Today, Paramount+ announced that Academy Award winner Holly Hunter will star in the upcoming original series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy.
The series will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the galaxy’s most legendary places. Produced by CBS Studios, it will begin production later this summer.
“It feels like we’ve spent our entire lives watching Holly Hunter be a stone-cold genius,” said co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau. “To have her extraordinary authenticity, fearlessness, sense of humor, and across-the-board brilliance leading the charge on Starfleet Academy is a gift to all of us and to the enduring legacy of Star Trek.”
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they 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.
Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau serve as co-showrunners and executive producers of the series alongside executive producers Gaia Violo, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Onsunsamni, Jenny Lumet, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Frank Siracusa, and John Weber.
Gaia Violo wrote the series premiere episode. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Paramount Global Content Distribution distributes the series.
Holly Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Piano, directed by Jane Campion, and received three additional Oscar nominations for her performances in James L. Brooks’s Broadcast News, Sydney Pollack’s The Firm, and Catherine Hardwicke’s Thirteen.
Among Hunter’s other notable film credits are The Coen Brothers’ Raising Arizona and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, David Cronenberg’s Crash, Steven Spielberg’s Always, Danny Boyle’s A Life Less Ordinary, Jodie Foster’s Home for the Holidays, Jon Amiel’s Copycat, Lasse Halstrom’s Once Around, and Zach Snyder’s Batman v Superman, among many others.
Hunter voiced the role of Elastigirl for Brad Bird’s blockbuster animated Pixar film The Incredibles and its smash sequel The Incredibles 2. She also received SAG Award and Independent Spirit Award nominations for her critically acclaimed performance in the Judd Apatow-produced comedy hit The Big Sick, directed by Michael Showalter.
Her TV credits include Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake, Emmy Awards for Best Actress for her roles in The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom and Roe vs. Wade, and Emmy nominations for her starring role on the series Saving Grace. She also had a guest-starring role in the critically acclaimed series Succession.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills to provide the latest news on streaming, movies, and TV shows. He previously created the websites ComingSoon, SuperHeroHype, and ShockTillYouDrop.