Starfleet Academy Reveals Four-Year Plan for the Series

August 4, 2025

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has a “four-year plan,” according to executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy revealed its first teaser trailer at San Diego Comic-Con, offering eye-popping glimpses of the 32nd-century school and starship led by Academy Award-winner Holly Hunter as Captain Nahla Ake, the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy stars Holly Hunter, Bella Shepard, Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, and executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman spoke to Collider‘s Steven Weintraub at San Diego Comic-Con. Kurtzman revealed that plans for Starfleet Academy season 3 are underway, and that the show has “a four-year plan because college is four years long.” Read Alex’s quote and watch the video below:

Alex Kurtzman: “You have to have a four-year plan because college is four years long… We do have a plan for season 3. What’s so fun is that when you start breaking a season, inevitably, you have too many ideas, and you go, ‘Oh, wait a minute, this is cool that we should do this next season.’… I always want to leave enough room to have improvisation happen, but know what pillars we’re trying to hit. But we just came to the end of season 2, where we’re about to write the finale, which is kind of amazing. And it’s exactly where we wanted to go. But when we started season 2, it isn’t exactly how we thought we’d get there. It’s really fun.”

Alex Kurtzman also discussed how Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will blend serialization with episodic storytelling:

“Yes, there are serialized stories that take you from beginning to the end of the season, and that will carry into season 2. However, we really do have standalone episodes. So once the story has been established and everybody gets together, we begin to foreground certain characters as the lead of each episode, and then everybody comes together, so that by the time you get to the finale, you know everybody very, very well.”

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s Four-Year Plan Vs. Paramount+’s Two-Season Order Explained

Will Starfleet Academy Make It To Graduation?

Paramount+ renewed Star Trek: Starfleet Academy for season 2 in 2024 during filming of season 1, which showed the streamer’s faith in the next Star Trek series. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 2 begins filming in fall 2025, with a likely 2027 release date, as season 1 is set to premiere on Paramount+ in early 2026.

However, Alex Kurtzman’s revelation of planning for four years, with ideas underway for season 3, indicates that Starfleet Academy is looking ahead to continuing beyond its two-season order. Kurtzman, co-showrunner Noga Landau, and Starfleet Academy‘s production team are hoping the series gets renewed for a further two seasons.

The wildcard is Paramount Global’s soon-to-be-completed sale to Skydance Media, and whether the new owners will maintain the current Star Trek status quo or overall the IP and make changes to the franchise. In the case of the former, it’s logical for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy to hope for the best and aim to complete its four-year plan.

Our Take On Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s Four-Year Plan

A Lot Can Change In The Next Few Years

The good news is Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is assured two seasons on Paramount+, just as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will continue to end with season 5, with both Star Trek series delivering new seasons into 2027. What happens after that is anyone’s guess after Skydance Media takes over Paramount and whether the new owners will seek to overhaul Star Trek.

It would be ideal for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy to run four seasons in order to replicate a full college experience. However, this is a short run, especially for Star Trek fans who still yearn for seven seasons like Star Trek enjoyed in the 1990s. Still, a potential four seasons for Starfleet Academy is better than the two seasons already ordered.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s teaser trailer was received warmly by fans.

A great deal, of course, will depend on the critical and audience reaction to Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The good news is that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s teaser trailer was received warmly by fans, especially because of its numerous Easter eggs and nods to Star Trek‘s history. Time will tell if Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will follow its heroic young Cadets to graduation after four years.

Source: Collider