Starfleet Academy episode 5 also contains a very special surprise for DS9 fans.
The press tour for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy rolls on as the new streaming series prepares to join the pantheon of prized projects which came before it. However, showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau are pulling from the past and bringing definite nostalgia to the fifth episode, which the latter refers to as “a love letter to Deep Space Nine.” Landau said in an interview with TrekMovie.com:
“There’s so many Easter eggs to Trek [in the series]. One of the ones that really stands out to the fans is Harry Kim [finally promoted!] being an admiral on the Wall of Heroes. Our atrium is named Sato Atrium. We have Uhura Pavilion. We have so many honors to the people who came before us. And episode 5 is essentially a love letter to Deep Space Nine.”
Kurtzman added during the same sit-down that Starfleet Academy respects the past but sets its own course. The co-showrunner said:
"The idea is that if you don’t know Deep Space Nine and you’ve never seen it, it’s a wonderful introduction. If you do know Deep Space Nine, it’s really meaningful. And that was the goal. Yes, of course, if we don’t make shows for a new generation, and then the new generation after that, Trek is going to die, right? Our goal is to keep it alive. So as much as people may complain that it doesn’t feel like old Trek: If you want old Trek, watch it. It’s there for you forever. But we are doing so much to honor canon and to honor old Trek in the way we are approaching it now.” (Continued...)