At New York Comic Con over the weekend, cast members of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy paused filming of the show’s second season in Toronto to engage with thousands of fans. Among the notable attendees were veteran actors Paul Giamatti and Holly Hunter, whose involvement adds notable gravitas to the series. The event offered insights into their characters, connections to the broader Star Trek universe, and details shared by co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau. The talk also featured hints about the series’ ship and a special role played by Stephen Colbert. The presence of Paul Giamatti Starfleet Academy enhances the anticipation around the show’s expanding narrative.
Holly Hunter’s Role Brings Fresh Energy to the Academy
Holly Hunter’s casting as the lead for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was pivotal in shaping early excitement about the series. During the panel moderated by Josh Horowitz, Hunter shared her long-standing connection to Star Trek, recalling her childhood viewing experience:
“I was watching Star Trek with my father when I was eight years old. And it’s extraordinary that this franchise—this story is still being told. And people have a hunger for it, have a desire for it for all these generations. So just the pull of that was really exotic, and interesting to me.” — Holly Hunter, Actor
In the show, Hunter portrays Nahla Ake, who serves as both the captain of the USS Athena and chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Her character is part Lanthanite, a long-lived species first introduced in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Hunter explained the appeal of playing a character with such an unusual lifespan:
“I also believe that the challenge of playing the captain, and in this particular situation, she’s 422 years old, and that was so interesting. What kind of life you could live to see people be born and die and be born and die and go in and out of your life. And what that could do to who you are and what you bring. And so I think that the character is incredibly young. And it was such a great intersection for me to feel that way as the character and to be confronted with these people [indicating the actors playing cadets] who are truly young and truly starting out and almost like being born in Starfleet Academy, the beginning of a new chapter of their lives. And it’s kind of a new chapter of my life too, as the captain. So I just thought that was so provocative. And I thought the scripts were just beautiful.” — Holly Hunter, Actor
Paul Giamatti Embraces Villainous Role as Half-Tellarite Cadet
Paul Giamatti’s addition to the cast drew significant attention, though his longtime affection for Star Trek made his casting a natural fit. At NYCC, Giamatti identified himself as a dedicated fan who grew up watching the franchise with his father, mirroring Hunter’s experience:
“I am a real deal fan. Like Holly, since about seven, eight years old, I’d watch it with my father. So I grew up with [Star Trek], all the iterations of it. I love it. So I had always been sort of saying it to people, ‘Gosh, I wish I could be on Star Trek, someday.’ And then it actually happened. And then I was saying, ‘Gosh, I wish I could play a Klingon.’ And then it sort of happened.” — Paul Giamatti, Actor
Giamatti’s enthusiasm for his villainous role was clear. He plays Nus Braka, a complex antagonist who is of mixed Klingon and Tellarite heritage. The Tellarites are described as a particularly aggressive and argumentative species within Star Trek lore, which Giamatti found appealing:
“I play a half Klingon, half Tellarite. And the Tellarites are these really, really, really aggressive, disputatious pig people. And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m all over that!.’ So I got to play up—I’m the bad guy! It’s fantastic! There’s a great tradition of bad guys. I get to do it. So I’m happy as a pig in shit.” — Paul Giamatti, Actor
Connecting Starfleet Academy to the Greater Star Trek Universe
Co-showrunner Noga Landau discussed how Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is set in the 32nd century, following the narrative thread from the Paramount+ hit Star Trek: Discovery. The series reinvigorates Starfleet Academy by reopening it in this distant future, providing opportunities for familiar faces to reappear:
“Starfleet Academy takes place in the 32nd Century. It takes place kind of picking up where Discovery left off. And they are reopening Starfleet Academy. You’ll see some familiar faces because of that.” — Noga Landau, Co-showrunner
Several characters from Discovery have already crossed over into the new show. Tig Notaro reprises her role as Jett Reno as a regular cast member, while Oded Fehr returns as Admiral Vance, head of Starfleet. Mary Wiseman makes a guest appearance as Tilly in the first season, though reportedly only for a single episode. There is potential for more appearances from the Discovery cast, as executive producer Alex Kurtzman has expressed interest in featuring the full roster eventually.
The USS Athena as a Unique Learning Environment
At San Diego Comic Con, fans saw that the USS Athena is integrated into Starfleet Academy’s campus, serving not only as a starship but also an educational platform. Alex Kurtzman elaborated on this concept during the NYCC panel, addressing how the series balances classroom and field experiences for cadets:
“You think of a Star Trek show, and you think of a crew that goes to space. I think part of the question that many people wrestled with well before our tenure in Star Trek was, how do you do a [Starfleet Academy] show that’s just in the classroom all the time? And so we thought if you made the ship a teaching hospital where you have to go out into the field and learn in the field, but then you dock in San Francisco, you get the best of both worlds. So the ship is actually part of Starfleet Academy in San Francisco, but then gets deployed out into space for individual missions and that’s how our cadets are thrown into real world jeopardy and learn how to actually be Starfleet officers.” — Alex Kurtzman, Co-showrunner
This setup enables cadets to receive practical training through active missions, enhancing the realism and drama of their Starfleet education by testing their skills under pressure.
Stephen Colbert Cast as the Digital Dean of Students
A surprise highlight from the panel was the announcement that Stephen Colbert will lend his voice to the series as the Digital Dean of Students at Starfleet Academy. Kurtzman introduced the role by connecting it to the familiar experience of high school morning announcements:
“In high school, did anybody have, like, morning announcements? So there’s always the voice that would come over. So we were like, ‘Who’s the perfect person to be our morning announcer?’ And, well, we should just have him tell you who he is…” — Alex Kurtzman, Co-showrunner
Colbert’s role will act as an institutional voice for the Academy, adding humor and familiarity to the cadets’ daily lives and further enriching the series’ atmosphere.
Series Launch Set for January 2026
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is scheduled to premiere on Paramount+ in the United States on Thursday, January 15, 2026, with two episodes launching simultaneously. The season will unfold over 10 episodes, releasing new installments weekly every Thursday. The finale is planned for March 12, 2026. This rollout schedule aims to maintain steady engagement and build momentum for the series.
Additional Insights and Future Coverage from NYCC
More detailed reporting on the Star Trek Universe panel will cover the perspectives of the actors portraying the cadets and other key contributors. Previous coverage included discussions about the Strange New Worlds cast and executive producers previewing seasons four and five, plus highlights from the Starfleet Academy Interactive Experience at NYCC. Fans interested in keeping up with all developments can look forward to ongoing updates and exclusive content related to the expanding Star Trek franchise.
