A Starfleet Academy show in development at Paramount+

The other day, the folks behind Star Trek: Strange New Worlds held a press conference that we were lucky enough to live-tweet. During the session, some folks asked if there weren’t too many Star Trek shows on the air at once: with Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks and Prodigy already airing (and Strange New Worlds and Section 31 on the way), it’s a reasonable thing to ask, but the producers aren’t worried: in fact, they want more. “I think we have some fantastic offerings in our slate and I think you may see a few more very curated editions coming,” said executive Nicole Clemens.

And lo, soon after the press conference Deadline reported on another Star Trek show it’s heard is in the early stages of development: Starfleet Academy, a college-aged spinoff that would follow the lives of potential recruits at an elite school. Reportedly, Absentia co-creator Gaia Violo is working on a pitch for the project, which Paramount+ hopes to get rolling on in the next year.

So that’s a total of seven Star Trek TV projects either on the air or on the way, and remember that there’s a new movie happening as well. How did we get here?

Paramount+ wants a Star Trek cinematic universe really really really badly

As usual, I blame Marvel. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is such a staggering success that every studio wants to create their own interconnected network of shows and movies; why get people hooked on one show, the thinking goes, when you can get them hooked on several?

I see the logic, but outside of Marvel itself, the cinematic universe concept hasn’t been an unqualified success. Warner Bros. tried its hand at making a DC Extended Universe, but it sort of fizzled out; its new Batman movie will go back to standing alone (although that may spawn its own universe). Even Marvel’s sister studio Lucasfilm has had limited success with its attempts to create a Star Wars universe; people love The Mandalorian, but the movies have been more divisive and it’s too early to say what legacy The Book of Boba Fett will leave behind.

Elsewhere, Netflix is working on a Witcher prequel show, another animated movie, and more; AMC wants to make a cinematic universe based on the work of Anne Rice; Apple TV+ is readying a Godzilla-adjacent Monsterverse show, and so on. The cinematic universe is definitely having a moment. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is more of an open question.

As for what you can watch right now, Star Trek: Discovery returns for the second half of its fourth season on February 10. Then the second season of Star Trek: Picard premieres on March 3. Finally, new show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be along on May 5.

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