The Next Generation ended after seven seasons

The final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, titled “All Good Things…”, aired on May 23, 1994, although many Trekkies weren't completely heartbroken. Although viewers will no longer be able to see the weekly adventures of the Enterprise-D and its formidable crew, they all knew that spinoff feature film “Star Trek: Generations” was expected in theaters in just six months. In addition, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” was already approaching its third season, and “Star Trek: Voyager” was in active development. I'm telling you, the 90s were a great time to be a hiker.

Of course, at the time, many fans wondered why “Next Generation” felt the need to stop after only seven seasons. Ratings were high and the show's cultural popularity had not waned. The cast had even signed on to star in an eighth season, ready to endure another year in space. There was reason to believe that “The Next Generation” would continue indefinitely, or at least until viewers stopped paying attention.

The fact was, however, that the series became too expensive to produce. The main seven actors (Gate McFadden, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, and Jonathan Frake) were getting higher and higher salaries, and the show's producers knew they had to keep pushing the boundaries of television. special effects to keep audiences interested in a galaxy-spanning space opera. And other, more technical costs had to be taken into account; it appears that Paramount had a difficult time selling “The Next Generation” to local television stations.

It was all described in detail July 1994 New York Times article. Not only was “The Next Generation”'s price tag getting too high, but the show's unorthodox distribution model was becoming increasingly tenuous. Instead of continuing to push toward the edge of an unbalanced ledger page, the studio ended the series while it was still high.

For most of its history, Star Trek has engaged in unusual distribution models. The original series aired on NBC but did not become a cultural phenomenon until it was sold in syndication; it was only in reruns that the series became the phenomenon it did. Meanwhile, “The Next Generation” was sold directly to local TV stations rather than tie-up with a single network (Paramount didn't seriously attempt to start its own TV network until 1995). In order to buy “The Next Generation,” a local station had to repeat each episode at least seven times, which allowed for plenty of “Next Generation” reruns; there was a time when you could see both “Star Trek” and “The Next Generation” on a daily basis.

Of course, with seven seasons and 278 episodes, promising to repeat each of them seven times raised some concerns. Which station would like to commit to buying 1,946 hours of TV? Are viewers still interested in seven full reviews of one episode? It was a time commitment that Paramount knew it would have trouble selling. Also, spending trends in 1994 dictated that newer series were priced lower than early ones, not higher. This meant that Paramount would make less money overall selling “Next Generation”, just when it was costing more and more to make (thanks to those rising salaries and SFX budgets).

In general, it was simply not economically feasible. In short, “The Next Generation” ended because it was too much. It won't happen until much later “Star Trek” film and TV rights would be split between the two companiescomplicating matters further.

According to a 1994 article in EWthe actors were not given any of the above information. They only heard stories about the show's high ratings and knew they were under contract for an eighth season. When Paramount announced they were canceling the show, no one could give the cast a solid reason why. They certainly weren't told the labyrinthine details of local TV distribution deals. The movie was, of course, planned, but actor Jonathan Freak saw no reason why the movie couldn't be delayed another year. He expressed his displeasure as follows:

“I haven't been given any reason that holds water. (…) Maybe (Paramount) thought they couldn't do a movie and a TV show at the same time, although I don't know why the movie had to do that. Some of us hoped there would be eleventh hour break that Paramount will realize how much money the show has made them and change their mind.

According to “Star Trek” executive producer Rick Berman, the decision to end “Next Generation” after seven years was Paramount's business. This was decided even before the shooting of “Star Trek: Voyager”. The writers, while perhaps feeling a little burnt out, were still on board, and everyone seemed game (though Spiner was quoted in the EW article as a little dispassionate). But like all things, it came down to money. Paramount executive Joel Berman (no relation) was also quoted in the EW article as saying that a movie franchise would be more profitable than a TV franchise.

Of course, the cancellation of “The Next Generation” after seven years set the template. Both “Deep Space Nine” and “Voyager” lasted seven years, and 2001's “Star Trek: Enterprise” would have followed suit had it not been completed after only four. And now, in the age of streaming, services can buy entire shows without committing to seven reruns, changing the rules entirely. Of course, even with the new rules, “Star Trek” remained ubiquitous.