Everyone is always focused on a new ship and crew. DS9 proved you don’t need that to make a great Trek.
DS9 had not just a new starship but a whole new type of location instead of a ship with a memberberry name l. Also, besides Miles who was only a minor character in TNG and only in DS9 became a fleshed out person and Worf much later in the show, every character was a brand new one (with the exception of some side characters that came back for an episode or two but not every week).
The Defiant wasn’t introduced until the third season, the DS9 series was already established by that point as having the Station be the equivalent of the ships from previous series. And after introduction it was only in a fraction of the episodes.
The Defiant was not the primary location of the show, it was the Delta Flyer of DS9. It was useful for certain stories to be told outside the station, but it was not the focus of the show.
DS9 had not just a new starship but a whole new type of location instead of a ship with a memberberry name l. Also, besides Miles who was only a minor character in TNG and only in DS9 became a fleshed out person and Worf much later in the show, every character was a brand new one (with the exception of some side characters that came back for an episode or two but not every week).
DS9 is a good example of what OP means.
The Defiant wasn’t introduced until the third season, the DS9 series was already established by that point as having the Station be the equivalent of the ships from previous series. And after introduction it was only in a fraction of the episodes.
The Defiant was not the primary location of the show, it was the Delta Flyer of DS9. It was useful for certain stories to be told outside the station, but it was not the focus of the show.