The Newest Star Trek Series Just Arrived (And It’s Unlike Anything Else in the Franchise)

Star Trek is one of pop culture’s biggest and most beloved franchises, and we’re not even a full month into 2026 yet, but the new year is already turning out to be a great one for fans. As Star Trek celebrates its milestone 60th anniversary this year, there are lots of new releases to look forward to, including Season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the game Star Trek: Voyager — Across the Unknown. Fans are also getting something new this year as well and now, the latest Star Trek series is now streaming and it’s not only the most exciting Trek release in years, but it’s unlike anything else.

The first two episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy are now streaming on Paramount+. The series, part of Alex Kurtzman’s expanded Star Trek Universe, might just be the biggest shift for the beloved franchise in years. Instead of centering on the captain and crew of a starship and their missions and adventures, Starfleet Academy instead centers on the first new class of Starfleet cadets in over a century. The series, the 12th in the overall Star Trek franchise, will drop new episodes weekly through March 12th.

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Set in the 32nd century, Starfleet Academy takes place after “The Burn”, a cataclysm that not only devastated the galaxy but deeply damaged the Federation. These new cadets are the first Starfleet cadets in over a century and the series will follow them as they come of age and train to become officers. But while they are taught aboard the USS Athena, a starship docked at the Starfleet Academy campus in San Francisco.

What makes Starfleet Academy unique is that it makes for a perfect entry point to Star Trek. If you’re already familiar with Star Trek, it’s rich lore, and iconic characters, the series offers an opportunity to go deeper into things by taking fans inside the place where beloved characters like James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Kathryn Janeway, and more all trained. For those who are just beaming up, it’s still very much a series focused on the cadets and new characters but also offers tributes and call-backs to other characters and moments that help bring the story fully into the overall world that Star Trek fans have loved for generations.

While that sounds like a difficult balance to create, critics have thus far found the show to be successful. While it is still too early to determine if Starfleet Academy will continue to thrive, current critical acclaim lauds the series for being both fresh and new and also still very much Star Trek. ComicBook even gave the series a 3.5 out of 5, likening it to a Star Trek version of Hogwarts. Time will ultimately tell how this batch of cadets fares, but things are already off to a good start — and a second season is already in production.

The first two episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy are now streaming on Paramount+. New episodes drop weekly on Thursdays at 3 a.m. ET with the season finale set for March 12th.

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