Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will follow the most ambitious students in the galaxy

A few months ago, we received the news that Star Trek: Discovery was being canceled and that season 5 would be its last one on Paramount Plus. I was worried. The official Star Trek convention was canceled at what felt like the last minute, the streaming wars are settling down, and media companies are seemingly less and less interested in investing large sums of money in new shows.

I spent that day wondering if that was just the first in a string of bad news about new Star Trek.

As is typical, details are scant, but here’s what we know from the press release:

The series will follow the adventures of a new class of cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy.

The only other details on offer come via an in-universe statement that mentions “for the first time in over a century, our campus will be re-opened to admit individuals a minimum of sixteen earth years…”

Reading that makes it feel like a safe bet that we’ll be following the class admitted after the group we met in season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery. On one hand, my hopes of seeing a Miles O’Brien as Mr. Feeny story arc are dashed, but now, my hopes of more Sylvia Tilly are very high.

I’m just old enough to remember the 14-year stretch of near-constant new Star Trek content, from Star Trek: The Next Generation through Star Trek: Enterprise. Between today’s news and new season orders for Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and Prodigy, I’m feeling a lot better about the future of my favorite space show.