Interview: Kerrice Brooks And Bella Shepard On Why ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ Is Not A YA Show
TrekMovie had a chance to talk to two of the newest Star Trek recruits on the red carpet for Fan Fest at Universal Studios. Kerrice Brooks and Bella Shepard play cadets on the upcoming Starfleet Academy series.
You can’t get into spoilers, but what can you say about Starfleet Academy? How would you describe the show in general?
Bella Shepard: New, exciting.
Kerrice Brooks: Hormonal [laughs]
Bella Shepard: [laughs] It definitely throws you for a few loops.
Kerrice Brooks: I say hormonal because we’re young and we’re figuring it out, as we are in real life. Definitely on the show, we’re figuring it out.
Bella Shepard: I would say it’s comforting too… because we have a lot of throwbacks and Easter eggs to earlier generations.
Kerrice Brooks: I would also say it’s very championing. I wouldn’t say other shows aren’t that way, but I think it’s very championing towards finding a brighter future for everybody.
Kerrice Brooks and Bella Shepard show off their Vulcan salutes (Photo: TrekMovie)
It’s interesting you mention the earlier generations. One could look at the cast of the show as almost a microcosm of the audience for the show. You have the faculty, which is kind of like the older fans. And then you have the you guys, the cadets, who are like the young new fans they are hoping to attract. How do you feel the show balances these different storylines and the appeal to younger audience and the older ones?
Kerrice Brooks: I would say it feels, in a sense, like a passing of a baton, but not to say that the older generation is done, because I think that’s the wrong message.
Bella Shepard: It’s like a handholding…
Kerrice Brooks: Yeah, a handholding, like this is life.
They built the main set on the biggest stage in North America. Can you talk about what it was like walking onto campus of Starfleet Academy for the first time, and how does having something that realized affect your performance?
Bella Shepard: Well it was interesting because we kind of got to see it go through a process. Because when we all got to Toronto, the set wasn’t done being built yet, because it was so massive. So we kind of got to see it go up in stages, which was also humbling, in a way. It was like, “Wow, everyone’s putting work into this and making this world what it is.”
Kerrice Brooks: And we didn’t even have to act either, because we were so in the environment at all times. We were reacting to some real stuff. Like, “That was real!” Everything about it. Even in the ship and we were rocking and wigs were flying off and teeth were coming out. [laughs] Like it was a lot, but it was fun.
Are they still doing that thing where they give you a number so you know how big of a shudder to do when on the bridge?
Kerrice Brooks: Probably. I wouldn’t remember because we were fighting for our lives.
[Jonathan] Frakes would. I believe he directed episode nine…
Kerrice Brooks: Frakey Wakey! Good morning babe! Hi!… He has a favorite word. He calls it “facting” Like, “Everybody, get ready for some facting.”
Bella Shephard and Kerrice Brooks (center) with other members of the Academy cast at Star Trek Stage Pinewood Studios Toronto in August 2024 (Paramount+)
Do you have a preference for doing the space stuff or the Earth stuff? Like does it feel more grounded when you are doing Earth or location work?
Kerrice Brooks: Yeah. I would say, I love the space stuff. I mean the Earth stuff is, of course, where we are currently. But I love the space stuff.
Bella Shepard: Yeah, and just being on those stages, it really felt like we were in space.
Kerrice Brooks: Yeah, takes us to a whole different world, literally.
This show has been in development for many years, with early discussion about it being like “CW in space.” So can you talk about the vibe? From your point of view, is it a YA [Young Adult] show? Is it an adult show? Is it everything?
Bella Shepard: Everything!
Kerrice Brooks: Yeah. To be honest, it doesn’t feel super YA. I don’t think things are like simplified or spoon-fed.
Bella Shepard: We’re just young adults going through some real shit… oh sorry [laughs] Real stuff.
Kerrice Brooks: But just like life brings you to a level, that’s what the show feels like it’s doing to the cadets. It feels like it is bringing us to a level instead of coming down to a YA, not that it’s a negative thing. But instead of coming to us, we’re like joining a Federation, so we’ve got to come up.
As you started, how much did you know about your character’s arc? Did they give you a sense of where they see your character when you you graduate or the future?
Bella Shepard: We have no idea where we’re going. We kind of figure things out as our characters figure things out.
Kerrice Brooks: Which sometimes takes our characters a while. And it takes us a while too.
Bella Shepard: We have no idea where our characters are going.
Kerrice Brooks: It keeps us on our toes, for sure.
When we last talked to [executive producer] Alex [Kurtzman] he was hoping to get back into production mid year. Are there things you are excited about for season two?
Kerrice Brooks: I’m excited to see where our characters go, because of how we ended this past season, and how we come back. What does that look like for each person because we all end in very distinct places, for sure. I would also say Toronto winter is cold, so hopefully we get a little bit of summer, a little bit of sun, please, please, Alex, please!
Well last year you started in August…
Kerrice Brooks: Yeah, but it got cold in Toronto in October. Like October 1st.
So did you have to deal with cold on location? I know that the Strange New Worlds cast have had to deal with freezing in Toronto for location shooting…
Bella Shepard: Yeah we did.
Kerrice Brooks: We had a few and I will say that cold don’t play.
Starfleet Academy executive producer Alex Kurtzman (center) with cast members (L-R) Bella Shephard, Zoë Steiner, Sandro Rosta, Kerrice Brooks, Karim Diané, and George Hawkins during appearance at NYCC 2024 (Photo: Reed Pop livestream)
The first season of Starfleet Academy wrapped production earlier this year. Paramount+ has yet to set a release date but it is expected to debut in 2026.
