In a surprising move that has left Trekkies across the galaxy divided, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been cancelled, with the upcoming second season being its last. Despite the fact that Paramount+ has only just wrapped up the first season of the sci-fi show, the decision has been made to end the show, which split fans and critics.

Set after the end of Star Trek: Discovery, the show followed cadets of the newly reformed Starfleet Academy and their half-Lanthanite Captain, Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter). The cancellation comes at an unprecedented time in Star Trek history, when there are currently no Trek TV shows in production.

Despite strong premiere episodes and a loyal franchise fanbase, the series faced harsh criticism, with a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 51%, and, while critics rated it higher with an 87%, Starfleet Academy just couldn’t survive the “woke” criticisms that flooded online.

Many long-time fans weren’t happy with the show’s theme being geared towards a more “young adult” tone, while others recognised that this one series in a long line of Trek shows was simply aimed at a different audience.

Season 2 of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will have a ten-episode run, and for a franchise whose core values are inclusivity and “everyone is welcome”, it’s a shame that the show won’t have the space to expand and allow the new generation of sci-fi fans a chance to immerse themselves in this new side of Starfleet.

While the experiment of Starfleet Academy is ending, Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman may also be nearing the end of his time with the science fiction franchise, but we will have to see whether his contract will extend beyond 2026 and what that will mean for the future of Trek as a whole.

In the wise words of Captain James T Kirk (William Shatner) himself:

Header Image Credit: Paramount Plus