Where to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)

Trivia & production notes

• Paramount ended The Next Generation after seven seasons despite cast contracts for eight, partly because higher salaries and lower per-episode prices in syndication would have reduced profitability.
• The 1994 series finale drew over 30 million viewers and ranked number two among all shows that week, behind only Home Improvement.
• Escalating salary demands from William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home prompted Paramount to develop a new television series with unknown actors instead.
• Gene Roddenberry initially declined involvement with the new series but joined as creator after being dissatisfied with early conceptual work.
• The Next Generation's theme music combined Alexander Courage's fanfare from the original series theme with Jerry Goldsmith's theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
• Industrial Light and Magic, a division of Lucasfilm, provided the special effects for the series.
• Paramount distributed The Next Generation through first-run syndication on 210 stations covering 90% of the United States by offering the show for free as barter syndication, with stations selling local ads and Paramount selling national ads.
• Over 50 network affiliates pre-empted their own programming to air the series pilot "Encounter at Farpoint" in October 1987.
• By 1992, Paramount earned $90 million annually from advertising on first-run episodes, with 30-second commercials fetching $115,000 to $150,000.
• Patrick Stewart noted that series producer Rick Berman was more receptive than Gene Roddenberry to addressing political issues in The Next Generation.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Star Trek: The Next Generation, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.