Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Returns to PVOD Chart Ahead of Starfleet Academy

by

As a big sci-fi fan, I was excited to see that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is making waves again! It’s actually back on the Apple TV Store’s top charts – currently at number 15 in the US, according to the folks at FlixPatrol. It’s great to see such an ambitious show getting the recognition it deserves.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which premiered in 1993, was the fourth Star Trek TV show and the third to feature live actors. Unlike previous series like Star Trek: The Next Generation, it didn’t take place on a starship. Instead, the story unfolded on a space station, immediately setting it apart from what fans had come to expect.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was groundbreaking for several reasons. It was the first Star Trek series to star a Black actor, Avery Brooks, as Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko. The show also differed from previous Star Trek installments by featuring a main cast that wasn’t entirely composed of Starfleet officers. Characters like Kira Nerys, a Bajoran activist; Odo, a shapeshifting security officer; Jake Sisko, Benjamin’s son; and Quark, a Ferengi bar owner, all added a new dynamic to the series.

Deep Space 9 still had a full crew of Starfleet officers, including familiar faces like Dr. Julian Bashir, Science Officer Jadzia Dax, and Chief of Operations Miles O’Brien (who also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation). But their stories unfolded differently than those of previous Star Trek characters. Because the show took place mostly on a space station, characters had more long-term development than on a starship, where each episode typically featured a new planet and a self-contained adventure.

Thanks to its unique approach, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine pioneered a new style of storytelling for the franchise. While each episode still had a complete story, the show also featured larger, ongoing narratives – particularly in later seasons with the extended Dominion War arc – that carried over from week to week. This made it one of the first TV shows to truly embrace serialized storytelling.

One way Star Trek: Deep Space Nine stood out was its willingness to tackle complex and often grim subjects. While other Star Trek series touched on these themes, Deep Space Nine explored them more thoroughly and with greater sensitivity. For example, it didn’t just present war; it delved into its consequences over several episodes, showing how an all-out conflict with the Dominion fundamentally altered the Federation and put it on a war footing – something a standard 48-minute episode couldn’t achieve with the same depth.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Is Star Trek Deep Space Nine‘s Successor Series

Ahead of the release of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is back on the premium video on demand charts. Starfleet Academy is, in some ways, a follow-up to Deep Space Nine, as both series directly continue storylines from previous Star Trek shows – in this case, Star Trek: Discovery.

I’ve always been fascinated by Starfleet Academy, and it’s interesting how much it resembles Deep Space Nine in a way. Like DS9, it’s rooted in a specific place, though Deep Space Nine eventually gained a ship with the Defiant. But what really excites me is that both shows aimed to do something different with Star Trek – Academy focuses on the lives of young cadets as they grow up and discover their place in the universe, and it’s a fresh perspective I’m eager to see explored.

The creators of the show understand the history they’re building on. It’s filled with hidden references and nods to past works – one episode is even a tribute to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Similar to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the show…

You can buy Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from the Apple TV Store, or stream it on Paramount+. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will premiere on Paramount+ on January 15th.

Read More

2026-01-15 02:36