Currently filming its first season, with an eye on a 2025 launch date, is the latest series in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Some kind of Starfleet Academy project has been rumored since the ’80s, for both film and TV. But one is finally happening at last. Starfleet Academy is the fourth Paramount+ Star Trek live-action series, and the ninth live-action Star Trek series overall. Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series.

Title

The official title of the upcoming Paramount+ series is Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Although, we think that most fans will simply refer to it as Starfleet Academy without the brand name attached. We also imagine in the greater Star Trek fandom the name of the show will be shortened even further to ST:SA.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s Plot

The new series is a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery, and will take place in the 32nd Century, some 800 years after the time of Star Trek: Picard. After a period of 100 years where the Federation dwindled to a handful of worlds, and Starfleet was a small operation, Starfleet Academy will introduce the first class of cadets in a century. Below is the official description from Paramount+:

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will introduce us to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.

Behind-the-Scenes

Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau will serve as co-showrunners for Starfleet Academy. Gaia Violo wrote the series pilot. Kurtzman of course is the head honcho for all things in the Star Trek universe on Paramount+, including Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Picard.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s Cast

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has a robust cast, headlined by Academy Award winner Holly Hunter. She’ll be the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy, presumably still located in San Francisco. She’s the third woman to headline her own Star Trek series, after Kate Mulgrew and Sonequa Martin-Green. The series’ main villain is none other than Paul Giamatti, who plays “A man with an ominous past connected to one of our cadets.”

Speaking of the cadets, in the roles of the student body we’ve got Karim Diané, Zoë Steiner, Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, and Sandro Rosta. Legacy actors from Star Trek: Discovery joining the series include Tig Notaro, Oded Fehr, and Mary Wiseman. The biggest surprise in terms of legacy Trek actors is Star Trek: Voyager‘s Robert Picardo. He returns as the Emergency Medical Holographic doctor.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Release Date

There is no release date yet for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, but it’s expected in the latter half of 2025 on Paramount+. Presumably, it will drop some months after Star Trek: Strange New Worlds wraps up its third season.

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Although Star Trek: Discovery will soon end with season five, a new live-action StarTrek series will arrive to replace it. After years of rumors, Paramount+ has officially announced a series order for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. This show will follow an all-new class of Starfleet cadets. And we’ll get to see students coming of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau will serve as co-showrunners. Gaia Violo wrote the series pilot.

The series just began production in August 2024 and shared a photo of its new cadets at work.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Series Casts Its New Cadets

In the latest piece of casting news for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, another new actor has joined the series as a cadet. This time, it’s Sandro Rosta who enlists in the Academy.

He joins a slew of actors already announced as cadets in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. These include Karim Diané (One Of Us Is Lying), Zoë Steiner (Significant Others), Kerrice Brooks (My Old Ass), Bella Shepard (Wolf Pack), and George Hawkins (Tell Me Everything).

All these actors will play the newest cadets in the Star Trek universe. But for now literally all we know about them is that they are “cadets.”

Right now, we don’t know any more about their individual characters than that. But since the series is all about “a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy,” we bet they’ll be very important. We can’t wait to learn more about these Starfleet Academy characters soon.

Paul Giamatti Joins Starfleet Academy as the Series’ Villain

Paul Giamatti has also come aboard the cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Giamatti will play Starfleet Academy‘s villain. A release shares, “Giamatti will play the season’s villain, a man with an ominous past connected to one of our cadets.” Very ominous indeed.

Giamatti will be a recurring guest star.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Casts Holly Hunter as Its Captain

In an exciting turn of events, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy revealed that it has cast Holly Hunter as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy. A release reiterates that, “The series will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy.”

Co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau share, “It feels like we’ve spent our entire lives watching Holly Hunter be a stone-cold genius. To have her extraordinary authenticity, fearlessness, sense of humor, and across the board brilliance leading the charge on STARFLEET ACADEMY is a gift to all of us, and to the enduring legacy of STAR TREK.”

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Synopsis

You can read the official description of the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series right here:

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will introduce us to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.

