How The Death Of Starfleet Academy Could Save Star Trek

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 11 seconds ago

Right now, fans are processing the death of Starfleet Academy, and many are having trouble processing their feelings. Fortunately, Star Trek is a franchise that has offered many poignant thoughts on death that we can all learn from.

Perhaps the most powerful lesson came after Captain Kirk destroyed the Enterprise in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, keeping it from being captured by Klingons. “My God, Bones, what have I done?” Kirk asked. To this, the good doctor offered an ironic reply: “What you always do, turn death into a fighting chance to live.”

The “death” of Kirk’s beloved ship gave the gift of life to its captain and crew. It also taught a lesson about mortality that Starfleet Academy fans could really benefit from.

Much like Kirk watching his starship burn, the fandom has largely been focusing on the death of something they really loved. But just like the Enterprise, this new spinoff may have died for a very specific purpose. That purpose? To give Star Trek itself a fighting chance to live!

The Man Behind The Miss

How could the death of Starfleet Academy help Star Trek to live? It all has to do with one of the most infamous figures in the franchise: Alex Kurtzman. He has been the executive producer for the entirety of the NuTrek era, helping to bring new shows to life with his production company, Secret Hideout.

When Star Trek: Discovery premiered, fans were hopeful that Kurtzman would be able to usher this venerable franchise into the modern age of TV storytelling. Now, however, it’s clear that he is the albatross around this franchise’s neck, but one that Paramount may finally be ready to remove.

In terms of shows getting canceled (more on this soon), it’s clear that Alex Kurtzman’s NuTrek era has been a failure. There are moments of greatness across various episodes, and certain series (like Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks) have been enjoyed. But even these less-hated shows keep getting the axe, proving that Kurtzman’s vision for Star Trek has been a failure. Now, though, the early cancellation of Starfleet Academy (Kurtzman is co-showrunner) may cause Paramount to finally give this man the boot and put someone new in charge of Star Trek.

The Ultimate Silver Lining

Why would the cancellation of Starfleet Academy get Paramount to let Alex Kurtzman go? For one thing, his contract is up at the end of 2026. So, this isn’t even a matter of the network firing the man; instead, they just have to figure out whether or not to renew his contract.

Kurtzman’s future at Paramount already looked pretty sketchy during the merger with Skydance. Now, with the Warner Bros. acquisition coming up, there will be even more major changes to film and television leadership. In the wake of such seismic shifts, it is common for execs to seek out new creatives rather than rely on the old guard.

That’s especially true when the creative has a horrific track record. Both Discovery and Lower Decks were canceled early, and Paramount decided to end Strange New Worlds after Season 5, which will have only half as many episodes. Prodigy left Paramount+ after Season 1, and after airing Season 2 on Netflix, it was never renewed.

Now, Starfleet Academy (a show intended to last four seasons) has been canceled after the end of its first season. Count’em up, people: Alex Kurtzman has overseen five Star Trek shows that were canceled early, plus Section 31, the lowest-rated movie in the entire franchise.

Namecalling As Cover For Bad Writing

Since the beginning of the NuTrek era, there has been discourse about how “woke” these shows are, particularly among YouTubers. Those early right-wing attacks on Discovery accidentally created eternal cover for NuTrek defenders because they could now dismiss any legitimate criticisms of these shows as the mindless rantings of someone with hateful politics.

If you say you hate overly emotional storytelling (a la the eternally crying Michael Burnham), you’re told you just hate women. If you complain about how Starfleet Academy treated the Klingons, you’re told that you must be homophobic. If you dislike the on-the-nose political storytelling of Picard (especially Season 2), you are told you worship Trump, and so on.

Any criticism of NuTrek suddenly became wrongthink and proof that you didn’t understand the franchise’s progressive ideals. 

The Numbers Don’t Lie

But TV is a numbers game, and shows succeed or fail based on how many people watch them. Paramount (home, may I remind you, of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars) doesn’t care about culture wars; they care about clicks.

If all of Alex Kurtzman’s Star Trek shows had been hits, they would have correspondingly huge audiences. While Paramount has always been cagey about streaming numbers, it’s clear that most of NuTrek isn’t generating enough views to justify the huge budgets for each episode. Starfleet Academy wasn’t canceled because it was woke: it was canceled because there just weren’t enough people watching.

Bon Voyage, Alex Kurtzman!

Obviously, I can’t predict exactly what Paramount will do; there’s a chance Alex Kurtzman will land on his feet, and the slop era of this franchise will keep on Trekkin’. But new CEO David Ellison has stated that he wants to make Star Trek a priority, and he likely wants to make a big splash ahead of this sci-fi juggernaut’s 60th anniversary. With any luck, that means he will shoot Kurtzman’s contract out the nearest airlock and let someone with a bit more talent sit in the captain’s chair.

As for Starfleet Academy, it’s sad to see the show go. I mean that, truly: I’m a hater who warmed to the show over time, and I enjoyed seeing it start to reach for its full potential by the end of Season 1. But like Kirk’s Enterprise, this is not a show that died in vain. With Alex Kurtzman’s latest being yet another complete failure, the powers that be might finally replace him with someone with more knowledge of and passion for the franchise. Such a creative could do far more than just make a few great shows: they might just save Star Trek as we know it.