Paramount+’s new series, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, has struggled to gain traction, failing to make it into the Nielsen top 10. With hefty production costs and a focus on left-leaning themes—like LGBTQ characters—many fans feel frustrated.
One of the main characters, a gay Klingon named “Jaden,” is raising eyebrows among long-time fans.
Jaden, portrayed by actor Karim Diane, represents a different take on the traditional Klingon warrior image, being both a vegan and a birdwatcher, and he has two fathers. His storyline involves a budding romance with a human male counterpart, but he also harbors secret feelings for another boy at the academy.
Jaden isn’t alone in fitting the perceived leftist narrative. The series includes a neurodivergent photonic character, a bisexual jock, and a nearly flawless young woman who outshines her male classmates. To top it off, two of the teachers are lesbians, and the captain is a rather unconventional figure who prefers going shoeless, lounging in a chair, and has a messy hairstyle.
Critics argue that the writing is subpar, filled with plot inconsistencies and contemporary slang that detracts from what should be a sophisticated story set a millennium in the future. This dissonance has led many to believe that the show doesn’t capture the essence of classic Star Trek.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has consistently lagged behind in Nielsen ratings, often failing to enter the top 10, even as older shows maintain higher viewership. This raises questions, especially considering that it premiered on January 15 with a two-episode debut. Initial viewer engagement was lackluster, with a sneak peek drawing fewer than 1,500 live viewers, despite costing over $10 million to produce.
To make matters worse, the premiere had fewer viewers on YouTube than a live-stream of a static Spock action figure—an embarrassing comparison for Paramount.
With disappointing ratings for the first episode, Paramount quickly opted to make its YouTube premiere video private.
Online reviews have not been kind either. Metacritic‘s user score is a grim 1.7, while Rotten Tomatoes shows a mere 45% audience rating, marking it as one of the lowest-rated entries in the Star Trek legacy.
Of the ten episodes for the first season, seven have aired with no noticeable improvement in ratings so far, and opinions among fans are sharply divided.
Things might look bleak moving forward for this series, especially since two additional seasons have already been greenlit. The second season is in post-production and slated for release early next year, meaning viewers might have to endure this series for a while longer.