Paramount+ also released a special “recruitment announcement” from the legendary institution itself:

Admission is now open to Starfleet Academy! Explore the galaxy! Captain your destiny! For the first time in over a century, our campus will be re-opened to admit individuals a minimum of 16 Earth years (or species equivalent) who dream of exceeding their physical, mental and spiritual limits, who value friendship, camaraderie, honor and devotion to a cause greater than themselves.

The coursework will be rigorous, the instructors among the brightest lights in their respective fields, and those accepted will live and study side-by-side with the most diverse population of students ever admitted. Today we encourage all who share our dreams, goals and values to join a new generation of visionary cadets as they take their first steps toward creating a bright future for us all. Apply today! Ex Astris, Scientia!”

The mention of the Academy opening up for “the first time in over a century” suggests the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series will be a spinoff of Discovery. We learned in recent seasons that because of a terrible galactic incident, the Federation was reduced to just a few worlds by the 32nd century. But by the end of Discovery season three, Starfleet began the climb back, and the Academy reopened.

Recently, Doug Jones seemed to confirm this, noting of a possible Star Trek return, “It would be a character by character, case by case, kind of a thing. Just as an actor in general, if I’m presented with a story I want to help tell, a character that I would really love to play, you know, it’s a case by case thing. So yeah, never say never, yes. And if Saru were to be invited back to another, let’s say Starfleet Academy, that’s the right timeline for him, he could do. I’m absolutely game to do so.”

Many fans crossed their fingers and hoped that Starfleet Academy might take place in the post-Picard timeline. We would have loved to see characters from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager as instructors. But it seems more likely we’ll see characters from Discovery instead. We do also hope the new Star Trek series won’t be completely Earthbound. It would be amazing to see cadets training on starships, as we did in The Wrath of Khan.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Release Date

Speaking to Collider, Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman shared Starfleet Academy is  “halfway through the writers room now” and preparing to film this summer. He additionally noted, “It could end up not airing until 2026. We don’t know. But by starting [shooting in late summer], just building the sets alone is a massive endeavor, then six months of shooting, then six to eight months of post.” The publication additionally notes, “While he confirmed they ‘haven’t started casting the kids,’ it sounds like some of the adult roles have already been filled.”

A recent article from Variety additionally notes that “this summer, the first Star Trek YA series, Starfleet Academy, will start production on the largest single set ever created for Star Trek on TV.” The article also describes “plans for the series’ central academic atrium, a sprawling, two-story structure that will include a mess hall, amphitheater, trees, catwalks, multiple classrooms and a striking view of the Golden Gate Bridge in a single, contiguous space. To fit it all, they plan to use every inch of Pinewood Toronto’s 45,900 square foot soundstage, the largest in Canada.” But rest assured, the article notes, there will be starships. Although since Starfleet Academy “is set in the 32nd century, an era so far into the future Kurtzman and his team need to invent much of its design language.”

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will likely debut on Paramount+ sometime in 2024 or 2025, but we guess 2026 is also on the table.

Originally published on March 30, 2023.

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When Star Trek: Starfleet Academy debuts on Paramount+ it will introduce a whole new generation of wannabe Starfleet officers to the franchise. How many of them will make the cut and who will flame out? More importantly, which ones will join the ranks of our favorite Star Trek characters? It might end up being “all of them” after watching a new behind-the-scenes video. CBS Studios shared a moving montage of showrunners welcoming their young actors to the show during a Hall H panel at this years San Diego Comic-Con. But that wasn’t the only insight we got into the show. Starfleet Academy also announced four Star Trek alums will return to help teach those cadets.

Star Trek: Discovery might have ended, but some its stars are sticking around for more space fun. Tig Notaro, Oded Fehr, and Mary Wiseman are all headed to Starfleet Academy. As is the universe’s most beloved hologram. Star Trek: Voyager‘s Robert Picardo is also back.

Fittingly, generations of Star Trek characters will come together once again. Notaro (Jett Reno) and Picardo (The Doctor) are both joining Starfleet Academy as series regulars. Fehr (Admiral Vance) and Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly) will also reprise their previous franchise roles as guest stars. They’ll star opposite previously announced series regular Holly Hunter and recurring guest stars Gina Yashere and Paul Giamatti.

Seeing Discovery stars show up isn’t a surprise (especially not Wiseman’s Tilly who is a Starfleet instructor). The timelines of the two show’s matchup. But Picardo was serving on Voyager 900 years prior to the start of Starfleet Academy. Holograms obviously age very well!

