Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has arrived on Paramount+, and the first of episode of the two-episode premiere, titled “Kids These Days,” introduced a big, central mystery for the series. Spoilers past this point but: what happened to Anisha Mir (Tatiana Maslany), Caleb’s mom?
To give a brief bit of recap for context, the episode opens during the dark times for Starfleet, as we meet Anisha Mir and her young son Caleb (Luciano Fernandez). They’re tired, starving, and about to be arrested by Starfleet for teaming up with the dangerous pirate Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) to get some food… A “mission” that led to the death of a Starfleet officer.
Both Nus and Anisha are sent to prison, while Caleb is remanded to the custody of Starfleet… Only for him to escape and spend the next decade and change searching for his mother. Years later, he gets recruited for the newly revamped Starfleet Academy, which is led by Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter), the woman who has regretted separating Anisha and Caleb years earlier. She makes a deal with the older Caleb (Sandro Rosta) to help him find his mom, in exchange for him joining the Academy.
Naturally, while the Academy — which is both a starship and a building — is heading to San Frencisco, they’re attacked by Nus Braka, whose got a little twist up his sleeve when it comes to Caleb’s mom. Sadly it’s not “Caleb… I am your mother.” But when the two come face to face, Nus cackles, saying, “Oh, your mother would be so disappointed in you, lazybones. You know it’s a damn shame what happened to her on [Goja 5] after we broke out of prison.”
Then they fight and we never find out what happened to Anisha, or whether the planet is Goja-5 or some other spelling because I watched this episode on a screener that did not have closed captions. But regardless, Nus Braka is back, and Anisha is somewhere else. So… What happened to Caleb’s Mom? Was the only appearance by Orphan Black and She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany that brief prologue at the beginning of the premiere episode?
Without getting into future spoilers, I will note that this is a running mystery throughout the season. And though Maslany isn’t in any of the other six episodes provided for critics, she is reportedly a “recurring special guest star,” so will likely appear in some form in the back half of the season, whether as flashback or otherwise.
On the speculation beat, if “what happened to her” is she died… That’s not very interesting, and is a real bummer. Instead, given the show is already picked up for a second season, it’s more likely something else is going on with Anisha Mir — and why she hasn’t reconnected with Caleb — that will spur us on to an even bigger plot. Stay tuned.
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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