Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is officially underway but when can we expect it?

Star Trek has officially begun the production on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, complete with a cast photo that seems to contain everyone but Tig Notaro. The announcement that production has begun comes directly from Star Trek's official website, where they revealed yet another photo of the crew in front of the Star Trek Studio sound stage.

The dot com also formally announced the cast for this new show. Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Karim Diane, Zoe Steiner, and Sandro Rosta round out the young cast, while Holly Hunter will serve as the chancellor and captain of the academy.

Robert Picardo and Tig Notaro are reprising their roles from past shows as The Doctor and Jett Reno alike in regular roles, while Oded Fehr and Mary Wiseman of Star Trek: Discovery will have guest roles as their previous characters.

Other cast members include Gina Yashere, who is expected to play an instructor of some sort, while Paul Giamatti will serve as the series' first true villain. So now that we know the who, what about the when? Namely, fans are excited about this show, so when can they expect it to debut?

Well, if past shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are any indication, it could be out this time next Summer. Strange New Worlds' first season went into production officially on August 12, 2021, and debuted on May 5, 2022.

That's a nine-month turnaround, so if the show is going into production in late August, then a mid-May release in 2025 should be our working expectation if Strange New Worlds' turnaround is the expected norm. Discovery's production was far quicker, with only seven months in between the start of filming in January of 2017 with the release of the first episode in September of the same year.

Picard saw production begin on April 22, 2019 and the first episode debuted on Jan. 23, 2020.

That was roughly nine months. So considering the turnaround for a live-action show from Star Trek has been anywhere from seven to nine months, it's fair to say that a May release is likely. Barring any unforeseen circumstances.