Starfleet Academy's Debut Season: A New Benchmark for Star Trek Excellence

The initial season of any television series presents a unique challenge. It must engage viewers sufficiently to secure its continuation and justify its existence to network or streaming executives. Often, actors and writers are still navigating their characters and the series' world. While some shows boast remarkable first seasons, such as Stranger Things, Veronica Mars, and Ted Lasso, many successful series, like The Office and Supernatural, had shaky starts.

The Star Trek franchise is no stranger to this phenomenon. The Original Series offered a respectable first season, featuring iconic episodes like "The City on the Edge of Forever." However, subsequent iterations frequently struggled early on. Even the beloved Next Generation faltered with entries like "Code of Honor," only finding its stride by season three—a trend affectionately known as "Growing the Beard," referencing Commander Riker's new facial hair coinciding with improved quality. This pattern continued into the modern era, with 2017's Star Trek: Discovery delivering a debut season criticized for its overly somber tone and significant franchise alterations. While Discovery improved in its second season with a setting change (leaping 900 years into the future), it truly blossomed in season three. Picard also experienced an uneven first season, which controversially killed off fan-favorite characters and transformed its titular hero into an android.

Fortunately, recent shows have shown marked improvement. Series like Strange New Worlds launched with strong initial outings. Though episodes such as "A Quality of Mercy" and "Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach" might not achieve all-time classic status, they contained no outright failures. It seemed the franchise was finally establishing its footing in the new streaming landscape.

This brings us to Starfleet Academy, which premiered on Paramount+ in January. Before its debut, online forums buzzed with detractors dismissing it as "CW Trek" and proclaiming disinterest in a show about "teenyboppers" that wasn't "real" Star Trek. Now that its first season has concluded, some complaints persist, but a significant number of initial skeptics have been pleasantly surprised. Daily posts on various Star Trek subreddits reflect this shift, often asking, "Starfleet Academy is actually good?!?" Personally, I found the first episode underwhelming, but episode two quickly won me over, and each subsequent week seemed to bring new converts. While ten episodes constitute a short run, Starfleet Academy made a substantial impact within that timeframe.

Four episodes are dedicated to the ongoing menace of Nus Braka, a murderous pirate brought to life with delightful scene-chewing by Paul Giamatti. These straightforward adventure narratives effectively developed not only Braka but also Cadet Caleb Mir, whose mother was imprisoned because of the pirate. The initial focus on Caleb in the first episode suggested he would be the primary protagonist, much like Michael Burnham in Discovery, but he soon shared the spotlight as the show explored other characters and its setting. Episode two, "Beta Test," embraced diplomacy, a cornerstone of Star Trek, and even altered the status quo by relocating Federation headquarters from Earth to Betazed.

Episodes four and five delved into more personal narratives. "Vox in Excelso" explored the soft-spoken Klingon character Jay-Den and the destiny of his species centuries later, while "Series Acclimation Mil" offered character development for the photonic being Sam, alongside heartfelt fan service for Deep Space Nine enthusiasts. Sam shone again in "The Life of the Stars," an episode addressing trauma that also delivered fan service in a meaningful way, contributing to the development of both Sam and the Doctor, a legacy character from Voyager.

It's not that every episode in Starfleet Academy's first season is a masterpiece—"Vitus Reflux" and "Ko’Zeine" are somewhat weaker—but none are truly bad. This high batting average bodes well for word-of-mouth, as it's easier to recommend a show without needing to preface it with excuses about how it "gets good eventually." This organic buzz will be crucial if the series aims to complete its projected four seasons of schooling. With season two having just wrapped filming, its continuation is assured for at least another year, but the broader future of both the show and the entire franchise remains uncertain.

Strange New Worlds season four is set to premiere later this year, followed by an abbreviated fifth season. Beyond that, firm plans are scarce. Starfleet Academy has not yet received a renewal, and other projects, like the Tawny Newsome-helmed comedy show, are still in development with no concrete details revealed. Newsome, known for playing Beckett Mariner on Lower Decks and working in the writers' room for Starfleet Academy, exemplifies how Paramount has cultivated a roster of behind-the-scenes talent. Even with new shows, these individuals deeply understand the universe and, crucially, how to collaborate to produce quality television. This internal expertise will be vital in the coming year as Paramount makes critical decisions about the franchise's future amidst the recent Skydance merger and the impending Warner Bros. acquisition.

Star Trek faces an uphill battle, but Starfleet Academy's strong first season has undoubtedly made that climb a bit easier.