that positions us for success across our regions, and repatriating beloved series like Star Trek: Discovery for Paramount+ is another step forward as we bring fans more must-watch series worldwide.”
As someone who has rewatched Star Trek: Discovery at least once a month since it aired, this is a massive blow. I only wished I had downloaded the first three seasons before they were yanked from Netflix.
Free to Sky subscribers
UK Sky Cinema subscribers will get Paramount Plus free when it launches here. All other Sky customers will be able to subscribe to Paramount+ as an add-on to their account.
This comes as no consolation as we are still getting the show months after it has aired in the US and spoilers will be rife on the internet.
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