Trek’s marmite ‘STARFLEET ACADEMY’ won’t boldly go to S3…

Despite the first run of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy ending this month on Paramount+ (with a second season already in post-production) it appears that it will not be going boldly for a third season…  

Despite that upfront investment, the newest incarnation of Star Trek was something of a marmite show. Set in the 30th Century, hundreds of years after the likes of Kirk, Spock and then Picard, Data and Worf, it continued on from some of the events from the equally divisive Star Trek: Discovery, where the ship of the title was propelled forward during a climactic chronologically-challenged battle. Starfleet Academy dealt with the Federation trying to restablish itself after a climactic event known as ‘The Burn‘ restricted space travel for over a century. The idea was to follow the ups and downs of the first students welcomed back to the ‘Academy’ and the weight placed upon their shoulders.

Its approach was to simultaneously honour the legacy of Trek shows of the past (with several familiar characters, references and easter-eggs galore) but also very much aiming for a younger audience. It was the kind of show one might have seen back in the days of The CW  – impossibly beautiful people solving relationship problems with a moral lesson – a ‘Hogwarts in Space ‘ vibe.

It was a cosmic poster-child for diversity – a show that even including a gay Klingon – but was not for everyone. Reviews varied considerably.

“We’re incredibly proud of the ambition, passion, and creativity that went into bringing Star Trek: Starfleet Academy to life,” CBS Studios and Paramount+ said in a joint statement. “The series introduced audiences to a bold new group of characters, welcomed familiar faces, and expanded the Star Trek universe in exciting new ways. We’re grateful to Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau, Gaia Violo, and the entire cast and crew who pushed storytelling boundaries 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 all that was accomplished with this series.”

The wider Trek franchise has undergone a rollercoaster of drought and revivals  and for all the opinions and criticisms – and, subjectively some of them could be considered perfectly valid – the very mixed results could well be seen as some of Trek’s innate strengths. Not every show will work or receive the acclaim of some of the previous incarnations and some do forget there were trials and tribulations for almost all branches of the franchise at one point or another.  Trek‘s attempts to find new audiences rather than rely on its existing fanbase can be judged as a worthwhile effort even if some didn’t have the hoped-for longevity.  (Personally,  Starfleet Academy never really clicked with me and I gave up after around three episodes, but that was mainly because it really wasn’t aimed at me, so I went about leaving it to those who would enjoy it . There were Trekkers who were passionate about it, but ultimately it does seem it didn’t find the size or wider demographic that Paramount+ would have needed to continue).

Despite some vague movement on bringing Trek back to the big screen and the notion that Trek will assuredly find new avenues over the years to come, it is not known what Trek‘s next televisual step will be. Discovery ended, the animated Prodigy and Lower Decks are done and TNG star Marina Sirtis recently mused that there’s ‘no chance’ that Paramount will greenlight another extension of the Picard-era where all the main cast are now in their Seventies.

In 2026, Star Trek is 60 years old in and of itself, so it needs to measure its next steps carefully…