Starfleet Academy officially greenlit by Paramount

Starfleet Academy is an official “go” from Paramount.

Though Paramount has already said the newest Star Trek series, Starfleet Academy, is in production, we’ve all heard the “in production” spiel before. So there’s never a sure thing until a series gets greenlit, which now has happened. According to Space.com, principal photography on the new series will begin next year.

Though this series will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets, there will be instructors they have to contend with. Could this possibly mean we could see some legacy characters? Chief O’Brief left Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to teach at the Academy as a Professor of Engineering, and even though it’s been quite a while since he left to take on that position, age is just a number in Star Trek. So he could very well still be teaching. And this would also be a great way to bring in his children as well.

Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, known for “Nancy Drew”, will serve as co-showrunners for Starfleet Academy

The premiere episode will be written by Gaia Violo who, along with Matt Cirulnick, created Absentia, the Stana Katic-led series that ran for three seasons. Though there isn’t a lot more information available, Kurtzman and Landau released a joint announced shared by Startrek.com.

"“Admission is now open to Starfleet Academy! Explore the galaxy! Captain your destiny! For the first time in over a century, our campus will be re-opened to admit individuals a minimum of 16 Earth years (or species equivalent) who dream of exceeding their physical, mental and spiritual limits, who value friendship, camaraderie, honor and devotion to a cause greater than themselves. The coursework will be rigorous, the instructors among the brightest lights in their respective fields, and those accepted will live and study side-by-side with the most diverse population of students ever admitted. Today we encourage all who share our dreams, goals and values to join a new generation of visionary cadets as they take their first steps toward creating a bright future for us all. Apply today! Ex Astris, Scientia!”"

Clearly, the show is aimed at young adults, but, hopefully, the instructors will be a major part of the series as well, perhaps even getting their own storylines so as not to just be sideline characters. Of course, this is a wait and see thing, but the fact that the series has been given the go-ahead order is one step forward in filling one of the two open slots that will be left by Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard.