Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been canceled and will end with its upcoming second season, it has been revealed.
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| L-R: Karim Diané as Jay-Den, George Hawkins as Darem, Kerrice Brooks as SAM, Bella Shepard as Genesis, and Sandro Rosta as Caleb in season 1, episode 5, of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streaming on Paramount+. Photo Credit: John Medland/Paramount+ |
The show was originally picked up at Paramount+ in 2023, with the streamer renewing the show for a second season before the first had aired. The first season debuted in January and aired its season finale on March 12, while the second season recently wrapped production.
“We’re incredibly proud of the ambition, passion, and creativity that went into bringing Star Trek: Starfleet Academy to life,” CBS Studios and Paramount+ said in a joint statement to Variety, who first reported the news. “The series introduced audiences to a bold new group of characters, welcomed familiar faces, and expanded the Star Trek universe in exciting new ways. We’re grateful to Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau, Gaia Violo, and the entire cast and crew who pushed storytelling boundaries in the spirit of Gene Roddenberry’s vision. We look forward to sharing the upcoming second and final season with everyone, and continuing to celebrate the cast, crew, and all that was accomplished with this series.”
The first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy reached an 87% critical approval rating but received a low 51 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The show also failed to find a significant audience. Across its 10-episode first season, it has failed to rank on the Nielsen Top 10 streaming viewership charts.
Starfleet Academy has been a polarizing entry in the Trek canon. Many critics have celebrated the show for focusing on a younger generation and its coming-of-age themes. On social media, the show has been a frequent target of mockery from those who claim the show is too “woke.” (Note: “woke” isn't actually an insult. If anything, this world needs to be more "woke" than ever before.)
Starfleet Academy takes place after the events of Star Trek: Discovery in the 32nd century. The show follows the first class of students and teachers to attend the newly re-established Starfleet Academy. The cast includes Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard, and Zoë Steiner, as well as Holly Hunter, Paul Giamatti, Gina Yashere, Star Trek Voyager alum Robert Picardo, and Discovery star Tig Notaro. Tatiana Maslany appeared in a guest role.
Series co-showrunners and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau penned a letter in which they expressed their appreciation to the “hundreds of hardworking humans who pour every ounce of their talents” into the making of the show.
“Whether you’re working on Star Trek or part of the marvel that is Star Trek fandom — its very heart, soul, and conscience —the joy comes from adventuring across boundaries of time, space, and the humanly possible in service to Roddenberry’s transformative vision of the future,” the pair wrote. “That incomparable vision was fueled by an inexhaustible optimism. Star Trek places its bet on the best in human nature. It dares to imagine a society of ‘infinite diversity in infinite combinations,’ free of war, hate, poverty, disease, and repression, and dedicated to the spirit of scientific inquiry and respect for all life, whether carbon or silicon-based, green-skinned or blue.”
The full letter can be read below.
Kurtzman has been the steward of the newest iteration of the Star Trek TV franchise for a decade. His current overall deal with CBS Studios via his Secret Hideout production company runs through the end of 2026. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, Kurtzman and CBS Studios are currently in talks for a new deal that will keep him in the CBS fold. In addition to his work on Star Trek, he has produced shows like the Hawaii Five-O reboot, Scorpion, and Salvation.
In addition to the upcoming second season of Starfleet Academy, there are also two more seasons to come of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Season 4 of the latter show is expected to be released later this year, while a fifth and final season recently completed production. The kids animated series Star Trek: Scouts also currently airs on YouTube in partnership with Nickelodeon Digital Studios.
Beyond that, the future of the franchise remains uncertain. At the time of this publishing, no new shows have been announced as being in development. Paramount is said to remain very high on the Star Trek IP, however, with a new Star Trek movie currently in development.
Along with Kurtzman and Landau, Starfleet Academy is executive produced by Gaia Violo, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Jenny Lumet, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Frank Siracusa and John Weber. The series’ premiere episode was written by Violo and directed by Kurtzman. CBS Studios produces in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Letter from Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau
It’s been my and Noga’s joy and privilege to help carry Gene Roddenberry’s extraordinary vision forward with Starfleet Academy, thanks to the hundreds of hardworking humans who pour every ounce of their talents into the work daily with imagination and reverence. We are in post-production now on what will be the second and final season. We’re so proud of what we’ve accomplished together on this show, and the world will get to see the work of these extraordinary artists when season two airs. We will finish strong.Whether you’re working on Star Trek or part of the marvel that is Star Trek fandom — its very heart, soul, and conscience —the joy comes from adventuring across boundaries of time, space, and the humanly possible in service to Roddenberry’s transformative vision of the future. That incomparable vision was fueled by an inexhaustible optimism. Star Trek places its bet on the best in human nature. It dares to imagine a society of “infinite diversity in infinite combinations,” free of war, hate, poverty, disease, and repression, and dedicated to the spirit of scientific inquiry and respect for all life, whether carbon or silicon-based, green-skinned or blue.But make no mistake: Gene Roddenberry wasn’t some starry-eyed dreamer. He was a decorated Army bomber pilot in the Pacific Theater. He had seen first-hand the grim consequences of the worst of human nature. And his vision of the future wasn’t just a promise of hope. It was also a warning. In a fraught, frightening time of intolerance and violence, Star Trek said: Look! We made it! But just barely. First, we had to put all those ancient scourges behind us. It said that what makes us glorious as a species, and gives us hope for the future and the galaxy is inextricably linked to what makes us dangerous to each other, to this one world we presently inhabit, and to ourselves. That dual message—of hope and of warning—isn’t just a pretty dream but a call to action, to think about who we are in a different way.Please don’t take our word for it. Take Gene’s:“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms. […] If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, to take a positive delight in those small differences between our own kind, here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity that is almost certainly out there.”With enduring hope that his vision of the future is possible, for our children, their children, and every future cadet in Starfleet Academy:Live Long and Prosper.
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