They’re young! They’re hot! They’re the cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy! Paramount+ has dropped a brand-new poster for the upcoming Starfleet Academy series, and it’s definitely giving ’90s sitcom vibes. You know, those photo shoots where the entire cast is just draped over one another. I think Friends did this more than a few times. It doesn’t quite feel like Star Trek, but I guess this ain’t your typical Star Trek show.
Check Out the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Poster
Starting at the top left of the poster and moving clockwise, we’ve got Karim Diané as Jay-Den Kraag, a Klingon cadet and aspiring medical officer, Kerrice Brooks as Series Acclimation Mil (S.A.M.), the first of her kind to attend the Academy, George Hawkins as Darem Reymi, a cadet from a wealthy planet who wants to make captain, Bella Shepard as Genesis Lythe, an admiral’s daughter who wants to make her own name in Starfleet, Sandro Rosta as Caleb Mir, a disillusioned orphan who joins the Academy as part of a journey to find his mother, and Zoë Steiner as Tarima Sadal, a Betazoid and the daughter of the president of Betazed.
Not pictured in the poster are the adult members of the cast, which include Holly Hunter as Nahla Ake, captain of the USS Athena and chancellor of Starfleet Academy, Tig Notaro as Jett Reno, Oded Fehr as Admiral Vance, and Robert Picardo as the Doctor, who is reprising the role in live-action for the first time since the series finale of Star Trek: Voyager. Mary Wiseman will also make an appearance as Sylvia Tilly, and the main villain is played by none other than Paul Giamatti, who has said he’s “happy as a pig in shit” to get to join the franchise.
What is Starfleet Academy All About?
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy takes place in the 32nd century, the same era as Star Trek: Discovery, and “introduces viewers 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 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.” The series is set to debut on Paramount+ on January 15, 2026 and has already been renewed for a second season.
I Love Star Trek But…
I love Star Trek. The first five shows (from The Original Series through Enterprise) are in constant rotation at my house. And while I’ve watched and enjoyed all the new Trek series, they haven’t quite achieved the same level of rewatchability. Maybe it’s because they’re still too new, but I think a big part of it comes down to the sheer lack of volume.
Ten episodes per season has become the norm, and that scarcity really adds up. By the time Star Trek: Strange New Worlds wraps its fifth season, it will have racked up just 46 episodes. For context, The Next Generation hit that milestone in under two seasons.
I get it: the era of 26-episode seasons is long gone, and modern production budgets for shows like Star Trek make that model all but impossible. But I can’t help wanting… more. More space to breathe. More room for stories to wander. More time to fall in love with these characters.
