Starfleet Academy is arguably the most exciting upcoming Star Trek series on the way, and a lot of that is thanks to the spectacular cast involved. We have Oscar winners, Emmy winners and people who rank among the best Trek characters of all time coming together to tell a story centered on the education system all members of Starfleet must go through to find their way to service.
From Holly Hunter to Robert Picardo, we'll travel down the list of big stars in this series, and also highlight the young actors that will almost surely go on to be in the future of Star Trek. Here's a breakdown of who we'll see in the new series, which takes place in the 32nd century, around the same timeframe as the final seasons of Star Trek: Discovery.
Holly Hunter
Starfleet Academy casting Holly Hunter was the first sign this series was seeking big names to bring in, and who better to announce first? The Academy Award-winning actress has a large body of work for readers to watch to prove she's up to the task of chancellor of the prestigious academy.
Paul Giamatti
Starfleet Academy delivered a one-two punch fresh off the casting of Holly Hunter by announcing an Emmy winner and Oscar nominee will also join the cast: Paul Giamatti. Not only is Giamatti has consistently been one of the top names in Hollywood in his career, but he's also a pretty big Star Trek fan. Word is he'll be playing a villainous role in this show, but we'll have to wait and see exactly what that means.
Tig Notaro
After wrapping up her time in Star Trek: Discovery, Jett Reno is joining Starfleet Academy as a series regular. This means we'll likely be seeing more of Jett than we did in Discovery, similar to when Miles O'Brien went from The Next Generation to Deep Space Nine. Jett is kind of a jack of all trades and will make for a great instructor, though I expect she'll be overseeing the future engineering crews of Starfleet.
Robert Picardo
Robert Picardo became one of Star Trek: Voyager's most beloved characters as the EMH, and he had a wonderful return arc in Prodigy Season 2. Being a hologram has its disadvantages, but one advantage is you can be around 1000 years into the future and no one bats an eye. Picardo will play his EMH/The Doctor as an instructor in the new series and bring a wealth of Starfleet knowledge along with him.
Mary Wiseman
In what was perhaps the most obvious addition to the cast of Starfleet Academy, Mary Wiseman will reprise her role from Star Trek: Discovery as Sylvia Tilly. It seemed obvious considering she had joined the Academy as an instructor in Discovery, and even had an episode with her cadets that felt like a backdoor pilot for the spinoff. Her role is recurring, so we'll likely see her as an instructor every so often, and maybe she'll welcome some old crewmates to the classroom as well. Hopefully now that the news is out, Wiseman can forgive us for putting her on the spot about the casting.
Oded Fehr
As the Fleet Admiral of Starfleet, it's of little surprise that Oded Fehr's Vance is going to be involved in Starfleet Academy. He's been one of the biggest faces of Starfleet we've seen in the 32nd century, and a way of showing what's happening in the universe at large while these students are training at the facility. Fehr is a great actor, so it'll be nice to see more of him in the Star Trek show.
Gina Yashere
Gina Yashere may not be a name Star Trek fans are familiar with, but she's been a big part of CBS primetime for a while. She was the co-creator and a supporting character on the acclaimed comedy sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, and has had recurring guest roles on shows like The Neighborhood as well. Now she joins Starfleet Academy in an undisclosed role, and I'm wondering if it will be comedic given her past work.
Kerrice Brooks
Actress Kerrice Brooks is one to watch for Starfleet Academy. She's set to be a part of the Aubrey Plaza-led movie My Old Ass later this year, and is a dancer who has appeared in music videos for Kelly Rowland and Billie Eilish. Unfortunately, we know nothing about her incoming character, but I'd love to see her dancing skills incorporated into the cadet.
Bella Shepard
We don't know much about Bella Shepard's character in Starfleet Academy, but she's no stranger to appearing on a show available with a Paramount+ subscription. She played Blake Navarro in the canceled Sarah Michelle Gellar series Wolf Pack, and while the show didn't last long, Shepard left a strong enough impression to snag a role in the Star Trek series.
George Hawkins
George Hawkins joins Starfleet Academy as one of its hopeful cadets looking to make a splash and join a ship by the time his education ends. He's no stranger to a series centered around cadets, as he was part of the ITVX series Tell Me Everything. I can't wait to see him in this role and wonder what he may be doing.
Karim Diané
A couple years after appearing on the streaming series One Of Us Is Lying, Karim Diané is now on Starfleet Academy. There's no word as to what his role will be on the series, but considering he first rose to prominence in the United States through fame on the series X Factor, I would hope there's some singing involved in his performance. Who knows, maybe there's a species that exclusively communicates in song in the 32nd century?
Sandro Rosta
Newcomer to Hollywood Sandro Rosta was added to the cast of Starfleet Academy, and as is the case with everyone announced so far, we know nothing about his role. I did happen to find a short film of him bullying a puppet, however, and he looked very physically imposing? Could he be the jock archetype of the academy?
Zoë Steiner
Zoë Steiner is rolling right off of a performance in Significant Others right into Starfleet Academy, and rounds out the list of cadets we'll see in this series. As if it needs to be said at this point we have absolutely no clue what she'll be doing beyond being one of the characters featured in the series, but I do hope that all of these cadets interact with each other in some meaningful way.
Starfleet Academy is getting ready to start filming, but we don't have a release date for it just yet. Stick with CinemaBlend as we wait for more details on the series and, of course, report on all the 2024 TV shows that people should watch in the meantime.
