In Prodigy’s case, I would say that nostalgia is the opposite of what they’re trying to do.
The show is intended to pull kids and families with no Star Trek experience into the franchise. It is a gateway into Trek’s massive library rather than using the legacy characters to pull viewers in.
The main cast is primarily original characters, but using Janeway who has been demonstrated to appeal to 8-11 year olds as a heroic captain who will protect her crew is a smart choice.
Now, it’s fairly clear that having Janeway and now Voyager is a way to get established fans to show Prodigy to their kids and grandkids, as well as to have them join in the viewer base. But that’s clearly a secondary goal or Paramount would have kept the show on Paramount+ where it outperformed every other original digital animated show other than Lowe Decks in 2022.
It seems the real problem is that Prodigy wasn’t reaching enough of the new viewers on Paramount and Nickelodeon to fulfil its mission to expand the audience base for the future. It will be interesting to see where it lands.