New photos from this week’s 2-episode premiere of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

A New Generation Begins as Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Premieres on Paramount+ with “Kids These Days” and “Beta Test”

The newest Star Trek series on Paramount+ Starfleet Academy beams in this week, launching with a two-episode premiere on Thursday, January 15. The opening installments, “Kids These Days” and “Beta Test,” are both directed by Star Trek franchise head Alex Kurtzman and written by Gaia Violo, along with Noga Landau and Jane Maggs.

Starring Holly Hunter as Nahla Ake, captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy, the series also features Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard, and Zoë Steiner. The cast is rounded out by Tig Notaro as Jett Reno and Robert Picardo reprising the Doctor, with guest appearances from Oded Fehr as Admiral Vance and Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly, and recurring roles for Gina Yashere and Paul Giamatti.

Photos from both premiere episodes can be seen below.

Episode 101: Kids These Days

Episode synopsis:

After being on the run since age 6, 21-year-old Caleb, a brilliant street kid, is offered the chance of a lifetime: to join the first new Starfleet Academy class in San Francisco in over a century. There’s just one problem – the person offering him the spot is newly-minted Chancellor Nahla Ake, the Starfleet captain who sentenced his mother to Federation prison 15 years ago…

Episode 102: Beta Test

Episode synopsis:

With the start of the new academic year, Caleb’s unease about his future at Starfleet Academy persists. But when a delegation from a former Federation ally arrives and Caleb is tasked with showing their leader’s daughter around campus, he must put his uncertainty aside to discover what life at the Academy is really about.

Teaser trailer:

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres on Paramount+ on January 15, 2026, with new episodes releasing weekly through March 12.

Related: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Charts a Bold, Heartfelt New Course for the Franchise

Are you excited for the latest Star Trek series? Tell us in the comments below.

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