There has been widespread uproar from Trekkies outside of North America due to the latest streaming wars development.
In case you were patiently awaiting the arrival of the fourth season of 'Star Trek: Discovery' on Netflix later this month, well, we have some pretty bad news for you. All three seasons of the sci-fi series have been removed from the streaming service, and the fourth season won't be beaming onto it at a later date either.
Due to premiere on November 18 over in the US and Canada, the latest season was notably absent from Netflix's November release schedule. The series now won't arrive in Europe until some point in 2022, along with a new streaming service: Paramount+.
CBS All Access, the original network of the 'Star Trek: Discovery series, rebranded itself this year as Paramount+ and launched this past March in North America. Now with their plans to expand into the European market next year moving swiftly forward, they've withdrawn their tentpole title from Netflix.
The 'Star Trek' franchise itself is a very fickle matter outside of US and Canada. Various spin-off series can be found on streaming platforms, including Netflix and Amazon Prime. CBS/Paramount+ hold the rights to the franchise overall, which means that a substantial deal was apparently struck with Netflix to get it back.
Amazon Prime's 'Star Trek: Picard' with Patrick Stewart and animated series 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' are believed to be safe where they are for now, but don't be surprised if these titles revert back to Paramount+ before launch.
As you would imagine, 'Star Trek: Discovery' fans are quite p*ssed with Netflix. It now means they may have to wait months until they can see the series' next instalment.
Paramount+ is expected to roll out in Ireland, the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland at the beginning of 2022, under the Sky TV and NOW umbrella. Sky has quite a lucrative deal struck with a number of streaming services in Europe, with both HBO Max and Peacock content already available to subscribers.
Titles released from Paramount+ so far this year include 'Mayor of Kingstown', 'Adele: One Night Only' and the 2021 series of 'iCarly'. The service also has a 'Halo' TV series on the way.