William Shatner Says Star Trek's Success Doesn't Make Any Sense

Published Oct 8, 2026, 2:05 PM EDT

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William Shatner has explained why he believes that Star Trek's decades-long success makes no sense.

In Hollywood history, only a handful of actors have portrayed characters who left a massive mark on society. Because of Shatner's great Star Trek performances, Captain James T. Kirk will seemingly never be forgotten. In a recent interview, the actor reflected on the lasting legacy of the franchise he helped launch and why its ongoing relevance surprises him.

Recently, Entertainment Weekly interviewed Shatner about the documentary The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World, which he executive produced. During that discussion, he was asked if it was surreal to still be talking about Star Trek after the original series premiered in 1966. The actor gave a blunt, sobering response that highlighted how unlikely it is that the franchise is still celebrated decades later. Check out Shatner's comments below:

It doesn’t make any sense. The show lasted three seasons and then was canceled because not enough people were watching it, and then suddenly it comes to life because they started showing it on syndication at an earlier hour and younger people watched it. Instead of being 10 o’clock on a Friday evening when everybody was partying, it was available to younger people, and it became popular, and then it was renewed. I don’t think that’s ever happened before, for it to have all the iterations that it begets and to be very popular 60 years later, and it’s going through some kind of manifestation as we speak; Paramount’s doing something with Star Trek, I’m not sure what. Star Trek marches on.

It's easy to forget the franchise went dormant early on. During his EW interview, Shatner was asked how surprised he was when the franchise suddenly became popular years after it originally aired. He told the outlet he'd already moved on with his career when the sudden surge in popularity led him to return to his iconic Star Trek captain.

It had been six years, and I’m totally involved in other things, and they said, “Well, you know, maybe we’ll make a movie for TV.” I go, “Oh, okay.” “Oh, maybe we’ll make another series.” “Well, okay.” “Well, maybe we’ll do a movie.”

Shatner went on to explain that Star Trek: The Motion Picture nearly ended the franchise, but a single fan connected to the studio boss saved it.

Then they ended up hiring Robert Wise as the director of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. And it’s okay, but it was rushed and had a lot of faults, and it made some money, but not the billions that Star Wars was making. And they said, “That’s enough, we’re not gonna make any more Star Treks.” My knowledge of the story is the head of [the] Paramount [parent company] goes home and says, “That’s it,” and [his wife] says, “Are you kidding? It’s my favorite show!” And he says, “All right," and they made Wrath of Khan, and it was a really good movie. It was a feel-good movie about characters and growing old, and to this day, it’s possibly the best of the Star Trek movies. That turned the Star Trek fortune around.

Beyond becoming the face of the beloved franchise, Shatner has starred in many non-Star Trek movies and TV shows. As a result, he knows how easily even captivating films and series can be forgotten. After all, despite each show running for years, T.J. Hooker and Boston Legal often seemforgotten. For that reason, it is completely logical that he would feel like Star Trek's still ongoing longevity makes no sense.

Since Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released and became iconic, the franchise has undergone a staggering number of behind-the-scenes twists and turns. For example, several series and films have underperformed critically or commercially in their own ways.

Despite every chapter that could have ended new Star Trek projects or let the franchise fade into obscurity, it keeps evading the grave. The Star Trek franchise has built a world that generations have invested in, and they keep it alive and well today.

The Star Trek franchise, including the original series, is available to stream on Paramount+.