Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's marketing team caused quite a stir a couple of days ago with a poster that looked like something out of One Tree Hill. It led to a lot of conversation about the show's tone and how much it might deviate from previous Trek shows. I'll admit I was worried until I saw a new clip for the upcoming 2026 show.
A new clip from the series, set to debut for Paramount+ subscribers on January 15th, was shown over the weekend at CCXP 2025. For those who haven't seen it yet and were also concerned after that poster for the show made rounds, check this out:
I assumed only good things would come when Holly Hunter was originally announced for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and damn, it's indeed great to see her acting opposite Paul Giamatti. In regard to the latter's character, though, what kind of scum targets a ship he likely knows is loaded with a bunch of untrained cadets?
As for the students, we see a group of the ensemble cast helping Robert Picardo's Doctor as he attempted to get the other students to safety. His demeanor felt a bit different than the Doctor we're used to in Voyager, but I guess it's normal that someone may change a bit over the course of close to 1,000 years.
Overall, it looks just like an episode we'd see in a modern Trek series. Obviously, I think most people will make Discovery comparisons because it's set in the same distant future the show traveled to in Season 3 and on, but I also get Strange New Worlds vibes from it as well. It feels familiar, which, given all the chaos that ensued when it seemed the Star Trek series was trying to do something completely different, should be comforting.
I think what's most exciting about this series is it feels like the show has a lot of characters who could get the spotlight in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. This scene makes it seem as though the story may jump between what's going on with Captain Ake and her bridge crew, and also cut to events going on with the cadets as well. It opens up the show to give traditional Trek adventures when needed, but I'd also expect the show to take advantage of its classroom setting for new scenarios fans haven't seen before.
I'm hyped for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy on Paramount+ on January 15th, and with Season 2 already confirmed, I can't wait to see how the series develops over the course of Season 1. If we have more scenes like what we saw above on the way, I'm pretty hype.
