Starfleet Academy Season 1, Episode 9

March 5, 2026 will be a sad day for Star Trek fans and for Jonathan Frakes, who is directing one episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s two-episode premiere is set for January 15, 2026, on Paramount+.

Jonathan Frakes is directing the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1, which will consist of 10 episodes. The title of Frakes’ episode has not been revealed, but it will be the first half of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1’s two-part finale.

Frakes previously revealed at STLV: Trek to Vegas in August that Paul Giamatti’s villain, Nus Braka, does not appear in the episode he directed. Unfortunately, this means that Jonathan didn’t get the privilege to direct the Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner. However, Frakes and Giamatti spent time together on the set of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Appearing as a guest on TrekMovie‘s All Access Star Trek podcast, Jonathan Frakes revealed more about his directing stint on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1, but Frakes’ intel about the next Star Trek series also comes with a very sad revelation about the favorite director of Star Trek on Paramount+’s actors.

March 5, 2026 Will Be The Premiere Of The Last Star Trek Episode Directed By Jonathan Frakes

As reported by TrekMovie, Jonathan Frakes on All Access Star Trek, “confirmed the one Academy episode is the only Star Trek episode he directed that has yet to air. “ This means that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1, episode 9, will mark the end of Jonathan Frakes’ legendary run as a director of Star Trek on Paramount+’s series.

Frakes did not direct any episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seasons 4 or 5, the latter of which is the show’s fifth and final season that is nearing the end of filming. Jonathan also isn’t directing an episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 2, which is currently filming as well.

However, Jonathan Frakes did tell TrekMovie that he directed Academy Award winner Holly Hunter and Tatiana Maslany in his episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1. Frakes raved about working with the two talented actors:

“I did [direct Starfleet Academy], it was beautiful, with Tatiana Maslany and the great Holly Hunter, by the way… She’s great in the show… She’s one of the most well-prepared, instinctive, smart, clever. She’s an Academy Award-winning actress, and she gets it. She gets it. She has great ideas. Yeah, she’s a winner.”

Frakes has previously hyped up how Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is headlined by Oscar-caliber movie stars, which is one of the most exciting aspects of the next Star Trek series, along with a new, young cast and the return of Star Trek legacy characters like The Doctor (Robert Picardo).

Jonathan Frakes Directed 17 Episodes Of Star Trek On Paramount+

Counting Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Jonathan Frakes will have directed an amazing 17 episodes of Star Trek on Paramount+’s series, earning his reputation as the favorite director of Star Trek’s various casts. Frakes joined Star Trek: Discovery in season 2 and he helmed 8 episodes, including “New Eden,” “Stormy Weather,” and “Lagrange Point.”

Frakes directed 6 episodes of Star Trek: Picard, including “Stardust City Rag,” “Fly Me To The Moon,” and “No Win Scenario.” Jonathan’s two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are the acclaimed comedy crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks, “Those Old Scientists,” and the holodeck murder mystery, “A Space Adventure Hour.”

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1, episode 9 will be the end of an era as the final Star Trek on Paramount+ episode Jonathan Frakes directs for the foreseeable future. There is no Star Trek scheduled by Paramount+ after Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 5 and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 2, both of which are expected to premiere in 2027.

Star Trek is under new management, and 2026 will hopefully see Paramount Skydance decide the future of Star Trek’s television franchise on Paramount+. Whether any future Star Trek on the streamer will include Jonathan Frakes returning to direct episodes remains to be seen.

Why Jonathan Frakes Hasn’t Directed Another Star Trek Movie Since Insurrection

After directing several Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, Jonathan Frakes jumped to feature films as the director of Star Trek: First Contact, the best and highest-grossing TNG movie. Frakes’ follow-up, Star Trek: Insurrection, was less successful. Still, Jonathan Frakes was a minted director of feature films.

After Star Trek: Insurrection, Jonathan Frakes directed Clockstoppers. Unfortunately, Frakes’ biggest project as a director, Thunderbirds, was an epic failure. Thunderbirds‘ box office crash and burn ended Frakes’ run as a movie director, but Jonathan successfully rebounded, and he has been a prolific TV director ever since.

A few years ago, Jonathan Frakes reached out to producer J.J. Abrams and offered his services as the director of Star Trek 4, which was mired in nearly a decade of development hell. Unfortunately, despite Frakes’ Star Trek pedigree, nothing came of it.

Paramount Skydance recently announced development of a new Star Trek movie unrelated to any previous Star Trek TV show or film. Jonathan Frakes learned the news about the new Star Trek movie, developed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, as a guest on TrekMovie‘s All Access Star Trek podcast.

Star Trek, both on film and television, is on the verge of becoming very different after 2027, with the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and the possible end of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy if Paramount+ doesn’t renew it past season 2.

Jonathan Frakes’ penultimate episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 not only sets up the end of the show’s first season, but, sadly, it will also be the farewell to Jonathan Frakes as a Star Trek director — but hopefully, not forever.

Network

Paramount+

Showrunner

Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau

Directors

Alex Kurtzman

• 

• 

• 

  Karim Diane

  Jay-Den Kraag

• 

  Kerrice Brooks

  Series Acclimation Mil ‘Sam’