Star Trek’s ‘Starfleet Academy’ Sees Poor Ratings as It Fails To Hold an Audience
The first Nielsen ratings for Starfleet Academy are out, and they paint a rough picture for Paramount+. According to recently released streaming data from Nielsen, the series failed to make it into the Top 10 Originals list during its opening week, a surprising outcome given the franchise’s history and Paramount+’s expectations.
Paramount had high hopes for the launch, releasing two episodes at once to boost total viewing minutes. This strategy was designed to give the series a strong start, but it still fell short. To make the Nielsen list, a show needed at least 343 million minutes viewed.
With roughly 135 minutes of content across the two premiere episodes, Starfleet Academy would have needed around 2.5 million complete watches. That breaks down to about 1.27 million viewers per episode, a benchmark the series couldn’t reach.
Even on Paramount+’s own platform, the debut was underwhelming. The series initially landed in third place on internal charts, which may seem respectable, but it quickly fell out of the Top 10 within a few days. Surprisingly, older shows like The King of Queens and Sabrina the Teenage Witch outperformed it during the same period.
When new episodes are released, Starfleet Academy briefly reappears on the charts, but most viewers do not seem to stick with the series for long. Paramount even released the first episode for free on YouTube in an attempt to attract more viewers, but view counts remained low, and reactions were mixed.
The show features an impressive cast led by Academy Award winner Holly Hunter, who plays Captain Nahla Ake, the Chancellor of Starfleet Academy and commander of the USS Athena. Paul Giamatti takes on the role of Nus Braka, a half-Klingon space pirate with a mysterious past. The series also introduces a new generation of cadets, including Sandro Rosta as Caleb Mir and Bella Shepard as Genesis Lythe.
Set in the 32nd century, Starfleet Academy continues the story after the events of Star Trek: Discovery. Several fan-favorite characters appear, including Robert Picardo reprising his role as The Doctor and Tig Notaro as Jett Reno. The production was filmed at Pinewood Toronto Studios and consists of ten episodes for its first season.
Despite the slow start, Paramount is moving forward with a second season, showing confidence that the series can grow its audience. The studio is hoping that word of mouth and fan engagement will help bridge the gap between longtime Star Trek fans and a younger generation of viewers.
The soft ratings indicate that curiosity may have driven initial viewers rather than ongoing engagement. Whether Starfleet Academy can find a steady audience or will continue to struggle in the coming weeks remains to be seen.
With a mix of veteran actors, new talent, and a fresh timeline, the series still has potential, but the debut numbers suggest it has a steep climb ahead if it wants to become a flagship show for Paramount+.
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