Whales Return in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy includes humpback whales in season 1, episode 2, with Caleb Mir bringing Tarima Sadal to the USS Athena's Cetacean Ops observatory; the appearance continues a franchise motif that dates back to Star Trek IV.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy shows humpback whales in season 1, episode 2, titled "Beta Test." The scene has Caleb Mir take Tarima Sadal to the USS Athena's Cetacean Ops observatory. The series is set in the 32nd century and returns Starfleet Academy to Earth after The Burn left cadets off-world for 120 years. The whale appearance echoes a long-running franchise tradition that began with Star Trek IV. Key details: - Humpback whales appear in Season 1, Episode 2 ("Beta Test"). - Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta) brings Tarima Sadal (Zoë Steiner) to view the whales in the USS Athena's Cetacean Ops. - The show is set in the 32nd century and places Starfleet Academy back on Earth after 120 years away. - The franchise's whale motif began with Leonard Nimoy's Star Trek IV and has appeared in The Next Generation, Lower Decks, and Prodigy. - The first two episodes of Starfleet Academy premiered on Paramount+ and were noted as Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Summary: The episode reinforces a long-running Star Trek motif by showing Cetacean Ops and linking the new series to earlier entries. Audience reaction to the initial episodes has been described as warm. Undetermined at this time.