The casting news came during a Star Trek Hall H panel featuring executive producers and co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau. That’s where they also shared a video of them telling the show’s young stars and Star Trek newcomers the interview process was over. It was over because Karim Diané, Zoë Steiner, Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, and George Hawkins were officially Starfleet cadets.

For a series that will introduce “a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism,” this short casting montage is the perfect promo for the series. It is all of that and more.

After seeing their emotional reactions, we really hope all of them graduate from cadet to officer and then to being among our favorite Star Trek characters ever. That won’t be easy, but we know they’ll have some great, experienced teachers help them on their travels.

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The Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series is starting production soon, with Holly Hunter attached as the lead. The Paramount+ show will take place in the same timeframe as Star Trek: Discovery’s third through fifth season, in the 32nd century. This is some 900 years after the time of Picard, Seven of Nine, and other familiar characters from the franchise’s glory days. So why set Starfleet Academy in this time period, instead of one more familiar, and frankly, more popular? Here’s what Star Trek TV’s head honcho Alex Kurtzman had to say to Variety when asked about why this timeframe:

There’s a specific reason for that. As the father of a 17-year-old boy, I see what my son is feeling as he looks at the world and to his future. I see the uncertainty; I see all the things we took for granted as given are not certainties for him. I see him recognizing he’s inheriting an enormous mess to clean up and it’s going to be on his generation to figure out how to do that, and that’s a lot to ask of a kid.

My thinking was, if we set Starfleet Academy in the halcyon days of the Federation where everything was fine, it’s not going to speak to what kids are going through right now. It’ll be a nice fantasy, but it’s not really going to be authentic. What’ll be authentic is to set it in the timeline where this is the first class back after over 100 years, and they are coming into a world that is only beginning to recover from a cataclysm — which was the Burn, as established on Discovery, where the Federation was greatly diminished. So they’re the first who’ll inherit, who’ll re-inherit, the task of exploration as a primary goal.

In Discovery, “The Burn” occurred in the 31st century, when warp capability was neutralized for a century for unknown reasons. The crew of Discovery solved the mystery, allowing the Federation and Starfleet to return to their glory days. Discovery established that Tilly (Mary Wiseman) was an instructor for this new Academy. So we imagine she’ll appear in the series at some point. Kurtzman also confirmed that the show would take place on Earth (in San Francisco) as well as in space. (Yes, this means the show is going to focus on space cadets). Kurtzman also confirmed that the primary set “is the biggest we’ve ever built.” Will the Academy grounds look very different from the days of Wesley Crusher on TNG? Hey, Cambridge University has some buildings built in 1290, so you never know.

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Alex Kurtzman is the man behind most of the current Star Trek. He co-wrote two of the J.J. Abrams-produced movie sequels in 2009 and 2013. And then, his Secret Hideout productions has been behind Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+. Not to mention Star Trek: Prodigy, the animated Lower Decks, and more.

But via a profile on Kurtzman in The New York Times, we learned he’s also developing a TV series set in Starfleet Academy. Other Trek producers have floated the idea of Starfleet Academy series in years past. However, none ever made it past the development stage. But it seems Kurtzman is intent on making it happen, and, recently, there has been some progress. Here are our ideas on just what such a series could look like. And when it would be set in the Trek timeline.

Kirk and Spock: The Academy Years

Paramount Pictures

The 2009 Star Trek film reboot by J.J. Abrams already showed young Kirk, Spock, and McCoy as Starfleet cadets. In that movie, Kirk and Spock were not exactly the best of friends in their younger days. However, that was all in the alternate Kelvin timeline. A series about Kirk and Spock as Starfleet Academy cadets in the prime timeline might be worth exploring. This was actually the subject for a Starfleet Academy movie script back in the ’80s, meant to be Star Trek VI. But ultimately, Paramount made The Undiscovered Country instead. A streaming series might be a possible avenue for this idea. Maybe as a limited series.

