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Star Trek: Holly Hunter Set as "Starfleet Academy" Captain, Chancellor

Alex Kurtzman & Noga Landau's Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has tapped Academy Award winner Holly Hunter as the show's captain and chancellor.

Alex Kurtzman & Noga Landau's upcoming original series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy just made some major casting news that's already a major win for the streaming series. Academy Award winner Holly Hunter is set to star as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy – with the series following the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. "It feels like we've spent our entire lives watching Holly Hunter be a stone-cold genius," shared co-showrunners Kurtzman and Landau. "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.'"

Produced by CBS Studios and with production set to kick off this summer, the streaming series introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. 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.

During a SXSW panel focused on Star Trek: Discovery from back in March, we learned more about the series directly from Kurtzman. Noting that they were "halfway through the writers' room" at that point, Kurtzman shared that they're expecting to start filming the 10-episode season later in the summer – but it could end up hitting screens later than you might expect.

"It could end up not airing until 2026. We don't know. But by starting [shooting in late summer], just building the sets alone is a massive endeavor, then six months of shooting, then six to eight months of post," Kurtzman shared during an extensive interview with Collider during SXSW. "If you recall, there was all this noise around Season 1 and Season 2 of 'Discovery' because the streaming service, they were like, 'Oh, it's like a turnaround on a cop show.' I'm like, 'No, you don't understand. It's eight months of visual effects turnaround, and we're not gonna rush that.' So, it'll come out, but it'll come out when it's done."

When it comes to casting, Kurtzman shared that casting for the kids' roles hadn't gotten underway yet but also left the impression that some of the other roles had been cast. As for where the series fits on the "Star Trek" timeline, Kurtzman wouldn't say – though rumblings lean towards it being a spinoff of the soon-to-end "Discovery." As for what viewers can expect from the series character-wise and from a thematic standpoint, Kurtzman was able to lay out more specifics.

"There's a lot of different kids from a lot of different places. Some of them want to be there, some of them don't want to be there. It's gonna be a fundamental reinforcement of all the things we love about Starfleet, in general," Kurtzman said. "You always want to ask yourself, 'Why this show now?' I think that one of the big things that certainly my 17-year-old son is facing, which is kind of a fundamental 'Star Trek' question, is, 'How did we get here? How has this generation inherited the mistakes from previous generations? And what are we gonna do to fix it, to build that optimistic future that is Roddenberry's essential vision?' That is very much going to be at the heart of Starfleet Academy."

Though Kurtzman is excited about being able to craft a "Star Trek" series aimed at older teens and younger adults, he also understands that Starfleet Academy needs to embrace fans of previous series, too – saying, "I will also say, and I'm always very vocal about this with the studio, you can't do that to the exclusion of OG fans." Kurtzman further elaborated on that thought, adding, "You have to make sure that you are also pleasing people who have been around and are die-hard 'TOS' fans, die-hard ' Next Gen' fans, whatever iteration of 'Trek' is yours. You cannot alienate those people. You actually also have to invite them to the tent. So the challenge is how do you do that while also bringing 'Trek' to a new generation of fans that have no experience with those shows, has never watched those shows? So you need to make a show that you can drop into if you don't know anything about 'Star Trek,' but also a show that you can get a tremendous amount out of if you have all of that canonical history."

"Admission is now open to Starfleet Academy! Explore the galaxy! Captain your destiny! For the first time in over a century, our campus will be re-opened to admit individuals a minimum of 16 Earth years (or species equivalent) who dream of exceeding their physical, mental, and spiritual limits, who value friendship, camaraderie, honor, and devotion to a cause greater than themselves. The coursework will be rigorous, the instructors among the brightest lights in their respective fields, and those accepted will live and study side-by-side with the most diverse population of students ever admitted. Today we encourage all who share our dreams, goals, and values to join a new generation of visionary cadets as they take their first steps toward creating a bright future for us all. Apply today! Ex Astris, Scientia!"

Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau serve as co-showrunners and will executive produce the series alongside executive producers Gaia Violo, Aaron Baiers, Jenny Lumet, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Frank Siracusa, and John Weber. The series premiere episode is written by Violo, with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment – and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

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