Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Did You Know?

• A five-issue tie-in comic series titled Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – Lost Contact was announced by IDW Publishing in January 2026, with publication beginning in April 2026.
• The 2026 Star Trek Celebrations comic anthology includes a Starfleet Academy story titled Klingons Don't Flirt, written by cast member Karim Diané.
• The series is set in the 32nd century, where Starfleet and the Federation are recovering from a cataclysmic event depicted in Star Trek: Discovery.

Cast and characters

Holly Hunter portrays Nahla Ake, the half-Lanthanite captain of the USS Athena and chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Hunter noted the dichotomy between commanding in emergencies and guiding with empathy as chancellor. Sandro Rosta plays Caleb Mir, a disillusioned human who joins the academy to find his mother; co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman said Caleb's relationship with Ake is central. Karim Diané plays Jay-Den Kraag, a Klingon cadet and aspiring medical officer, noted as Star Trek's first openly gay Klingon. Diané consulted Michael Dorn and Doug Jones about prosthetics; application time dropped from five hours to two. Kerrice Brooks portrays Sam (Series Acclimation Mil), the first Kasqian at the academy—a hologram only weeks old, programmed as a young adult. George Hawkins plays Darem Reymi, a Khionian cadet from a wealthy home world. Bella Shepard plays Genesis Lythe, a Dar-Sha cadet and admiral's daughter determined to forge her own path. Oded Fehr reprises Charles Vance, the human Fleet Admiral. Gina Yashere plays Lura Thok, the part-Klingon, part-Jem'Hadar first officer of the Athena and cadet master. Brit Marling voices the USS Athena computer, and Stephen Colbert voices the Digital Dean of Students.

Production

Ideas for a Starfleet Academy series have circulated for decades, including a 1968 proposal by Gene Roddenberry for a film about Kirk's academy days. In the 1980s, a prequel film was considered but set aside after William Shatner's return was resolved. For a new TV series set a century after The Original Series, writer/producer Gregory Strangis envisioned a 'Starfleet Academy on a ship' with younger trainees and senior instructors, a precursor to Star Trek: The Next Generation. The series received an official order in March 2023. Production on the first season ran from August 2024 to February 2025 at Pinewood Toronto Studios in Toronto, Canada; the second season followed from August 2025 to February 2026.

Marketing

Kurtzman and Landau promoted the series at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, announcing returning cast members and releasing a video of the young actors learning they were cast. Robert Picardo appeared at New York Comic Con in October 2024, introducing a livestream from the set that announced the second-season order. In July 2025, Picardo moderated a Comic-Con panel where character details and the first trailer were revealed; reactions were divided. A second trailer at New York Comic Con in October 2025 emphasized drama and intensity. The website StarfleetAcademy.com launched at that time, offering information about the academy's campus, academics, and faculty.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 62 critics' reviews are positive, with the consensus calling it a 'refreshing tonal shift' that explores new thematic territory. Metacritic assigned a score of 66 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews. In January 2026, audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb were review bombed after the first two episodes; Collider noted a 43% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes versus 88% critic rating, and Forbes reported a 4.9 user rating on IMDb, citing anti-'woke' criticisms. Following the cancellation announcement, William Shatner expressed sorrow. In April 2026, the Critics Choice Association announced the series would receive the Ensemble Award at the 3rd Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television.