Long-awaited Star Trek series finally confirms release date – and there's not long to wait
Fans of Star Trek: Discovery may have a new favourite show on their hands.
A long-awaited entry in the small-screen Star Trek franchise is coming to Paramount Plus early next year, with Holly Hunter leading the cast of a dramatic new trailer.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been quietly taking shape over many years, with word of the project first making headlines all the way back in 2018.
Since then, the series has evolved substantially, with original developers Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz (of Gossip Girl fame) jumping ship, leaving Absentia screenwriter Gaia Violo to rebuild and complete the series from the ground up.
All that work is now coming to fruition, with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy confirmed to be getting a double-bill premiere on Paramount Plus on Thursday 15th January 2026 – just three months from now.
The trailer dropped at this weekend's New York Comic-Con (NYCC), revealing a story that puts a distinctly Star Trek lick of paint over some familiar teen-skewing coming-of-age themes.
Somewhat predictably, this approach has attracted some backlash from advocates of the classic Star Trek style, encapsulated by such cult entries as The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
The show could instead be considered a spiritual successor to Star Trek: Discovery, sharing its heightened melodrama and a few of its characters, including Tig Notaro's Jett Reno, Oded Fehr's Admiral Vance and Mary Wiseman's Sylvia Tilly.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy also returns Voyager and Prodigy's Robert Picardo to the franchise, while adding high-profile names like Holly Hunter (The Incredibles), Paul Giamatti (Downton Abbey) and Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law).
During an NYCC presentation, former late night host Stephen Colbert was also announced for the series, playing a voice-only role as the Dean of Starfleet Academy.
The official synopsis explains that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy "follows a fresh class of cadets as they train under the watchful, demanding eyes of Starfleet's finest".
It continues: "Together, they'll face the highs and lows of academy life: forging unbreakable friendships, clashing in explosive rivalries, experiencing first loves, and stepping into their destiny as the next generation of Starfleet officers.
"When a mysterious new enemy threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself, these cadets must rise to the challenge or risk losing everything they’ve just begun to fight for."
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is coming to Paramount Plus in January 2026.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
