Star Trek faces an uncertain future at the moment, as shows that helped define its streaming renaissance end one by one, and little is known about what lies on the horizon (especially thanks to current events in our own world). So it’s perhaps fitting, then, that the one new show we do know is coming is all about welcoming a new generation back to Star Trek‘s fundamental ideals after a similar period of uncertainty: Starfleet Academy.
To close out today’s packed Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Paramount released the first trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Set in the 32nd century after the events of Star Trek: Discovery, the series will follow the first new class of cadets to enroll at the titular academy in San Francisco in over a century, as the Federation rebuilds and reconnects after the cataclysmic events of “The Burn” from Discovery‘s third season.
The new trailer, aside from being packed with references to all of Star Trek history (from Academy wing names to courses on figures like Captain Sisko), introduces us to a whole host of new and familiar faces as classes begin. The series will be led by Holly Hunter, who plays Nahla Ake, the captain of the U.S.S. Athena, a long-lived half-Lanthanite (the same humanoid species as Strange New Worlds‘ Commander Pelia, played by Carol Kane) who also serves as the Academy’s chancellor.
Among the senior staff at the academy, she’ll be joined by Discovery‘s Tig Notaro and Voyager‘s Robert Picardo, reprising their roles as Jett Reno and the Emergency Medical Hologram simply known as the Doctor, respectively—they’ll also be joined in a guest star capacity by Discovery‘s Mary Wiseman and Oded Fehr as Sylvia Tilly and Admiral Vance, respectively. One new addition to the campus staff is Gina Yashere’s Lura Thok, the Athena‘s first officer as well as Starfleet Academy’s cadet master—fascinatingly, a half-Klingon, half-Jem’Hadar, the genetically engineered footsoldiers of the Dominion from Deep Space Nine.
Of course, an academy needs students, and Starfleet Academy will follow a whole host of new recruits making their way through training. Here’s the rundown:
- Sandro Rosta plays Caleb Mir, a troubled orphan who finds himself in the unlikely circumstance of signing up for Starfleet, with a connection to Chancellor Ake, and currently unsure of which division track he will fit into.
- Karim Diané plays Jay-Den Kraag, a Klingon cadet in the sciences division who aspires to be a medical officer.
- Kerrice Brooks plays Sam, a.k.a. Series Acclimation Mil, the first member of her species, the Kasqians, to sign up for Starfleet as a member of the operations division.
- George Hawkins plays Darem Reymi, a command-track cadet from the wealthy world of the Khionians.
- Bella Shepard plays Genesis Lythe, another command-track student from the planet Dar-Sha, and the daughter of a Starfleet admiral looking to step out of the shadow of her family’s legacy.
- Although it’s unclear if she’ll play an attending academy student, the young cast is rounded out by Zoë Steiner playing Tarima Sadal, the daughter of the president of Betazed (a long-time member of the Federation, although it’s currently unknown if the planet left and rejoined during the Burn).
Even if Starfleet Academy is a school-set series, Star Trek still needs a baddie, and the show will have one in the form of Paul Giamatti, cheekily and mysteriously introduced at the end of the trailer. Giamatti plays Nus Braka, a seedy gang leader (and himself another half-Klingon, this time a Klingon/Tellarite hybrid) who has some ominous connections to one of the new cadets at the academy.
The first season of Starfleet Academy is set to begin streaming on Paramount+ in early 2026. The show has already been renewed for a second season.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
