The USS Athena is finally done with its quiet school days because, in a new sneak peek shown at CCXP in Brazil, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy proves it’s not here to give us teen-drama energy at all, to say the least. The preview opens with explosions and cadets screaming while Holly Hunter commands the bridge. So we can imagine if this is our first look at life inside Starfleet’s newest class, for the incoming cadets, the “extracurriculars” would likely even include life risks. Perhaps the biggest headline on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is that the Athena has reached the Badlands, and everything goes to hell from there.The Athena vs. the Badlands as seen on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy preview The clip at one minute shows us Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) and first officer Lura Thok (Gina Yashere) prepping students for an academic survey of the Badlands. The Balands for the inverted is the famously unstable region of space first introduced in Star Trek: Voyager. But in the next minute, we see Athena is under assault as shields are practically evaporating.Among all of this, we get brief glimpses of familiar faces: Robert Picardo’s holographic Doctor. he is multitasking as he patches up the wounded. Wrestler-turned-actress Becky Lynch is proving she belongs on the bridge as she tries to power the Athena out of doom. It doesn’t work, though.Then comes Nus Braka (played by Paul Giamatti ), who appears via projection to taunt the Captain about his fifteen-year-late revenge. But revenge for what? Why are origami chickens suddenly a thing? And what exactly does he want with the Academy’s campus? The sneak peek gives no answers and just escalates anxiety with an embarrassing realization.RELATED: This show sets a TV record even before its premiereStar Trek: Starfleet Academy gives us a new class in a new century View this post on Instagram Instagram PostStar Trek: Starfleet Academy plants its flag in the 32nd century, which is decades after the Burn shattered the Federation. So we get to know that Starfleet Academy is rebuilding a galaxy that nearly burned itself out.Joining this freshman class are the following: Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta), a human orphan searching for his motherJay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané), a Klingon med-student hopefulSam (Kerrice Brooks), a sentient hologram trying to find itself Darem Reymi (George Hawkins), heir to the KhioniansGenesis Lythe (Bella Shepherd), daughter of an admiralTarima Sadal (Zoë Steiner), daughter of Betazed’s presidentWe also have faculty like Tig Notaro’s Jett Reno and Mary Wiseman’s Sylvia Tilly. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is comedic and emotional, though even their best teaching may not prepare anyone for Nus Braka’s vendetta.At the same time, some say Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is “the right show in the wrong era,” and it would have thrived better in the nostalgic TNG-DS9 timeline. But the show is betting on winning younger audiences with new characters while rewarding longtime Trek fans with returning ones.Do you think the show can redefine what Star Trek looks like in the streaming age?Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres on January 15, 2026, with two episodes on Paramount+.NEXT UP: Starfleet Academy casts Brit Marling for an iconic role