After nearly 60 years of Star Trek, there’s one place the franchise has never, truly, boldly gone…. Until now. The latest entry into the franchise universe will finally take us to Starfleet Academy! This won’t been the academy we’re expecting, though. This iteration occurs in the thirty-third century, picking up after the events of Discovery. So yes, we’ll see some familiar faces (Tilly!) from the prior series. From what we saw at the New York Comic-Con panel (NYCC 2025) this afternoon, we’re also going to get so much more.

Showrunners Paul Kirkman and Noga Landau kicked things off by describing the new show as “something that’s new and fresh yet will feel very familiar.”   What’s new and fresh is that this iteration of Starfleet Academy does not (solely) take place in the familiar Star Trek setting of San Francisco. No, this time around the halls of Starfleet academia will be the corridors of a ship. Landau likened it to a “teaching hospital,” wherein the cadets could get first-had experience while learning.

Starfleet Academy soars into a new era of Star Trek

In addition to some very familiar faces, the show will feature some heavy-hitter Hollywood stalwarts among the cast, including Paul Giamatti as the Klingon-Tellarite hybrid baddie. Also gracing the halls of Starfleet Academy is the amazing Holly Hunter as the school’s chancellor. Not to be outdone, the panel dropped one more surprise on us – Stephen Colbert will lend his voice talents to the show as the “Digital Dean of Students!”

Star Trek; Star Fleet Academy
The cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy appear at New York Comic-Con 2025. (Image: JJ Goodman for That Hashtag Show, LLC)

Newcomers Bella Shepard, Karim Diané, and Zoë Steiner all raved about their characters and the arcs they’ll take throughout the first season of the series. Steiner, especially giddy, revealed that her character is a Betazoid following in the footsteps of the legendary actress Marina Sirtis (Deana Troi). And we all know what it’s like to have a Betazoid hanging around in Star Trek.

From the action-packed trailer to the genuine excitement of the cast and crew, it’s obvious that Starfleet Academy will indeed boldly go where no one has gone before.

The show premiers on Paramount+ in January, 2026.