Some Star Trek fans want new characters instead of legacy characters

Star Trek currently has a brand new show in development—Starfleet Academy, and while most fans loved season three of Star Trek: Picard as it brought back so many beloved characters, plenty of them are also saying it's time to move on to new ones. So they're hoping the new series will be a clean slate and start with characters no one knows, and we can root for them from the beginning.

But, in all fairness, the final season of Picard was one of the most, if not the most, popular Star Trek series last year. That had a lot to do with the return of the cast from Star Trek: The Next Generation. But it also had a lot to do with the writing as well. The storyline was top-notch, and it gave all the characters their due. So we got to see them not only return to our screens but return for a purpose.

The use of legacy characters is beneficial to the franchise as there will always be fans who want to see those who started their love for Star Trek. Starting with unknown characters can be a risk, especially if the fans don't like the storylines, the acting, or the overall direction of the series. Of course, there will always be those who will watch Star Trek no matter what as well as those fans who won't watch anything but the five original series.

I think it would be impossible to have a series, even one set hundreds of years in the future, that doesn't at least reference Starfleet members or their accomplishments from the past. This franchise will always be interconnected across the various series. Star Trek: Lower Decks helped proved that when it crossed over with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. But as far as having a series that doesn't involve characters from the past onscreen, it's possible. While some might see it as a fresh start, still others won't like it, which is why the old adage is true, "you can't please everybody." It will be interesting to see how good of a job Starfleet Academy does in that department.