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Paul Giamatti is joining Holly Hunter for the new Star Trek series, Starfleet Academy.

Hunter has been cast as the captain and chancellor of the Academy, with Giamatti playing the season’s antagonist — “a man with an ominous past connected to one of the Academy’s cadets”.

“Sometimes you’re lucky enough to discover that one of the greatest actors alive is also a huge Star Trek fan, and meeting Paul was one of those miraculous moments for us,” said co-showrunners and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau. “The sheer delight with which he dove in on Starfleet Academy is only surpassed by the gratitude we feel about him joining our incredible cast.”

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.

The series premiere is written by Gaia Violo.