The heart of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is the show's young Cadets: Sandro Rosta as Caleb Mir, Karim Diané as Jay-Den Kraag, Kerrice Brooks as Sam, George Hawkins as Darem Reymi, Bella Shepard as Genesis Lythe, and Zoë Steiner as Tarima Sadal. They are an eclectic mix of humans, familiar alien species, and extraterrestrials new to Star Trek.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a direct spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery set in the late 32nd century, which gives Paramount+'s new series the benefit of being able to evoke the breadth of Star Trek's history and canon. Here are 13 Star Trek Easter eggs and callbacks in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's teaser trailer.
13San Francisco In Star Trek’s 32nd Century
Starfleet Academy Has Come Home To Earth
Starfleet Academy returns to its traditional home of San Francisco. Star Trek: Discovery season 3 revealed that The Burn caused the United Federation of Planets to vacate Earth, which became an isolationist planet for over a century. United Earth once again opens its doors to Starfleet Academy, so that the Cadets can make their home and matriculate in San Francisco.
12Holly Hunter’s Captain Nahla Ake Is Chancellor Of Starfleet Academy
Starfleet Academy Stars An Academy Award Winner
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy scored a coup by casting Oscar winner Holly Hunter as its series lead. Hunter plays Nahla Ake, the Captain of the USS Athena and the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Ake is half-Lanthanite, an extremely long-lived race first introduced via Commander Pelia (Carol Kane) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Nahla also has a special mentor relationship with one of her new Cadets.
11First Starfleet Academy Class On Earth In 120 Years
Star Trek: Discovery Introduced A Previous Starfleet Academy Class
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's teaser trailer establishes the new class is the first to study on Earth in 120 years. Star Trek: Discovery season 4 opened with the first new Starfleet Academy class in a century since The Burn, but they trained in space at Federation HQ. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy takes place on Earth and aboard a starship, the USS Athena.
10James T. Kirk Pavilion
Captain Kirk Is Memorialized At Starfleet Academy
9Starfleet Academy’s Wall Of Legends & Heroes
How Many Easter Eggs Can You Spot?
Starfleet Academy has a massive wall emblazoned with the names of legendary Starfleet Officers. For Star Trek fans, this is a fantastic Easter egg hunt to spot characters from past Star Trek TV shows and movies, as well as real-life people who worked on Star Trek and who are now officially part of Star Trek canon.
8The Doctor From Star Trek: Voyager Isn’t Starfleet Academy’s Only Hologram
Cadet Sam Is Also An Artificial Life Form
Robert Picardo returns as The Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Prodigy, who now instructs at Starfleet Academy. However, the 800-year-old EMH isn't the only hologram on the show.
Sam is an acronym for Series Acclimation Mil, and the young Kasqian is a holographic life form who came on line just weeks before becoming the first of her kind to attend Starfleet Academy.
7Tatiana Maslany Plays Someone’s Mother
She Could Be The Mother Of One Of Starfleet Academy's Cadets
Acclaimed Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany plays a mysterious character in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The glimpses of Maslany indicate she is a mother torn by grief in flashbacks. Tatiana's character may be the mother of one of Starfleet Academy's Cadets, but her name, backstory, and motivations remain to be seen.
6Starfleet Academy Has A Human & Betazoid Love Story
Shades Of Will Riker & Deanna Troi
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces a love story between human Cadet Caleb Mir and Tarima Sadal, the daughter of the President of Betazed. Of course, Star Trek's most famous romance between a human and a Betazoid is Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), which Starfleet Academy is intriguingly evoking.
5Starfleet Academy Has Klingons & Klingon Hybrids
None Of Them Look Like Star Trek: Discovery's Klingons
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy reintroduces Klingons to the 32nd century, after Star Trek: Discovery's 930 year time jump left their controversial redesigned Klingons in the 23rd century. However, Starfleet Academy not only brings back traditional Klingons like Cadet Jay-Den Kraag, but it also debuts Klingon hybrids.
Commander Lura Thok (Gina Yashere) is a Klingon/Jem’Hadar hybrid who is the Chancellor Nahla Ake's First Officer and Cadet Master. Meanwhile, the villainous Nus Braka is a hybrid of Klingon and Tellarite, creating fascinating new spins on the warrior race.
4Starfleet Academy Remembers Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Captain Sisko
What Happened To Captain Sisko Is A Starfleet Academy Lesson
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) is gone but never forgotten. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy makes what happened to Captain Sisko an open question, pondering whether he died in Bajor's Fire Caves or joined the Prophets of Bajor. The fact that this is still debated 800 years later indicates that Captain Sisko may not have returned from the Celestial Temple.
3Commander Jett Reno Teaches At Starfleet Academy
Starfleet's Cadets Are Taught By A Great Engineer
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's teaser trailer confirms that Commander Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) is an instructor at the Academy, most likely bringing her centuries of engineering know-how to benefit the cadets. Also seen in the teaser is Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) from Star Trek: Discovery.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy also cast WWE Superstar Becky Lynch (Rebecca Quin) in an unknown role.
Curiously, Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) isn't seen in Starfleet Academy's teaser, despite being the first character from Star Trek: Discovery to become a teacher at Starfleet Academy.
2Starfleet Academy Is Also A Starship
The USS Athena Doubles As Starfleet Academy
One of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's coolest innovations is that the school itself is also a starship, the USS Athena, commanded by Chancellor and Captain Nahla Ake. This is a novel twist on the school's traditional San Francisco setting, and it means the Cadets are also automatically assigned to the Starship Athena in different academic tracks.
1Paul Giamatti’s Villain Whistles Star Trek’s Theme
Alexander Courage's Music Is Star Trek Canon
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's teaser trailer ends with Nus Braka marching down a corridor flanked by his henchmen. Amusingly, Braka is whistling the familiar theme from Star Trek: The Original Series, composed by Alexander Courage in 1966. This makes Star Trek's iconic music official canon, and it's a loving nod to the very origins of Star Trek.
