Star Trek: Starfleet Academyfeatures a diverse array of new and familiar Star Trek aliens, but one of the most popular species is curiously missing. Executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres Thursday, January 15, 2026, on Paramount+.
Taking place after the end of Star Trek: Discovery in the 32nd century. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces the first class of cadets to matriculate on Earth in 120 years, representing the resurgent United Federation of Planets and its diversity after The Burn.
New alien species will be introduced in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, along with classic aliens like Klingons and Betazoids. Starfleet Academy not only has a Klingon main character in cadet Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané), but there will also be Klingon hybrids like Paul Giamatti’s Klingon/Tellarite villain, Nus Braka.
Even Starfleet Academy’s Chancellor, Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter), is half-Lanthanite. While Star Trek: Starfleet Academy leans into infinite diversity in infinite combinations, one of the most famous Star Trek aliens seems to be absent from the series, at least in terms of a main character.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Has No Vulcan Characters (So Far)
Surprisingly, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has no Vulcan main character in the cast. There are likely Vulcan cadets attending Starfleet Academy, but the newest Star Trek series isn’t leaning into a Vulcan series lead, at least in season 1 thus far.
Representing the expanded scope of the Federation in the 32nd century, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has three cadet main characters who are new species in the franchise.
Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) is a Dar-Sha, Darem Reymi (George Hawkins) is a Khionian, and SAM (Kerrice Brooks) is a Kasquian who is also a holographic being who recently came online and was programmed as a young adult.
The Doctor (Robert Picardo) also teaches in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy 800 years after he mentored the young crew of the USS Protostar in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2.
The lack of a Vulcan lead character in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy may be because Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 recently introduced Maj’el (Michaela Dietz), a teenage Vulcan. Prodigy was also set at Starfleet Academy in the 24th century, which would be too similar.
Where Vulcans Are In Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s 32nd Century
Star Trek: Discovery season 3 provided a shocking update to the Vulcans soon after Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), who was raised on Vulcan, and the USS Discovery arrived in the 32nd century.
Vulcan has been renamed Ni’Var to represent its new status as the combined homeworld of the Vulcans and the Romulans. Sometime before the 32nd century, the Romulans returned to their ancestral homeworld.
The Qowat Milat, the sect of Romulan warrior nuns introduced in Star Trek: Picard, and who count Michael Burnham’s mother, Dr. Gabrielle Burnham (Sonja Sohn) as a member, was instrumental in bringing the Romulans and Vulcans together.
The reunification of Romulan and Vulcan people was the fulfillment of Ambassador Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) dream in the 24th century.
Ni’Var is led by President T’Rina (Tara Rosling), who is a Vulcan. T’Rina married Ambassador Saru (Doug Jones) at the end of Star Trek: Discovery’s season 5 finale.
After Commander Burnham and the USS Discovery solved the mystery of The Burn, Ni’Var still held back from rejoining the Federation as it rebuilt itself. However, Ni’Var resumed Federation membership in Star Trek: Discovery season 4.
Presumably, Ni’Var sent Vulcans and Romulans to study at Starfleet Academy, and they will be ancillary and background characters who could interact with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s main cast of cadets.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Can Teach What Really Happened To Ambassador Spock
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s late 32nd century setting makes it the farthest continuous point of Star Trek’s timeline, and puts the previous thousand years of Star Trek canon in play as possible lessons for the cadets to learn from.
History that Starfleet Academy’s cadets can study is what happened to Ambassador Spock. J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) established that in 2387, Spock was living on Romulus and working towards unification, and he attempted to save the Romulan people from their sun going supernova.
Spock vanished in a black hole after his attempt to use Red Matter to stop the supernova failed. It was presumed the legendary Vulcan died, but Star Trek: Discovery season 3 established that the Federation learned about the alternate Kelvin Timeline during the Temporal Wars.
A time soldier named Yor from the Kelvin Timeline crossed realities into Star Trek‘s Prime Timeline.
By the late 32nd century, after the Temporal Wars, the Federation must know the truth that Ambassador Spock traveled from 2387 to 2258 in the alternate Kelvin Timeline, and the Vulcan hero remained in the parallel reality until his death in 2263 as seen in Star Trek Beyond.
In Star Trek: Discovery season 3, Commander Michael Burnham, who was adopted by Spock’s father, Ambassador Sarek (James Frain), and raised on Vulcan, learned what happened to her brother, Spock, and that he spent much of his life attempting to unify the Vulcan and Romulan people.
Spock’s life and his ultimate fate can be lessons Starfleet Academy’s cadets can learn from, and the heroism of the most famous Vulcan in Starfleet can inspire Vulcans and non-Vulcans alike in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
- Network
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Paramount+
- Showrunner
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Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau
- Directors
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Alex Kurtzman
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Karim Diane
Jay-Den Kraag
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Kerrice Brooks
Series Acclimation Mil ‘Sam’
