Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has received an early season two renewal, and Tatiana Maslany is set to guest star in season one.
Both bits of news were announced at New York Comic Con during the Star Trek universe panel, moderated by CBS Mornings and CBS News national correspondent Vladimir Duthiers, during which Robert Picardo made an unexpected appearance.
The Star Trek: Voyager and Prodigy star introduced a surprise livestream from the set of Starfleet Academy season one, which is currently in production in Toronto. The video included executive producer and co-showrunner Alex Kurtzman, who is also directing the series. He shared the news about the second installment already being greenlit alongside castmembers including Sandro Rosta, Kerrice Brooks, Bella Shepard, George Hawkins, Karim Diané and Zoë Steiner.
It’s unclear at the moment who Maslany will be portraying in the teen-focused Star Trek show. However, it is known she will be a recurring character in the first season. She’ll star alongside Paul Giamatti and Holly Hunter. The Oscar-nominated Holdovers actor will play the season’s central villain, while the Academy Award-winning Piano star is set to take on the role of the school’s captain and chancellor.
When the Billions actor joined Starfleet Academy, co-showrunners and exec producers Kurtzman and Noga Landau shared a statement: “Sometimes you’re lucky enough to discover that one of the greatest actors alive is also a huge Star Trek fan and meeting Paul was one of those miraculous moments for us. The sheer delight with which he dove in on Starfleet Academy is only surpassed by the gratitude we feel about him joining our incredible cast.”
According to the description, the upcoming series will follow a young group of cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy and come together to pursue “a common dream of hope and optimism.”
Per the logline, “Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will 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.”