Starfleet Academy: Valedictorian Picard

Paramount Pictures

Several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation told stories of Jean-Luc Picard’s past as the most accomplished member of his class in Starfleet Academy. He was the prize pupil of archaeology professor Richard Galen, and won the Academy Decathlon while only a freshman (as told in The Best of Both Worlds.) He also romanced several ladies, and gained quite the reputation. Showing Picard as a cocky and brash student, before he’s humbled with a near-death experience as a young ensign (as seen in the TNG episode “Tapestry”) might be a good subject matter for a Starfleet Academy series.

Starfleet Academy: Worf’s First Adventures

Pocket Books

Another former TNG character who might make for a good lead in an Academy series would be none other than Worf. Mainly because he was the first Klingon in Starfleet. What was it like for the Son of Mogh to go through an almost all human Academy? Especially since many humans still regarded the Klingons as savages. It would be a fascinating lens to tell a Starfleet Academy story through and an excellent jumping-off point for a series. While it might be difficult to replace Michael Dorn in the role, we think there are young actors who could do it. And maybe they could include Dorn in bookend sequence—one where old Worf tells tales of his younger days as the only Klingon in Starfleet.

Nova Squadron

CBS 

In the TNG episode “The First Duty,” we learn that during Wesley Crusher’s time at the Academy, he became a part of a group called Nova Squadron. This was an elite flight team, and each cadet flew a single pilot spacecraft. They were on campus stars, performing elaborate formations and maneuvers no one else at the Academy could rival. Their recklessness caused the death of one of their comrades, and a subsequent cover-up nearly resulted in their expulsion. Following a new set of cadets years later who are trying to redeem the Nova Squadron name would make for a fascinating series. Think Top Gun meets Star Trek, and you have a unique premise for a Starfleet Academy series.

Starfleet Academy: First Class

Paramount Pictures

This would be a prequel, telling the story of the very first class of students at Starfleet Academy. It would probably take place sometime in the 22nd century, when the Starfleet charter was first incorporated. This would have a kind of futuristic The Right Stuff vibe. It would mainly focus on the very first young people who would set the example for future generations. The students who wrote the book on what it means to be a Starfleet officer. It would be a fun way to show how the earliest interactions between alien species in Starfleet went as well. Think X-Men: First Class meets outer space adventures, Right there, you’ve got yourself a show.

Starfleet Academy: New Frontiers 

Paramount+

As much as prequels can be fun, Star Trek as a franchise should always look to the future. This is why the Starfleet Academy series we want to see most is actually a spinoff of Discovery. In that series’ third season, Discovery travels to the 32nd century. At that time, Starfleet is a shell of what it was. All due to interstellar travel now severely limited due to an event called “The Burn.” At the end of the season, the Discovery crew solves the Burn mystery, and the Federation is on its way to becoming viable again. It would be cool to see the first generation of Academy students on Earth in centuries, trying to reshape a new Starfleet for the future.

Originally published on August 4, 2021. 

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy could be one of the next offerings in the Star Trek universe. Deadline recently shared that the Starfleet-based series was in development at CBS Studios. The series would presently become a part of Paramount+’s offerings. Of course, development means the show still has a long way to go. But Trekkies can dream, can’t they?

After all, there is something special about an academy or college setting. The way everyone has to see one another in class, the different tracks… The close proximity to one another’s dorms. In Starfleet, you can add to that preparing for a life in space, harrowing simulations, and a bucket of other troops that have been thoroughly explored in Star Trek fanfiction throughout the ages. Suffice to say, the potential for a Starfleet series is all there.

We don’t know much about what a plot would entail, or who it would star. It is very early days for the Starfleet Academy series. But, if we had our way, we’d see one James T. Kirk in his academy days. We only glimpsed the possibilities in the new Star Trek movies. And honestly, that wasn’t enough. McCoy and Kirk as academy roommates? Spock navigating his ways through planet-side humanity? Perfection. Of course, new characters bring their own charm and appeal. And there are plenty of Star Trek cameos and Easter eggs that could come buried in a show like this, even with an all-new cast of characters.

We will just have to wait and see. We first heard murmurings of this news in August 2020. But now, according to Deadline, the Starfleet series will “be pitched to Paramount+ shortly, and the hope is to get it going in the next year.” Nothing is absolutely official yet, but we will cross our fingers hard that we see this series come to life soon. Can you imagine a Starfleet Academy awkward formal scene?

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