Following Backlash, the New 'Star Trek' Series Falls Out of the Streaming Charts

1 week ago 15

Published Jan 26, 2026, 6:14 PM EST

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.

The first eleven days of life on our screens have been anything but quiet for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Following the January 15 debut of Episodes 1 and 2, the series was met with review bombing on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, with its audience rating currently 43% — just under half the score awarded by critics (88%). Sadly, following the premiere of Episode 3, "Vitus Reflux," on January 22, things have gone from bad to worse for this seemingly ill-fated Star Trek series.

At the time of writing, just three days after the premiere of Episode 3, Starfleet Academy has been ousted from the current Paramount+ streaming charts in the U.S. This is made even more damning when considering the lack of brand-new content providing competition for Starfleet Academy. In the current top ten, the popular animated series SpongeBob SquarePants is at #10, with the long-running Criminal Minds at #9, Everybody Loves Raymond at #8, and Mayor of Kingstown at #7. Handsome Devil: The Charming Killer is at #6, with another long-running series, NCIS, at #5. Tulsa King is at #4, with South Park at #3, UFC at #2, and the Billy Bob Thornton-led neo-Western series, Landman, at the #1 spot. For anyone yet to give Starfleet Academy a try, a synopsis reads:

"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."

Critics Love 'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy'

Despite the backlash, critics have proven much more receptive to this new entry in one of TV's biggest franchises. In Samantha Coley's official review of the new series for Collider, she awarded a near-perfect 9/10 score, saying, "Starfleet Academy is the best example of what Star Trek can and should be doing in this modern era — effortlessly inclusive, compelling, and innovative." She added, "While the core tenets of the franchise are ever-present, the series breaks the mold in all the best ways. For fans who loved Star Trek's recent animated offerings for their bold willingness to do something different, Starfleet Academy is once again pushing the boundaries of this universe for the better and building a world worth returning to."

Starfleet Academy is now streaming on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.