Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1, Episode 1
"Kids These Days"
Writer: Gaia Violo
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Cast: Holly Hunter, Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard, Zoë Steiner, Robert Picardo, Tig Notaro, Oded Fehr
After the gobsmack of 2025, the thought of settling into a new Star Trek series filled me with hope. Hope for something better. Hope for something brighter. Just like the ideals upon which this now 60-year-old franchise are built. Yet thanks to the constant nebula of negativity that now swirls around Star Trek – and just about every other major IP for that matter – I fear I’ve become a bit of a cynic.
In the past, I searched out the good. Nowadays? It’s become far easier to look for the bad. “This isn’t how TNG would’ve handled things!” “What’s with all the lens flares?” “Not my Trek! Not… my… Trek!” So when promotional materials for Starfleet Academy began rolling out, complete with a CW-style poster spotlighting the show’s core cast, the pessimist in me was ready to rip it all to shreds.
But the Star Trek fan? That’s a different story entirely.
After some brief history, “Kids These Days” opens on Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta), a tightly wound, brilliant young man with a massive chip on his shoulder. As a child, Caleb was separated from his mother (Tatiana Maslany) by Nahla Aké (Holly Hunter), a moment that has clearly shaped who he has become. Years later, Caleb and Aké – who’s over 300 years old and part Lanthanite – are reunited. Now Chancellor of Starfleet Academy, Aké offers him a chance to uncover the whereabouts of his mother, provided he agrees to enroll.
Despite having zero interest in the uniform, haircut, or Starfleet itself, Caleb reluctantly agrees. That decision lands him among the newest cadets aboard the USS Athena. Aké isn’t the only notable presence shaping this next generation. The faculty also includes no-nonsense number one Lura Thok (Gina Yashere) and, in a genuinely welcome surprise, The Doctor – Voyager’s professorial yet cantankerous medical hologram – played to perfection once again by a returning Robert Picardo.
The pilot runs 75 minutes and plays more like a mini-movie, allowing the show plenty of time to introduce its characters without feeling rushed. Among them are Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané), a bird-watching Klingon seeking a life centred on healing and knowledge; Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard), a determined Dar-Sha and daughter of a Starfleet admiral; SAM (Kerrice Brooks), a bubbly, notoriously nerdy student who also happens to be the first holographic cadet in Starfleet history; and Darem Reymi (George Hawkins), a cocky Khionian who quickly finds himself at odds with Caleb.
It’s a rather cookie-cutter coalition of classmates, with each bringing something different to the table. However, this familiarity works in the show’s favor. While these archetypes are well-worn, they’re also well understood, and it doesn’t take long before they’re forced to work together in classic Star Trek fashion.
En route to Earth and the San Francisco campus, the Athena comes under attack by Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti), a paranoid pirate with ties to both Aké and Caleb that promise to become a season-long thread. When it’s revealed Braka plans to strip the ship for parts and leave its crew dead in the water, students and teachers must band together to stop him.
This sequence delivers some genuinely fun moments, both in action and character connection. It also gives Caleb a chance to shine, showing his intelligence and instincts despite the rough edges and spotty past — credentials that will no doubt see him stepping into some sort of leadership role later on.
Starfleet Academy has a lot going for it. The special effects impress, the cast’s chemistry feels natural, and the episode ends in a way that leaves you wanting more. Clearly an attempt by CBS to bring younger viewers into the fold, the series benefits from a strong batch of newcomers buoyed by the top-tier performances of heavy-hitting side characters
Additionally, while I’ll admit there are moments that make Starfleet Academy feel as though it could veer off into soapy sci-fi territory, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, Star Trek has always managed to evolve with the times, and accessibility doesn’t automatically mean lack of substance.
All in all, I enjoyed the first episode of Starfleet Academy. It’s fun, crisp, and brimming with the signature Roddenberry optimism we know so well. There’s likable new faces, plenty to look at, and a faculty of supporting characters hitting squarely in the nostalgia. Call me a shill or an over-exuberant fanboy all you want, but while the skeptic in me wants to resists, the Star Trek fan in me is absolutely on board here.
Class is in session, and I’m ready to learn!
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