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.