Paramount+ is beaming up Holly Hunter for a special assignment. The Academy Award winner has been tapped to lead the new series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, TVLine has learned.
Hunter will star as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy, where we’ll meet a “young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism,” according to the series’ official synopsis. “Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.”
“It feels like we’ve spent our entire lives watching Holly Hunter be a stone-cold genius,” co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau say in a statement. “To have her extraordinary authenticity, fearlessness, sense of humor, and across the board brilliance leading the charge on Starfleet Academy is a gift to all of us, and to the enduring legacy of Star Trek.”
Starfleet Academy marks the fifth live-action Star Trek series (and seventh Trek series overall) to debut on the streamer. Production is set to begin later this summer.
Your thoughts on Hunter’s new role at Starfleet Academy? Drop ’em in a comment below.
So not Mary Wiseman (Tilly)? The fanbase would rather have more Lower Decks and Legacy. Way to listen to the fans, Paramount. I wonder why the company is failing?
I still feel confident Tilly will be there as an instructor. There’s no way she’d be a captain/chancellor yet so this news doesn’t cause a conflict. I do echo your comment that we want more Lower Decks though!
Legacy, real life trek rather than cartoons.
Please don’t speak for the “fanbase”. It’s utterly impossible for you to know the feelings or wishes of the “fanbase”. As a fan from the 60’s I have never seen a consensus of what the fans what or like.
And let’s be clear there is nothing either signifying Tilly is in or not in the show. But let’s also be clear we have no way of knowing what the fanbase feels about Tilly. And let’s also be clear. Lower Decks ratings aren’t in the same range of Discovery, whose rating aren’t in the same range of SNW. And as for Legacy we have some information on what Picard could get. But we have no data at all on how a Legacy show would do.
There are people who probably like Tilly and others who don’t, the way it works with most Trek characters.
I’m with the latter, and the less she’s in Starfleet Academy, the more likely I will watch it.
I hope that Mary Wiseman (Tilly) is at least one of the instructors, even if she is not the lead…
Yeah, most Trek shows are really ensemble pieces, rather than a show with a traditional “lead.” And I imagine that the cadets will ultimately be the main the focus, rather than the teachers.
Holly Hunter is the lead in that she’s the biggest name attached to the project, not necessarily the biggest part in the show.
I was coming to comment the same thing. It’s the perfect set up. And the time of announcing the show was right around when her character was going to the academy to teach, if I recall correctly. I really hope she’s on the show.
Whoa! This is unexpected and very cool casting. I still don’t know if I’ll watch if it ends up being super YA-focused, but this definitely makes me more interested.
Perfection!
I like Holly Hunter, so I can see this. I was REALLY hoping Amanda Plummer would be willing to don a Starfleet uniform and be part of this new show, though. She was SOOOOOOOOOOO good in Picard and if willing to commit to a longer-term role, could have been amazing as a new character in Academy.
Amanda Plummer was great, but it would be sort of weird to have her back so soon as a different character (and obviously she can’t return as the same character)
Agreed. Star Trek isn’t a property in which, once an actor appears in a canon role, they’re locked into only playing that character from then on (e.g., Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Diana Muldaur, William Campbell, Phil Morris, Charles Napier, etc.). However, having Amanda Plummer play another role so soon after playing Vadic in “Star Trek: Picard” season 3 (during 2023) would be jarring.
I have to add that Holly Hunter was very funny on Mr. Mayor so I hope her new role allows for a lot of fun asides, levity, and other light moments. She can do drama, for sure, but also do funny!
I was coming on to say that she was my favorite part of “Mr. Mayor.” I will watch this just because of her casting. I have loved her in everything she acts in.
When in the Star Trek universe will this take place – during the time of Strange New Worlds, after the events of ST: Picard, or during the time of Discovery? Just curious since the when makes a big impact on potential characters (or even crossovers).
It’s been confirmed to be set in the Discovery time period
Pre or post time travel?
Post time travel… 32nd century.
There’s been a few questions to discovery cast interviews if they would be interested in a appearing in the spin off
Thanks!
Holly Hunter? I’m all in!
Arghhhh…so didn’t want to watch this. But the power of HH compels me….
Does anyone know what led to the cancellation of Lower Decks?
Money.
With almost all shows, there is one primary factor. In this situation possible two. But in both cases it’s money.
For most shows, you get cancelled because you aren’t generating enough revenue versus your costs. Now in some cases, its you are earning profit, but the profit expectation is being meet. This is typically the case of examples in broadcast tv, where you are sandwiched between two extremely successful shows,. You get good enough ratings to earn a profit, but are performing dramatically lower then your companion programming. So you get cancelled as they try and create something that delivers a closer level of performance.
Now the 2nd possibility and far less common but is a possibility due to Paramounts overall financial issues. Is that it’s seen as not necessary to have X number of Trek shows on the air to keep the people subscribed who primary subscribe just for Trek related programming. They get a lot of data on this that we the public never see. So if they think they can retain a good chunk of the Trek subscribers with 2 shows instead of 3 or 4. They can use that money saved, to create shows that can appeal to other people. Its how you try and keep increasing your subscriber base.
I’m intrigued by this casting. Ms. Hunter is a great actress who will bring the required gravitas to the role of the Captain/Chancellor.
It all depends now on who plays the cadets…
Can’t wait, I’ve been a trekie for almost 60 years, loved every show and movie out there, I believe the Holly and crew will an outstanding addition to the Federation and to Trek fans everywhere.
Excellent News. Holly Hunter is going to be great and the show will be a smash?
Holly Hunter could be a brilliant choice! I’ll be cautiously optimistic.
Paramount has been trying to do a Starfleet academy show since the DS9/Voyager day’s.
Interesting… I hope this show gets made but with the fate of Paramount and especially Paramount Plus hanging by a thread… i won’t keep my fingers crossed.
Why in the heck does every season of new Trek have to have some over arching looming threat that everyone has to deal with. Can’t we just do a season of minor stuff in each episode.
Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks are basically that
I worship Holly and will watch anything with her in it.
I am not interested in the above.
So Starfleet Academy 90210, gotcha. Makes sense. I mean they exploited every opportunity out of the corpse that once was Star Trek so doing something like this was probably inevitable.
Fans wanted Legacy not this….Picard’s finale set up a new exciting Legacy spin off and everyone wanted it but all you do us come up with this? Not good enough.