"Radical inclusion has been built into the Star Trek brand from its inception. The hopeful vision of the future created by Gene Roddenberry is an outsider's paradise - and Starfleet Academy, the latest feather in the franchise's cap, pushes that idea to a new limit. This is not your parents' Star Trek: the young adult-centered series was made with a new next generation in mind."
"Portrayed with buoyant delight by Kerrice Brooks, SAM - short for Series Acclimation Mil - fills the role of Roddenberry-esque outsider characters, previously occupied by the likes of Spock and Data. As a hologram programmed to experience the world as a 17-year-old girl and study humanity, she's mostly served as comic relief. But the show's latest episode marks a sharp pivot both for SAM and for Brooks, forcing character and actor to confront Star Trek's daunting legacy. It goes deep into the lore"
Radical inclusion underpins the Star Trek brand and Starfleet Academy extends that vision toward a younger generation. The series centers cadets who subvert traditional Starfleet expectations, highlighted by SAM, the fleet's first photonic (holographic) student. Kerrice Brooks portrays SAM, a hologram programmed to experience life as a 17-year-old girl and study humanity. SAM previously served largely as comic relief, but a recent episode shifts the character toward deeper stakes by engaging Deep Space Nine lore and Benjamin Sisko's disappearance. The episode was written by Tawny Newsome and actively positions SAM to inherit franchise legacy. Collaboration with Newsome and returning actor Cirroc Lofton supported Brooks during this transition.
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