A Star Trek: Discovery actor will only appear once in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, despite Star Trek‘s next series seemingly being built around their character. Executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 is set to premiere in early 2026 on Paramount+
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy unveiled its first teaser trailer at San Diego Comic-Con, which revealed Academy Award winner Holly Hunter and Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti leading a new, young cast. Starfleet Academy also includes Star Trek legacy actor Robert Picardo as The Doctor, and Star Trek: Discovery‘s Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno and Oded Fehr as Admiral Charles Vance.
Yet oddly missing from Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s promotion is Mary Wiseman, who played Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly in Star Trek: Discovery, and was that series’s bridge to Starfleet Academy. Prompted by TrekMovie‘s Laurie Ulster, TV industry journalist Matt Mitovich of Matt’s Inside Line revealed how many episodes of Starfleet Academy Mary Wiseman would appear in as Tilly, and it’s a shock:
“You can rest assured that Wiseman will appear on Starfleet Academy, as a guest star in one episode.”
Why Mary Wiseman’s Lt Sylvia Tilly Only Appearing In One Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Episode Is Shocking
Mary Wiseman reportedly reprising Lt. Sylvia Tilly in only one episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is shocking because it was initially believed and expected that the new show would be built around and for Tilly.
Star Trek: Discovery season 4’s premiere introduced the first class of Starfleet Academy in over a century since The Burn, and Tilly left the USS Discovery for a new career as an instructor at Starfleet Academy.
Star Trek: Discovery season 4, episode 4, “All Is Possible,” saw Lt. Tilly and Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) lead a group of cadets on a mission, and that episode appeared to be a backdoor pilot for a Star Trek: Starfleet Academy show centering on Tilly.
The ideas that ultimately took shape to become Star Trek: Starfleet Academy differ from what was seen in Star Trek: Discovery season 4, and Tilly is no longer a focus of the new show, with Robert Picardo’s Doctor seemingly much more prominent.
Our Take On Mary Wiseman’s Lt. Sylvia Tilly Only Appearing In Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Once
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy only including Mary Wiseman as Lt. Sylvia Tilly as a guest star in one episode is a genuinely surprising reversal, although it was obvious how Tilly was not seen at all in any of Starfleet Academy’s promotional materials or trailer so far.
Possible reasons why Tilly was deemphasized from Star Trek: Starfleet Academy could include Mary Wiseman’s availability post-Star Trek: Discovery or a new creative direction for the show since Star Trek: Discovery ended.
There is an easy explanation for why Tilly is missing from most of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, as she could simply be aboard the USS Discovery on its next mission, which would have been Star Trek: Discovery season 6, as seen when the starship warped away in Star Trek: Discovery’s series finale.
It will still be great to see Mary Wiseman reprise Lt. Sylvia Tilly in Starfleet Academy, but it might also feel awkward since, at one time, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was poised to be a show that prominently featured Tilly.
- Network
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Paramount+
- Showrunner
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Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau
- Directors
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Alex Kurtzman
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Karim Diane
Jay-Den Kraag
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Kerrice Brooks
Series Acclimation Mil ‘Sam’
