Star Trek will receive its next series on January 15, 2026, this time focusing on a group of young people. They deliberately have to deal with problems that are also familiar to today’s Gen Z.
What kind of series is it? Star Trek Starfleet Academy is already the ninth live-action series in the franchise and will premiere on Paramount+ starting January 15, 2026. The first season is expected to have a total of 10 episodes. Even before the actual premiere, Paramount announced that a second season will follow.
Starfleet Academy is set in the distant 32nd century, after the events of the series Discovery. The story centers on a first class at Starfleet Academy. Young people are trained to become officers – both on the ground in San Francisco and on the spaceship USS Athena.
Showrunner Alex Kurtzman has now revealed what lies behind the decision to feature such young protagonists – and why they live in the dystopian 32nd century.
The future looks bleak
What does the showrunner say? Alex Kurtzman explained in an interview with Series Business what led to the decision to set the series in the 32nd century. For context: This timeframe was introduced in Star Trek Discovery and is significantly darker than, for example, the time of the Federation (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine).
The universe has been shaken by a catastrophe known as the “Burn.” During this event, the substance dilithium became unstable – it powers the warp reactors of starships and caused numerous warp cores to explode. In the wake of this event, countless beings died, large parts of the universe were destroyed, and the Federation came to an end and must now be rebuilt.
Alex Kurtzman justifies the decision like this:
The idea of setting the story in the 32nd century was a conscious choice because I firmly believed that if it were set in the happy days of the Federation – where everything is fine and the cadets face no particular challenges from their environment aside from the respective weekly storylines – it would not hit the pulse of the times.
Alex Kurtzman
The pulse of the times – with this, Kurtzman wants to particularly address today’s young people. This is understandable, as especially Gen Z faces a world that, in light of climate change, wars, and political crises, can sometimes seem dystopian – and needs a substantial dose of hope. Kurtzman further explains:
If it is instead set in the 32nd century with kids who inherit a completely broken universe for which they are responsible for rebuilding and maintaining optimism, then that is something else. That is a beautiful reinforcement of Roddenberry’s fundamental vision of hope. It seemed to me a great way to underscore Star Trek and reach people who have no connection to Star Trek.
Alex Kurtzman
The franchise seeks to open up and attract a new audience. This could also work through the premise of the story, after all, the narrative takes place in a school setting, which has recently worked very successfully for series like Wednesday.
Whether the endeavor will succeed and if Star Trek can truly appeal to Gen Z will be revealed starting January 18, 2026, when the series premieres. What are your thoughts on this? Are you looking forward to Star Trek Starfleet Academy? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments. MeinMMO editor Niko Hernes has long struggled with the franchise: I always thought Star Trek was the cheap Star Wars, but a certain episode convinced me otherwise
