There are no massive Easter eggs in the latest trailer for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which debuted this past weekend at New York Comic Con. Nope: This one’s about feelings. But with those feelings comes just a tiny bit more plot. And those plot hints suggest a long connection between the series’ leading adult, Chancellor Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter); its antagonist, Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti); and one young cadet, Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta), who seems to be searching for his missing mother—played by none other than guest star Tatiana Maslany.
Do you cast Maslany, she of ever so many roles in Orphan Black, just to have her play a lost mom? Reply hazy; try again later.
But there’s plenty of other drama to go around: Caleb gets a girlfriend! An instructor yells at the cadets! Sam (Kerrice Brooks), the very first hologram to attend the Academy, is sweet and awkward (her own word)! We get to hang out with our Discovery pals Jet Reno (Tig Notaro) and Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) for a few seconds! A Klingon cadet (Karim Diané as Jay-Den Kraag) says that a warrior doesn’t let his friends face danger alone!
Starfleet Academy’s cast already feels a bit sprawling, and we barely know these kids yet. Along with Caleb, Sam, and Jay-Den, the cadets include George Hawkins as Darem Reymi, described as “an aspiring captain from a wealthy home world,” and Bella Shepard as Genesis Lythe, “an admiral’s daughter determined to make her own name in Starfleet.” (Is it just me or would “Genesis Lythe” be a rich kid’s name on just about any world?)
What’s more, famous nerd Stephen Colbert is playing the digital dean of students, which he announced in a cute little video. More returning-to-the-franchise adults include Oded Fehr as Admiral Vance and Robert Picardo as the Doctor (formerly of Voyager).
And finally, we have a premiere date: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy begins January 15th, 2026, on Paramount Plus. You can “enroll” (or maybe find out a little more first) here.
