Star Trek is expanding into the world of younger characters later this week (January 15) with the debut of Starfleet Academy, a series focusing on the prospective next class of Starfleet captains and crew. And if you’re worried about whether the series will continue to push forward Gene Roddenberry’s vision of an inclusive future? Then Star Trek boss Alex Kurtzman has a few words on the matter.
In the new series, while there are an array of younger characters, and there are some initial infatuations and flirtations, there’s not quite as much romance as you might expect — at least not in the six episodes provided to critics. There is one hot-and-heavy heterosexual pairing between characters, but when it comes to LGBTQ+ characters? Not quite as much.
They are there, mind you. Without getting too heavy into spoilers, there’s a new canonical female-female couple introduced, and a slow-burn exploration of sensitive Klingon Jay-Den Kraag’s (Karim Diané) sexuality. But neither get the sort of physical intimacy that’s on display for the straight couple mentioned above.
That stands in stark contrast with Star Trek: Discovery, the series Starfleet Academy most directly spins out of, which launched with a canonically gay couple, and in later seasons introduced a trans character, a non-binary character, and more, and spent plenty of time exploring what all that means in the galaxy of the franchise.
So during a press panel for Starfleet Academy held for members of the Television Critics Association (TCA) that included Kurtzman, as well as members of the cast, I asked about this — specifically that Discovery was very upfront with introducing LGBTQ+ characters, while Starfleet Academy seems to be slow-burning things when it comes to rep, and was curious about that choice.
“No, it wasn’t a choice,” Kurtzman answered. “I think we’re not slowing down on representation in any way. We’re certainly planning like representation is at the beating heart of Roddenberry’s vision and we’ve already done the work of bringing it to that new place. So there’s really no reason to change course there.”
Look, it was a virtual press conference, and this was the final question of the panel. But I will note that actress Gina Yashere, who plays Starfleet instructor Lura Thok (and may or may not be half of that new female-female couple I mentioned above) definitely perked up and sat up in her chair during the question. Kurtzman’s terse answer was also followed by a bit of silence where I could have pushed him further, so that’s on me. But he already seemed a little testy at the suggestion that Starfleet Academy wasn’t progressive — to intuit, likely because online trolls tend to come out of the woodwork whenever this is discussed in any fashion.
But to editorialize, while I appreciate that representation is the “beating heart” of the vision, and yes it has been baked into Star Trek from the beginning, it does feel back-burnered when it comes to Starfleet Academy. Perhaps things will heat up more in the final four episodes of the season not provided to critics… And look, I’m not asking for this to turn into Heated Rivalry in Space or anything. But it’s a school, they’re kids, this takes place after Discovery… If it’s the beating heart, it should be front and center, not somewhere around the kidneys.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
New episodes of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premiere Thursdays on Paramount+, at 3am ET / Midnight PT. The season will premiere with two episodes on January 15, followed by one new episode weekly until the season finale.
Here’s what we expect from the full list of episodes in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy with premiere dates.
- Thursday, January 15, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 1
- Thursday, January 15, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 2
- Thursday, January 22, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 3
- Thursday, January 29, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 4
- Thursday, February 5, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 5
- Thursday, February 12, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 6
- Thursday, February 19, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 7
- Thursday, February 26, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 8
- Thursday, March 5, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 9
- Thursday, March 12, 2026: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Season 1, Episode 10 *Season Finale*
Where To Watch Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
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