Star Trek: Starfleet Academycould be the turning point the franchise needs. Created by Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau,Star Trek: Starfleet Academyintroduces the first class of the venerable institution a hundred years after The Burn that crippled the United Federation of Planets in the distant future.Star Trek: Starfleet Academyis set in the closing years of the 32nd century after theend ofStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5.
AStar Trekmovieor TV series about Starfleet Academy has been proposed for decades.Star Trekexecutive producer Alex Kurtzman planned a"younger-skewing"Starfleet Academy series soon after signing a development deal with CBS Studios to oversee theStar TrekTV franchise. Paramount+ formally announcedStar Trek: Starfleet Academyin 2023, and the cast was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, soon after the announcement thatAcademy Award-winner Holly Hunter is leading the series and Academy Award-nominee Paul Giamatti is playing season 1’s villain.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academyseason 1 wrapped filming in February 2025, although it isn’t expected to premiere on Paramount+ until 2026, which is Star Trek’s 60th anniversary year. However, Paramount+ orderedStar Trek: Starfleet Academyseason 2 during the production of season 1, signaling confidence in the nextStar Trekseries. While most details aboutStarfleet Academyare top secret, what has been revealed so far indicates that the new show is designed to bewhatStar Trekneeds to ensure the franchise’s future.
5Starfleet Academy Isn’t A Star Trek Prequel
Star Trek: Discovery’s 32nd Century Continues In Starfleet Academy
Star Trekhas been accused of suffering from prequel-itisfor the last 25 years. AfterStar Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, andStar Trek: Voyagerexpanded the 24th century,Star Trek: Enterprisetook the franchise back to its 22nd century founding era, which led toa 12-year drought ofStar TrekTV shows. When J.J. Abrams rebooted theStar Trekmovies in 2009, he also did a prequel set inStar Trek: The Original Series'23rd century.Star Trek: Discoverywas also a 23rd-century-set prequel in its first two seasons, as isStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Fans also hope that Paramount+ will greenlightStar Trek: Legacy, which would continueStar Trek: Picardseason 3’s early 25th century era.
However,Star Trek: Starfleet Academyis following inStar Trek: Discoveryseasons 3 to 5’s footsteps by moving the franchise forward, potentially into the 33rd century.Starfleet Academyintroduces a brand new crop ofyoung characters who represent the hopeful, diverse, and eclectic future of the Federation. This also mirrorsStar Trek’s multi-generational audience that consists of people from every walk of life.Starfleet AcademycontinuesStar Trekcreator Gene Roddenberry’s hopeful and inclusive visionof the future.
4Star Trek Needs To Gain New Young Fans
Starfleet Academy Can Attract A New Demographic
A prevalent concern about the overallStar Trekfranchise is that it skews towards an older audience.Star Trekisn’t as readily attractive a franchise to younger general audiences as Marvel orStar Warsare.Star Trek: Prodigywas a laudable attempt to teach young viewers the virtues and majesty ofStar Trekand hopefully create a new generation of Trekkers. Despite the incredibly high quality ofStar Trek: Prodigy, however,the beloved CGI animated series was pigeonholed as a ‘kids’ show.'
Star Trek: Starfleet Academyruns the risk of being branded a YA show because of its young cast. Yetteenagers and college-aged people are exactly the audienceStarfleet Academyhopes to attract.Star Trekneeds an injection of youth and lacks coming-of-age sagas for characters in their late teens and early 20s, apart from Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) inStar Trek: The Next Generation,and Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) and Nog (Aron Eisenberg) inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine. Star Trekneeds the Gen Z demographic thatStarfleet Academyhopes to turn into Trekkers.
3Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Has An Incredible Cast
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s cast is comprised of several jaw-dropping coups. Academy Award-caliber actors Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti area signal to general audiences and critics thatStarfleet Academyis another level ofStar Trek.In addition,Starfleet Academyis bringing in acclaimed actors like Tatiana Maslany and out-of-the-box casting picks likeWWE superstar Becky Lynch(Rebecca Quin). SeveralStar Treklegacy actors also provide crucial links to the franchise’s venerable history and canon.
However,the beating heart ofStar Trek: Starfleet Academyis its young castof fresh-faced Starfleet hopefuls. PlayingStarfleet Academy’s young heroes are Bella Shepard, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Karim Diané, Zoe Steiner, and Sandro Rosta. Although their characters' identities and even what species they belong to are being kept under wraps,Starfleet Academywill rise or fall based on how engaging and accepted by the audience the young characters are.
2Starfleet Academy Is Pushing Star Trek’s Production Forward
Starfleet Academy’s Production Is Another Level
Star Trek: Discovery’s 32nd century setting offered a blank slate whereStar Trekwas free to create new canon without being constrained or beholden to the events in previousStar Trekseries. Star Trek: Starfleet Academybenefits from pushing that era even further beyond, to introducing new technology, new aliens, new worlds, and new scenarios. It’s crucial thatStar Trekcontinues to be forward-thinking and keeps looking aheadto what’s new.Starfleet Academynow being the farthest point inStar Trek’s timeline(except forStar Trek: Short Treks'“Calypso”) allowsStar Trekto do just that.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s production is all-in on taking the series to another level.Starfleet Academy’s Star Trek Stage in Toronto houses the largest sets ever built for the franchise.Starfleet Academy’s A-list cast also conveys the high bar the series is setting. WhileStar Trek’s TV shows and movies are produced for a fraction of the budget of aStar Warsseries likeAndor,Starfleet Academywill upgrade the impressive production values and visual stylethat have become hallmarks of the franchise since J.J. Abrams’Star TrekandStar Trek: Discovery.
1Starfleet Academy Can Call Back To Star Trek’s Entire History
Star Trek’s Timeline Spans 1,000 Years In Starfleet Academy
One of the benefits ofStar Trek: Starfleet Academy’s 32nd century setting is that the series can draw from the full expanse ofStar Trek’s canon. FromStar Trek: Enterprise’s 22nd century onward,Star Trek’s timeline spans a thousand years, including a multiverse of alternate realities.Starfleet AcademyincorporatingStar Treklegacy characters likeThe Doctor (Robert Picardo) fromStar Trek: Voyager, and Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), Commander Jett Reno (Tig Notaro), and Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) fromStar Trek: Discoveryalreadygives the cadets direct ties to the franchise’s history.
Star Trek: Lower Decks' Tawny Newsome is one ofStar Trek: Starfleet Academy’s writers and a ‘continuity cop’ in the writer’s room.
Through holograms, time travel, and other sci-fi means, potentially any aspect ofStar Trekcan appear or be referenced inStarfleet Academy. Meanwhile,Starfleet Academy’s cadets must face a new threat to the Federation involving Paul Giamatti’s mystery villain, and they will also learn that their futures in Starfleet mean coming to terms with the sins of the Federation’s past. With two seasons assured to stream on Paramount+,Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s vaulting ambition is to create and ensure a future forStar Trekand generations ofStar Trekfans, old and new.
