Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been renewed for a second season even before its premiere. Additionally, Tatiana Maslany is set to guest star in the first season. The announcements were made during the Star Trek universe panel at New York Comic Con, which was moderated by CBS Mornings and CBS News national correspondent Vladimir Duthiers. The panel also featured a surprise appearance by Robert Picardo, known for his roles in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Prodigy.
Picardo introduced a special livestream from the set of Starfleet Academy, currently filming in Toronto. The video included executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman, who is also directing the series, along with cast members Sandro Rosta, Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Karim Diané, and Zoë Steiner. During the stream, Kurtzman revealed that the show had already been renewed for a second season.
While details about Maslany’s role remain under wraps, it is known that she will be a recurring character throughout the first season. She’ll join a cast that includes Paul Giamatti and Holly Hunter. Giamatti, known for his work in The Holdovers, will play the season’s main antagonist, while Academy Award winner Hunter will take on the role of the academy’s captain and chancellor.
During the panel, co-showrunners and executive producers Kurtzman and Noga Landau expressed their excitement on casting Giamatti in Starfleet Academy: "Sometimes you’re fortunate enough to discover that one of the greatest actors alive is also a huge Star Trek fan. Meeting Paul was one of those magical moments for us, and his enthusiasm for joining Starfleet Academy has been incredible."
The upcoming series will center on a group of young cadets as they come of age at Starfleet Academy, one of the galaxy’s most iconic institutions. They will pursue a shared dream of hope and optimism, while under the watchful eyes of their instructors. Along the way, they’ll experience new friendships, intense rivalries, first loves, and face a dangerous new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation.
