Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Sees Streaming Gains Despite Nielsen Struggles

The polarizing series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy hasn’t had the best luck with its premiere season, falling short of ranking on Nielsen’s top 10 streaming originals list after its debut. Fortunately for the cast and crew, it has now managed to score a much-needed win after finding some new streaming success.

According to FlixPatrol, Starfleet Academy has shot up to No. 1 on the Amazon Channels list this week in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. In other territories, it’s rising on the Paramount+ streaming charts, reaching No. 3 in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. The demonstrate has also made it to No. 6 in the UK, and No. 8 in Canada. This all amounts to a positive sign moving forward, as this might be suggesting that viewership is gaining momentum heading into the freshman season finale.

Starfleet Academy Will Have a Second Season

The first season will consist of ten episodes. After the penultimate episode debuted on March 5, the finale is set to arrive on March 12. A rise in viewership would be needed to increase the odds that Starfleet Academy will bring in more success with Season 2, something Paramount would obviously be hoping to happen. Ahead of the series premiere, Starfleet Academy was given an early renewal for another season.

Despite Paramount’s early confidence, the show failed to gain serious traction, in addition to garnering harsh criticism amid reports of review bombing upon release.

Critical Reception and Fan Division

On the other side of the coin, Starfleet Academy has been warmly received by critics. In spite of its 50% Popcornmeter score, it has an approval rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. The series has clearly been quite polarizing, but what will matter most at the end of the day is the viewership that it ultimately brings in. If enough fans continue to find the series from now until Season 2 arrives, the chances of a third season happening would greatly improve, as it may not be so lucky to get an early renewal again amid the fan division.

About Starfleet Academy

Taking place in the 32nd century, Starfleet Academy follows the first new class of cadets in over a century as they train to grow Starfleet officers. Holly Hunter leads the cast as Nahla Ake, the captain of the USS Athena, with other members of the diverse ensemble including Sandro Rosta, Karim Diane, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard, Oded Fehr, Gina Yashere, Tig Notaro, and Paul Giamatti. For the longtime fans, Robert Picardo also returns as the Doctor, the fan favorite character from Star Trek: Voyager.

“It is interesting to note that [Star Trek: Voyager], so beloved in retrospect, was thought ‘woke’ (‘politically correct’ was the term way back then) at its premiere,” Picardo previously posted on X in defense of Starfleet Academy, which has been criticized online for its diversity.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is streaming on Paramount+. The season finale is set to debut on March 12.