William Shatner: ‘No, Kaley Cuoco is not my daughter’
William Shatner chats with USA TODAY’s Bryan Alexander about “Star Trek,” his new album “Bill” and misconceptions about his life and career.
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William Shatner wishes the latest “Star Trek” show had been given the chance to live long and prosper.
The “Star Trek” actor, 95, took to X on March 23 to bemoan news that the sci-fi franchise’s newest series, “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” will end after its upcoming second season.
“It’s with sorrow that I hear about the cancellation of the new ‘Star Trek’ series,” he wrote.
In a follow-up post, Shatner mocked critics who celebrated the show’s cancellation because they claimed it was “woke.” He argued that the original “Star Trek,” which famously featured an interracial kiss between Shatner’s character, Captain Kirk, and Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura in a 1968 episode, would be considered “woke” today.
“During the first airing of my ‘Star Trek’ series where a kiss was objectionable; many southern stations pulled the episode & condemned the show,” he wrote. “Using today’s vernacular it would absolutely be called ‘woke DEI crap’ because it went against ‘norms’ of society for its time. Not a lot seems to have changed.”
Shatner also reflected that “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” which is now a widely beloved follow-up to the original “Star Trek,” received “tons of hate” from fans when it first came out, concluding, “‘Star Trek’ is different for everyone.”
Holly Hunter starred in “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” which premiered in January and centered on a class of Starfleet cadets. Some on social media labeled the show “woke” and mocked its diverse casting and storylines, which included the introduction of the first openly gay Klingon character.
Even a member of the Trump administration weighed in. In January, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller shared a clip from the show, originally posted by an account called End Wokeness, and called on Paramount to “save” “Star Trek” by giving Shatner “total creative control.”
In a segment on “The View” in January, Whoopi Goldberg, who played Guinan on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” mocked the “woke” criticism. “This was a show that was created with the idea that people from other planets would come and we would all find a way to exist together,” she said, also asking why Miller was “concentrating on a television show” instead of more pressing issues.
Among critics, the reception to “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” was mostly positive, with the show receiving an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. At The Hollywood Reporter, critic Angie Han wrote that the show was “messy,” but “too full of charm and promise to dismiss outright.”
“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” is still set to air a second season, which was ordered even before Season 1 premiered. On Monday, CBS Studios and Paramount+ said that “we’re incredibly proud of the ambition, passion, and creativity that went into bringing ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ to life,” per Variety, adding, “We look forward to sharing the upcoming second and final season with everyone, and continuing to celebrate the cast, crew, and all that was accomplished with this series.”
