Hollywood Hasn't Learned Anything, As New Woke 'Star Trek' Series Gets Roasted By Fans

Man, Hollywood just can't help themselves. For an industry that's facing enormous financial issues, that's had a run of enormous failures, alienated more than half the country, and desperately needs to avoid the politicization of entertainment, they have learned absolutely nothing. 

There are a litany of examples from the past few weeks alone. James Cameron, director of the "Avatar" series, one of the biggest franchises in the industry, spent valuable PR time trashing the most important market for movies in the world: the United States. Instead of, you know, saying nothing at all about politics when promoting a consumer-facing product, he called the US insane and anti-science. Mocking your potential customers is usually not the best strategy, and, sure enough, "Fire and Ash" has been a tremendous box office disappointment.

RELATED: Woke Director James Cameron's Latest 'Avatar' Movie Is Major Box Office Disappointment

The Sundance Film Festival turned into an opportunity for left-wing celebrities to virtue signal, in some cases escalating to literal tears, about the federal government enforcing immigration laws. Giancarlo Esposito this week went further, saying "It's time for a revolution" in the United States, saying there's a "feeling of Civil War." 

At every turn, with every opportunity, the industry keeps showing how disconnected they are from what audiences want. Nowhere is that more obvious than the latest installment in the "Star Trek" universe, "Starfleet Academy." A streaming show on Paramount+ that debuted a few weeks ago, it's the prototypical example of how "woke" Hollywood can't get out of their own way. To the point where they even trotted out far-left children's television show host Bill Nye at the premiere in New York City.

Bill Nye attends Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" world premiere at The American Museum of Natural History on January 06, 2026, in New York City. (Photo by Stephanie Augello/THR/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)

‘Starfleet Academy’ Praised By Left-Wing Critics, Hated By Audiences

There are plenty of examples of the show's absurdist political ideology, outrageously poor writing, offensively bad acting, and laughable sets and casting, but one particular clip went all over social media as a 50-second microcosm of modern Hollywood.

It's hard to watch. 

You'll be stunned to hear that Tig Notaro, the actress delivering that awful monologue, is also in a lesbian "power couple" relationship with another character on the show. "You have these two actors who are the funniest stand-up comedians in the world, so it seemed pretty natural that we should make them a couple. It seemed organic that they would fall in love," the show's creator, Noga Landau, explained in a recent interview. 

As if there were any doubt as to the motivations behind this decision, here's how industry media outlet Gold Derby described the other part of the lesbian power couple, Lura Thok, played by Gina Yashere.

"Yashere is making franchise history with her ‘Star Trek' debut," the article says. "Not only is she the first openly gay Black actress to play an openly gay character in a ‘Trek’ series, but she's also playing the franchise's first female-presenting part-Klingon, part-Jem'Hadar character and the first of that particular combination that's in a lesbian relationship."

You just can't make it up.

Unsurprisingly, the show has received near-universal praise by Hollywood critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the average "Tomatometer" from professional reviewers is 88% positive. The "Popcornmeter," or audience rating? 43% positive. On IMDb, with over 15,000 ratings, the audience score is just 4.2/10. What a shock! Audiences hate it, left-wing critics love it. Who'd have ever guessed it?

As if there were any doubt how poorly this show is doing with people who aren't paid to like it and support progressive politics, the show has already fallen out of the list of top 10 shows on Paramount+'s streaming chart. As Collider reported, just a few days after the third episode aired, it was passed up by shows like "SpongeBob," "Criminal Minds," "Mayor of Kingstown," "Tulsa King," and of course, "Landman." "Landman," coincidentally, has repeatedly poked fun at the very "modern" left-wing views championed by "Starfleet Academy." 

RELATED: 'Landman' Season Finale Drew Ridiculous Viewership, Is Big Win For Non-Woke TV

Oh, and there's one more show that "Starfleet Academy" fell behind on the rankings: "Everybody Loves Raymond." You know, the show that's been off the air for nearly 21 years. 

This is the problem with Hollywood in 2026 in a nutshell. Taking a legacy brand known for its quality, depth of storytelling, adult presentation of complex issues and ideas, writing, and consistency, and driving it off a cliff to pander to nonexistent "modern audiences." "Star Trek" has always been more of a left-wing coded show, but it introduced those views and concepts without beating people over the head with them. But nuance and complicated discussion are anathema to the current "creative" class in the entertainment industry. Instead, it's an endless, monotonous, unwatchable lecture. Written by untalented staff, performed by untalented actors, and specifically designed to be divisive.

And just like all the rest of their efforts, as the audience score and viewership indicate, this one's also doomed to fail. Just don't expect them to learn anything from it.