The upcoming Star Trek: Discovery spinoff, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy should return to its Earthbound origins. Starfleet Academy will continue the story of Discovery‘s 32nd century, focusing on the first cadets to attend Star Trek‘s educational establishment for over 100 years. Not much more is known about the show so far, but it will be a live action series and includes Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ Tawny Newsome as one of the writers. For now, the format remains unclear, as does the exact location of the new Starfleet Academy.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 4, the Academy was based within the impressive Starfleet Headquarters space station. This was because Earth was no longer a member of the United Federation of Planets, and had therefore cut all ties with Starfleet. The arrival of President Stacey Abrams in Discovery has re-established the connection between Earth and the Federation following the Species 10-C crisis. With Earth back in the Federation, it’s a perfect time for Starfleet Academy to be re-opened in San Francisco.

Starfleet Academy Series Is “A New Side of Star Trek,” Says Tawny Newsome

Star Trek: Lower Decks star Tawny Newsome talks about the writers’ room of the upcoming Starfleet Academy series in development at Paramount+.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Needs To Be Set In San Francisco

In terms of visuals, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy being set on Earth would quickly establish its own unique style. Generally, Star Trek shows take place aboard starships, and use groundbreaking technology like Star Trek: Discovery‘s AR wall. A Trek show rooted in San Francisco with a diverse cast of alien cadets could make Starfleet Academy something really special. The juxtaposition of recognizable, if futuristic, locations with alien students would really make Starfleet Academy stand out from its franchise stablemates. On top of that, Discovery‘s 32nd century can feel quite distant and difficult to engage with, so bringing Starfleet Academy back to Earth would be a neat way to address this problem.

From an in-universe perspective, the reopening of Starfleet Academy in San Francisco would be a big deal for Earth’s relationship with the Federation. It would strengthen their bonds following Star Trek: Discovery season 4, while also linking Star Trek: Starfleet Academy to the franchise’s past. There’s so much history between Star Trek and San Francisco, from the whale probe attack in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home to the recent callback to Nova Squadron in Star Trek: Lower Decks. Setting the Discovery spinoff in San Francisco would be a great way to preserve that legacy while pushing the franchise forward into new storytelling territory.

Starfleet Academy Can Have The Best of Both Worlds

The genius of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as a concept is that it can be rooted in San Francisco while still exploring space. The cadets will likely be sent on field missions, such as the one seen in Star Trek: Discovery season 4, episode 4, “All is Possible.” The Academy will also likely have holodeck technology, meaning that there’s no limit to the worlds that can be visited in the Discovery spinoff. Much like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine before it, a stationary location needn’t be a barrier for Starfleet Academy to tell great Star Trek stories that push the boundaries of what the franchise can achieve.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 will likely set up Star Trek: Starfleet Academy in some small way. It could send more Disco characters to join Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) as an instructor, or depict the Academy’s reopening in San Francisco. Discovery season 4 ended with Earth re-establishing relations with the Federation, so there could be nothing neater than the season 5 premiere picking up that story. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy feels like a perfect opportunity to do something brand-new with the franchise, and an Earth-based setting will be crucial for it to stand out from its predecessors.