Star Trek: Starfleet Academy executive producer and co-showrunner Noga Landau loves the fan reaction to how Academy Award winner Holly Hunter's Captain Nahla Ake sits in the Captain's chair. Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy seems to be finding its young adult target audience, judging by content about the show seen on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
A 420-year-old half-Lanthanite, Nahla Ake bucks tradition as a Star Trek Captain. Starfleet Academy's Chancellor is also the Captain of the USS Athena, but her presence on the bridge is decidedly offbeat and unorthodox. Ake's penchant for curling up in the Captain's chair with her feet up and reading a book has caught on with Star Trek fans, who both love and are against Holly Hunter's unique demeanor.
In an interview with ScreenRant's John Orquiola about Star Trek: Starfleet Academy episode 4, which included Jay-Den Kraag actor Karim Diané, Noga Landau said the cast and crew had "no idea" that Holly Hunter's unusual way of sitting in the Captain's chair would catch fire. Landau called the fan-generated content on social media about Captain Ake's chair sitting "incredible" and "so fun." See Noga's quote below:
Noga Landau: You have no idea when you're making the show what is going to blow up. And I have to tell you, John, that some of my favorite content, because there's a lot of incredible Starfleet Academy content already on Tiktok, on YouTube, on Instagram, on Facebook, some of my favorites are these compilations of people doing Nahla sitting in the chair. We had no idea what was going to blow up online.
One video of this girl just doing them herself, and she's like [sitting weirdly in the captain’s chair], one like this, and another one. That's the best stuff. And honestly, it's really cool to see the younger generation of fans just loving what we're doing, and becoming this army of weird chair sitters who just show up every day for Starfleet Academy. It's so fun.
Regardless of whether a viewer is a fan or a detractor of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, everyone seems to have an opinion on Holly Hunter's distinctive ownership of the Captain's chair. Ake's supporters enjoy the irreverence Hunter brings to her 420-year-old Lanthanite, which makes Nahla stand out among other Star Trek Captains.
However, others feel Captain Ake "disrespects" the Captain's chair by the way she chooses to sit in it, although there are examples throughout Star Trek of other characters who choose to curl up in the Captain's chair. Ake's other traits, like wearing glasses or going barefoot, have also fueled ire among a segment of fans who frown on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.
Captain Ake's eccentricities are in line with her character. As a Lanthanite who has lived for over four centuries, Nahla has seen it all and remembers Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets when it was "at its best" in previous eras. Yet Nahla, who was a prankster when she was a Starfleet Academy cadet, has always been a non-traditionalist and encourages occasional shenanigans from her cadets.
While Nahla's preference of sitting in the Captain's chair has not been officially dubbed the "Ake Maneuver," perhaps that's only a matter of time. The social media fan reaction to how Holly Hunter sits in the Captain's chair indicates that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is striking a cord with the younger audience the show hopes to turn into Star Trek fans.
