In the world of Star Trek, some characters have a way of jumping back into the fold, even if they’ve been out of the spotlight for quite some time. With Paramount still finding new ways to tell stories within the Federation, next year will see a fresh take on the new recruits to Starfleet, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. While the upcoming series will be introducing quite a few new characters, one major player from Star Trek: Voyager is making a comeback and recently addressed how they planned to return to the fold.
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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is planning to hit Paramount+ on January 15th, 2026, promising to follow a group of fresh recruits looking to travel the stars. When the first trailer arrived earlier this year, many were shocked to see actor Robert Picardo make an appearance. For those who might need a refresher, Picardo played the part of the holographic doctor during Star Trek: Voyager’s adventures, who was simply named “The Doctor.” In a surprising twist, Robert confirms that his character from Voyager is the one he will be portrayed as in Starfleet Academy, though he doesn’t address how the hologram has aged up during his absence.
In a new social media post, Picardo confirmed his role in the upcoming Paramount+ series, “Voyager’s original Emergency Medical Hologram, but it is an excellent question. I remember asking myself long before I saw the first script.” Details regarding how the digital doc makes a comeback and why he has aged remain a mystery, though the Paramount franchise has found ways to bring back technological figures in the past. For example, Next Generation’s Data made several returns during Star Trek: Picard as the series found different ways for Brent Spiner to return from the digital dead.
Starfleet Academy is Going to be Different
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will take place long after many of the traditional storylines have taken place within the Federation. Specifically, Paramount has billed the series as playing out during the thirty-second century, meaning its characters will be journeying in a timeline hundreds of years following many of the adventures we’ve come to know. While the show might take place long after Star Trek: Voyager, the Doctor’s status as a digital being means it’s easy to imagine that the hologram would “survive” long into the future. Plenty of questions still remain as to the doc’s status in this upcoming series.
In a recent interview, Jonathan Frakes, aka Star Trek’s Commander Riker, praised the upcoming series, having already read the scripts attached to the show, “I search out the levity in any script, especially in the Treks… because there’s so much… And [on Academy] it’s there and it helps the rhythm of the cutting and the storytelling.”
What do you think of the Doctor’s upcoming return in Starfleet Academy? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Via Robert Picardo Official Social Media
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