Logo text
So much for Paramount+’s Gen Z Star Trek show.
The streamer has decided to call it a day Star Trek: Starfleet Academy After the second season.
Starfleet Academy It recently finished airing its first season. Paramount+ had already (rather optimistically, as it turned out) ordered a second season, which recently wrapped production.
Starfleet Academy It was a polarizing entry in a trip Canonical. Many critics celebrated the show for its focus on the younger generation and its coming-of-age themes. On social media, the show has been a frequent target of ridicule from those who claim the show is too “woke.”
On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has a positive 87 percent critics rating, but a dismal 51 percent audience rating.
The show was also unable to rank among the top 10 of Nielsen’s weekly broadcast viewership lists.
The news comes at a time when there is nothing left Star Trek The television shows are in production, although there are two seasons previously filmed Strange new worlds Which has not been broadcast yet.
There was also speculation about the future Star Trek Executive producer Alex Kurtzman, who has overseen the revival of the TV series across multiple spin-offs. Kurtzman’s deal runs through the end of 2026. Paramount+ is currently in talks with Kurtzman and his Secret Hideout production company about renewing or extending his deal, though it’s not clear if that deal would still include oversight of a trip (Kurtzman has produced other titles for the company, including Hawaii Five-O, the scorpion and Salvation).
On the film side, Paramount Pictures is still in early development on Star Trek projects.
CBS Studios and Paramount+ released this statement: “We are incredibly proud of the ambition, passion and creativity that brought BRIGHT Star Trek: Starfleet Academy To life. The series introduced audiences to a bold new cast of characters, welcomed familiar faces, and expanded the Star Trek universe in new and exciting ways. We are grateful for [EPs] Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau, Jaya Violo, and all the cast and crew who pushed the boundaries of storytelling in the spirit of Gene Roddenberry’s vision. We look forward to sharing the upcoming second and final season with everyone, and continuing to celebrate the cast, crew, and everything that has been accomplished in this series.
Additionally, Kurtzman, Lando, and Violo issued a lengthy open letter about the cancellation — and addressed some of the criticism surrounding the show. Here is the full message:
“It has been a pleasure and an honor, Nougat, to help carry forward Gene Roddenberry’s extraordinary vision with Starfleet Academy, thanks to hundreds of hardworking humans who pour every ounce of their talent into the work every day with imagination and reverence. We are now in post-production for what will be the second and final season. We are so proud of what we have accomplished together on this show, and the world will get to see the work of these extraordinary artists when Season 2 airs. We will finish strong.”
Whether you work on Star Trek or are part of the wonder that is the Star Trek fandom—its heart, soul, and conscience—the joy comes from venturing across the boundaries of time, space, and the humanly possible in service of Roddenberry’s transformative vision of the future. That incomparable vision was fueled by inexhaustible optimism. Star Trek places its bet on the best of human nature. He dares to imagine a society of “infinite diversity in infinite combinations,” free of war, hatred, poverty, disease, and oppression, and dedicated to the spirit of scientific inquiry and respect for all life, whether carbon or silicon organisms, green or blue-skinned.
But make no mistake: Gene Roddenberry was no starry-eyed dreamer. He was a decorated Army bomber pilot in the Pacific Theater. He saw firsthand the horrific consequences of the worst of human nature. His vision of the future was not just a promise of hope. It was also a warning. In a charged and frightening time of intolerance and violence, Star Trek said: Look! We succeeded! But hardly. First, we had to put all those old woes behind us. It has been said that what makes us glorious as a species, and gives us hope for the future and the galaxy, is inextricably linked to what makes us dangerous to each other, to this world we currently live in, and to ourselves. This dual message – hope and warning – is not just a beautiful dream but a call to action, to think about our identity in a different way.
Please don’t take our word for it. Take the genes:
“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom the day it begins not only to tolerate, but especially to enjoy, differences in ideas and differences in life forms. […] If we cannot learn how to enjoy those small differences, and positively enjoy those small differences among our species, here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and encounter the diversity that almost certainly exists there.
With everlasting hope that his vision of the future is possible, for our children, their children, and every future student at Starfleet Academy:
“Live long and prosper.”
