One of the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy showrunners is talking about her "favorite content" on social media, which revolves around a certain character’s posture in the captain's chair.
Starfleet Academy viewers have already been taken by how Chancellor Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) has a rather unique way of sitting. Speaking to ScreenRant, executive producer and co-showrunner Noga Landau admitted that this was one of the bigger surprises in terms of fan reaction to the show.
"You have no idea when you're making the show what is going to blow up [...] Some of my favorite content, because there's a lot of incredible Starfleet Academy content already on TikTok, on YouTube, on Instagram, on Facebook, some of my favorites are these compilations of people doing Nahla sitting in the chair."
Landau continued by saying:
"We had no idea what was going to blow up online. One video of this girl just like doing them herself, and she's like [sitting weirdly in the captain’s chair], one like this, and another one. That's the best stuff."
This references how the half-human/half-Lanthanite Ake simply cannot sit like a regular person. She’s constantly lounging on sofas, cots, and even the USS Athena command chair with legs propped up and in odd poses. It’s a quirky trait for the 422-year-old alien that Hunter herself came up with and adds to her appeal.
Sadly, some Trek viewers don’t feel the same way about Hunter’s performance. Many have criticized Ake for being completely unprofessional and that a Starfleet captain and Academy leader shouldn’t be lounging with boots off on a bridge or slumping around seats in meetings. It’s among the reasons cited for Starfleet Academy getting some bad user reviews.
It seems strange to be so hung up on this. It’s a reminder that the woman is over 400 years old and has been through so much, so she earned the right to have an eccentric attitude. It doesn’t change how good a leader she is with a fun touch to set her apart.
Landau said that the majority of fans seem to like Ake’s sitting stance in the same interview: "Honestly, it's really cool to see the younger generation of fans just loving what we're doing, and becoming this army of weird chair sitters who just show up every day for Starfleet Academy. It's so fun."
It does seem strange that, of all things to divide Trek fans, how a character sits is on the list. But it’s nice that the showrunners aren’t letting it keep them down, and Hunter helped bring this unique character to life so well.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is now streaming on Paramount+. And for more Star Trek content, visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.