Star Trek EPs Tease New Series’ ‘Meaningful Love Letter’ to Deep Space Nine
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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau tease upcoming episode’s homage to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres with two episodes on Thursday, January 15 on Paramount+.
Set at the end of the 32nd century, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has the advantage of relying on the full extent of Star Trekthe cannonwhich spans a thousand years. Starfleet Academy cadets have the potential to learn and be inspired by Starfleet’s greatest heroes, including Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks).
HAS Star Trek: Starfleet Academythe press conference, TrekFilm‘Laurie Ulster asked Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau how they balance the goal of attracting new viewers while retaining them long-term. Star Trek fans.
Landau and Kurtzman spoke Star Trek: Starfleet Academy »there are many Easter eggs to Star Trek canon, and discussed (without spoilers) how Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 5 is “essentially a love letter” has Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Read their quotes below:
Noga-Landau: I think for us it starts in our writers room. Many people have loved Trek their whole lives. And then there are people who have only recently come to Trek. And those are very valuable perspectives to make sure that everything makes sense to them, and that everything makes sense to the Trekkies. And everything balances out.
But I think, within the show itself, there are so many Easter eggs in Trek. One that really stands out to fans is that Harry Kim is an admiral on the Wall of Heroes. Our atrium is called Sato Atrium. We have Uhura Pavilion. We have so much honor to give to the people who came before us. And episode 5 is essentially a love letter to New deep space.
Hiking films: It’s so good.
Noga-Landau: It’s so good.
Alex Kurtzman: Well, that’s the point, right? The idea is that if you don’t know New deep space and you’ve never seen it, it’s a wonderful introduction. If you know New deep spaceit’s really significant. And that was the goal. Yes, of course, if we don’t make shows for a new generation, and then the next generation after that, Trek is going to die, right? Our goal is to keep it alive. So while people may complain that it doesn’t look like old Trek: if you want old Trek, watch it. He is there for you forever. But we do a lot to honor the canon and to honor the old Trek in the way we approach it now.
Star Trek: Starfleet AcademyThe first trailer for, released at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, included a shot of Cadet SAM (Kerrice Brooks) approaching a screen with a photo of Captain Sisko and a caption that read: “The fate of Benjamin Sisko, emissary of the prophets” which left fans’ tongues wagging.
Basically, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy promised to tackle the problem ‘mystery’ of what really happened when Captain Sisko disappeared at the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Fans know that Sisko was a demigod and became one with the Prophets of Bajor, but Ben’s fate has been an open question for Starfleet since 2375.
One of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy writers “who have loved Trek all their lives” that Noga Landau portrayed is Tawny Newsome, who is co-producer of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. A lawyer Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fan, it’s no coincidence that Newsome co-wrote Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 5 with Kirsten Beyer.
Whatever that ultimately entails, Tawny Newsome gives in to her love for Captain Sisko in Episode 5’s love letter to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is about to be a very special hour of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy that DS9 fans could talk about it for years.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
- Release date
- January 15, 2026
- Network
- Paramount+
Cast
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Karim Diane
Jay Den Kraag
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Kerrice Brooks
Mil ‘Sam’ Acclimatization Series
