[First Look] WWE Superstar Joins the Crew in New ‘Star Trek’ Spin-Off ‘Starfleet Academy’
Star Trek fans have a reason to be excited as the premiere of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy approaches on January 15, 2026. Collider has shared the first look at one of the show’s newest cast members: WWE star Rebecca Quin, better known as Becky Lynch.
Quin will play a Starfleet officer in Operations Gold as part of the bridge crew. In the images, she sports a bob with blue streaks and otherwise appears completely human.
The series stars Holly Hunter as Captain Ake, who also serves as Chancellor for the first post-Burn class at Starfleet Academy. Familiar faces from previous Star Trek shows will appear, including Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly, Tig Notaro as Jett Reno, Oded Fehr as Charles Vance, and Robert Picardo reprising his role as the Emergency Medical Holograph, the Doctor.
Newcomers to the franchise include Stephen Colbert, Bella Shepard, Zoë Steiner, George Hawkins, Karim Diane, Paul Giamatti, Tatiana Maslany, and Kerrice Brooks.
Quin shared her excitement about being part of the series, recalling how Star Trek influenced her growing up in Ireland. “I grew up when Star Trek was one of the two shows that was on TV in Ireland, on whatever four channels we had, so it was always on in the background. I can’t say that I sat down and watched, but I did love the movies. And Colm Meaney. We all love Colm Meaney, any time he was on, you sit down and watch that.”
She also described filming on the bridge set as “one of the most amazing sets I’ve ever been on.”
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is created by Gaia Violo for Paramount+ and is the 12th series in the Star Trek universe.
🚨 NEW TRAILER for #StarTrek: Starfleet Academy!
— Trek Central (@TheTrekCentral) July 26, 2025
The new first-look welcomes Cadets back to #StarfleetAcademy in San Francisco, plus introducing the new Starship – the USS Athena!
🖖 Coming Early 2026!#SDCC pic.twitter.com/fZ3brdYadk
Set in the 32nd century, the show follows the first new class of Starfleet cadets in over a century as they train to become officers. Alongside the cadets—played by Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, and Bella Shepard—the show features Hunter, Steiner, Picardo, Notaro, and Fehr in key roles.
The series was officially ordered in March 2023, with Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau serving as showrunners. Production on the first season ran from August 2024 to February of this year at Pinewood Toronto Studios, with season two production beginning in August. Starfleet Academy will release its first two episodes on January 15, 2026, on Paramount+, with the remaining eight episodes airing weekly until March 12.
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