The first new class of Starfleet Academy in over a century is ready for induction. The upcoming Paramount+ series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces a group of young cadets and the legendary figures tasked with guiding them. Set in the 32nd century, the show blends fresh faces with beloved franchise veterans. The series will premiere with two episodes on January 15, 2026, on Paramount+, with new episodes released weekly. This guide details every key player stepping aboard the USS Athena.
Meet The Cadets: The New Generation Of Starfleet
The heart of the series is its core group of cadets, a diverse ensemble of young actors who bring new perspectives to the Star Trek universe.
Sandro Rosta plays Caleb Mir, a human who has survived alone on the fringes of the galaxy. His journey to the Academy is part of a personal mission to find his missing mother, a storyline that connects directly to key characters like Chancellor Ake and the season’s villain. Rosta describes Caleb as someone who is “savage on the outside” but cares deeply on the inside, making his adaptation to Starfleet’s cooperative ideals a central struggle.
Bella Shepard is Genesis Lythe, a Dar-Sha cadet determined to step out from the shadow of her admiral parent. Shepard has said she feels “freaking lucky” to play a dynamic female character who is a strong leader yet also empathetic and vulnerable.
George Hawkins portrays Darem Reymi, an aspiring captain from a wealthy Khionian background. Hawkins explains that Darem is driven by competition and achievement, often seeing his fellow cadets as instruments to prove his own worth, which creates natural conflict.
Karim Diané takes on the role of Jay-Den Kraag, a Klingon cadet with an unusual dream: to become a medical officer. To prepare for the demanding prosthetics, which initially took five hours to apply, Diané sought advice from veterans like Michael Dorn (Worf) and Doug Jones.
Kerrice Brooks plays S.A.M. (Series Acclimation Mil), the first Kasqian—a type of advanced hologram—to attend the Academy. Programmed as a young adult but only weeks old, S.A.M. experiences the world with a sense of wonder. Brooks’s energetic audition impressed producers so much they rewrote the character for her.
Rounding out the cadets is Zoë Steiner as Tarima Sadal, a Betazoid and the daughter of her planet’s president. As an empath, she feels emotions intensely, a power she is still learning to navigate.
The Commanding Officers: Teachers And Leaders
Guiding this new class is a trio of seasoned officers, led by an Oscar-winning actress in a unique dual role.
Academy Award winner Holly Hunter stars as Chancellor Nahla Ake, who holds the unprecedented dual role of Academy chancellor and captain of the USS Athena. Hunter has highlighted the interesting challenge of blending the commanding authority of a starship captain with the guiding empathy of a school chancellor. Her character is also half-Lanthanite, a long-lived species, making her approximately 422 years old at the series’ start. Ake shares a pivotal, evolving relationship with cadet Caleb Mir.
They are joined by Gina Yashere as Commander Lura Thok, the part-Klingon, part-Jem’Hadar first officer of the Athena who also serves as the cadet master.
Oded Fehr reprises his Star Trek: Discovery role as Admiral Charles Vance, the commander-in-chief of Starfleet, providing a direct link to the wider Federation.
Returning Franchise Legends: A Link To The Past
The series deepens its connection to Star Trek lore by bringing back several iconic characters, now serving as instructors centuries after their original appearances.
In a major announcement for fans, Robert Picardo returns as The Doctor, the holographic Emergency Medical Hologram from the USS Voyager. Now a 900-year-old AI, he serves as a teacher at the Academy. Picardo notes the character is “as we remember him, but deeper,” having lived through the 800 years since Voyager and retained his love of opera. His dynamic with the newborn hologram cadet, S.A.M., is said to be particularly charged.
Robert Picardo: “I’m the oldest and wisest artificial intelligence in the Starfleet Academy universe, teaching these young folks xenobiology, rhetoric, and other things they need to learn.”
Other familiar faces from Discovery will appear, including Tig Notaro as the blunt engineer Jett Reno and Mary Wiseman in a guest role as instructor Sylvia Tilly. The show will also feature voice cameos from Stephen Colbert as the Academy’s Digital Dean and Brit Marling as the voice of the USS Athena’s computer.
The Antagonist And Special Guests
Every compelling story needs a compelling source of conflict, and this series has enlisted an Oscar-nominated actor to provide it.
Paul Giamatti plays the season’s primary antagonist, Nus Braka, a part-Klingon, part-Tellarite character with an ominous past connection to one of the cadets. Co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman has stated that Braka represents a real-world “rise in people who use hate to sow division,” positioning him as a ideological opposite to Starfleet’s values of empathy and unity. Giamatti has expressed enjoyment for the lengthy makeup process required for the role.
In a special guest role, Tatiana Maslany will appear as Caleb’s mother, a character key to the central mystery of Caleb’s past. Emmy winner Jonathan Frakes, beloved by fans for his role as William Riker, is also confirmed to direct an episode in the first season.
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Setting And Story: A Galaxy Rebuilding
Starfleet Academy is set in the 32nd century, a timeline first established in Star Trek: Discovery. This era finds the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet in a period of recovery and renewal after a galaxy-wide catastrophe known as “The Burn”. The cadets of this new class are the first in over a century, tasked with reigniting Starfleet’s core mission of exploration.
The series was created by Gaia Violo and is showrun by Violo, Alex Kurtzman, and Noga Landau. It filmed at Pinewood Toronto Studios, where producers built what is reported to be the largest set ever constructed for a Star Trek television series, featuring a sprawling two-story Academy atrium. The show has already been renewed for a second season, with production having begun in August 2025.
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Credits: en.wikipedia.org, trekmovie.com
