Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will focus on a younger audience.
Star Trek is nearly 60 years old. It’s a brand that has seen seven different decades come and go. It’s a brand that has constantly refreshed its viewer base each and every chance they get. With each new era comes a new opportunity for Star Trek to expand past its original core group of fans.
Think about the original series. It was largely a morality play, broadcasted to millions of homes. The first film, in 1979? A psychedelic affair that the studio wanted to be their version of Star Wars. It changed the entire look of the franchise; but for what reason? To try and get more casual fans into the theater, and appeal to non-Trek fans.
It failed, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t keep trying. The Next Generation featured more women in an attempt to garner more new fans. Deep Space Nine and Voyager also saw changes in the hope of garnering more than just their Star Trek core.
Same with Discovery, who saw its budget blown up to match what fans were seeing in the MCU, all in an attempt to cater to more non-fans. And now, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy may in fact be doing the same thing according to Alex Kurtzman.
Kurtzman spoke at the New York Comic Con this past weekend and revealed to the audience that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was still happening and that it was going to target a younger audience.
"“What I’m so excited about the Starfleet Academy is that it’s really important that every show really has its own distinct identity. Otherwise, what’s the difference between one or the other? …when you’re in Starfleet Academy, you’re not yet on a ship proper. And so you get to make mistakes, and you get to learn who you are, and figure all that out. I think that this idea that the generation is inheriting…And I think that’s what our show is so much about….And it’s ultimately a show that speaks to the generation now. And that’s this question of how are our better angels going to emerge and what are they going to do to get us there?"
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has to reach a newer audience without losing its core touch
The one problem Kurtzman has had as the franchise’s guide is his inability to know what Trek is; morality plays. Discovery and Picard were grimdark nightmares that did everything they could to deconstruct Trek. And that’s a terrible idea. Star Trek should be like pizza, even the worst of it is still good because it’s pizza. Yet, shows like Discovery and Picard lowered the bar, and other shows like Lower Decks really fragmented the community even further.
Strange New Worlds and Prodigy, however, were returned to forms. They balanced the new direction of Star Trek with the inherent values dreamed up by Gene Roddenberry. It hasn’t been perfect for either show, but they are on par with any classic show.
Starfleet Academy has to make room for the younger generation; which means tackling concepts that maybe most of us don’t get or understand. But it can’t lose the inherent nature that is Trek – striving for a better future, together.
As long as it takes the older generation with it, Starfleet Academy may just find success appealing to that newer generation.