The next iteration of Star Trek arrives in January, when Star Trek: Starfleet Academy debuts on Paramount+. Set in the 32nd century, the same time period where Star Trek: Discovery left off, this new series explores the first class of Starfleet cadets in over a century. Leading this new iteration of the Academy is Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake. Not only is she the Academy’s chancellor, but she’s also in command of the starship Athena, which is designed to train the next generation of officers. And in the first Starfleet Academy clip from CCXP, we see the Athena go on red alert, facing off against Paul Giamatti, as the hostile half-Klingon named Nus Barka. You can watch the first clip below:
Thus far, the marketing for Starfleet Academy has been a bit underwhelming. The poster they just released (which you can see below) looks like a promo for Beverly Hills 90210. Or maybe One Tree Hill. Was this long-in-development series going to just be Star Trek: The Teen Drama? Well, the first clip shows some classic Star Trek action. We see the Captain facing an attacking force and her crew rising to the challenge. And we get our first scene with Robert Picardo as Voyager’s holographic Doctor. He’s still active some 800 years after he was first activated. This creates a nice legacy aspect that ties classic Trek with the current series.
For over thirty years, a Starfleet Academy project was in some form of development. It originally was going to be the basis for what became Star Trek VI, with a young Kirk and Spock. When The Next Generation took off, there were reports that a Starfleet Academy spin-off was in the works with Wil Wheaton’s Wesley Crusher character. But none of these ever came to fruition. Will this new series live up to all these years of anticipation? We’ll find out when Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres on Paramount+ on January 15, 2026.