Star Trek Day Delivers Double Surprise: A Preschool Show and Khan's Untold Story

Star Trek Day (8 September) always brings a few treats for fans, but this year the franchise went for broke. Paramount dropped not one but two brand-new expansions to the Trek universe: Star Trek: Scouts, an animated preschool series, and Star Trek: Khan, a scripted podcast that chronicles one of the saga's most infamous villains.

For a lifelong fan like me, it was a double hit of excitement. On a personal level, nothing beats opening an email from Paramount stuffed with fresh Trek news - it's the kind of thrill that would have blown the mind of my childhood self, who spent Christmas afternoons glued to Wrath of Khan. On a professional level, finally getting to cover Star Trek news on the day itself feels like a full-circle moment.

Trek for the youngest cadets

While I deliberately skipped the trailer (I prefer to go in blind), I did jump straight into the first minisode of Scouts - "Asteroid Blasters." Within minutes I was firing off texts to friends with young kids: Trek finally has an on-ramp for little ones.

The timing makes sense. With Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends and Disney's Young Jedi Adventures pulling in preschool audiences, it was only a matter of time before Star Trek beamed into that world. It's a clever move to nurture a new generation of Trekkies while still keeping older fans engaged elsewhere.

Two episodes of the short-form series (3–4 minutes each) are already available on Nickelodeon's Blaze and the Monster Machines YouTube channel, with the remaining 20-episode order rolling out into next year. The Star Trek: Scouts trailer can be found here.

The wrath of audio

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Star Trek: Khan, a scripted podcast exploring Khan's years on Ceti Alpha V. Handled badly, a story like this risks the wrath (pun intended) of a fandom notorious for its zero tolerance for timeline meddling. But handled well, it could add real depth to one of Trek's most iconic characters.

I'm cautiously optimistic. We've seen Khan's backstory expanded before in novels and comics, and while Ricardo Montalbán's shadow looms large, this new take has serious potential. Plus, the format itself feels right. Trek embracing podcasts is smart - whether you're commuting, cycling, or on the treadmill, it's Trek in your ears wherever you go.

New episodes of Star Trek: Khan will be released weekly on Mondays through 3 November, streaming on all major podcast platforms and on the official Star Trek YouTube channel.

A taste of the 60th

With both Scouts and Khan launching on the same day, Star Trek's 60th anniversary year is already shaping up to be one of its most ambitious yet. And if this is just the beginning, the road to September 2026 promises more surprises, more experimentation, and - hopefully - more reasons for fans of all ages to boldly go.