star treks in order to watch

How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline

The full star trek timeline, explained..

Ever since 1966’s premiere of the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, the entertainment world has never been the same. This franchise that has boldly gone where no property has gone before has captured the hearts and minds of millions around the world and has grown into a space-faring empire of sorts filled with multiple shows, feature length films, comics, merchandise, and so much more. That being said, the amount of Star Trek out in the world can make it tough to know exactly how to watch everything it offers in either chronological or release order so you don’t miss a thing. To help make things easier for you, we’ve created this guide to break down everything you need to know about engaging with this Star Trek journey.

It used to be a bit trickier to track down all the Star Trek shows and movies you’d need to watch to catch up, but Paramount+ has made it a whole lot easier as it has become the home of nearly all the past, present and future Star Trek entries.

So, without further ado, come with us into the final frontier and learn how you can become all caught up with the adventures of Kirk, Picard, Janeway, Sisko, Spock, Pike, Archer, Burnham, and all the others that have made Star Trek so special over the past 56 years.

And, in case you're worried, everything below is a mostly spoiler-free chronological timeline that will not ruin any of any major plot points of anything further on in the timeline. So, you can use this guide as a handy way to catch up without ruining much of the surprise of what’s to come on your adventure! If you’d prefer to watch everything Star Trek as it was released, you’ll find that list below as well!

How to Watch Star Trek in Chronological Order

How to Watch Star Trek by Release Order

1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

Star Trek: Enterprise is the earliest entry on our list as it takes place a hundred years before the adventures of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series. The show aired from 2001 to 2005 and starred Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise NX-01. This version of the Enterprise was actually Earth’s first starship that was able to reach warp five.

While the show had its ups and downs, it included a fascinating look at a crew without some of the advanced tech we see in other Star Trek shows, the first contact with various alien species we know and love from the Star Trek universe, and more.

2. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

This is where things get a little bit tricky, as the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery take place before Star Trek: The Original Series but Seasons 3 and 4 take us boldly to a place we’ve not gone before. We won’t spoil why that’s the case here, but it’s important to note if you want to watch Star Trek in order, you’ll have to do a bit of jumping around from series to movie to series.

As for what Star Trek: Discovery is, it's set the decade before the original and stars Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, a Starfleet Commander who accidentally helps start a war between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. She gets court-martialed and stripped of her rank following these events and is reassigned to the U.S.S Discovery.

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds also begins before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series and is set up by Star Trek: Discovery as its captain, Anson Mount’s Christopher Pike, makes an appearance in its second season. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Pike first appeared in the original failed pilot episode “The Cage” of Star Trek: The Original Series and would later become James T. Kirk’s predecessor after the original actor, Jefferey Hunter, backed out of the show.

Fast forward all these years later and now we get to learn more about the story of Christopher Pike and many other familiar faces from The Original Series alongside new characters. It’s made even more special as the ship the crew uses is the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, the very same that would soon call Kirk its captain.

4. Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

The fourth Star Trek series or movie you should watch in the order is the one that started it all - Star Trek: The Original Series . Created by Gene Roddenberry, this first Star Trek entry would kick off a chain reaction that would end up creating one of the most beloved IPs of all time. However, it almost never made it to that legendary status as its low ratings led to a cancellation order after just three seasons that aired from 1966 to 1969. Luckily, it found great popularity after that and built the foundation for all the Star Trek stories we have today.

Star Trek: The Original Series starred William Shatner as James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, but the rest of the crew would go on to become nearly as iconic as they were. As for what the show was about? Well, we think Kirk said it best during each episode’s opening credits;

“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise . Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

5. Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

While Star Trek: The Original Series may have been canceled after just three seasons, its popularity only grew, especially with the help of syndication. Following this welcome development, Gene Roddenberry decided he wanted to continue the adventures of the crew of the Enterprise NCC-1701 in animated form, and he brought back many of the original characters and the actors behind them for another go.

Star Trek: The Animated Series lasted for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 and told even more stories of the Enterprise and its adventures throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)

The first Star Trek film was a very big deal as it brought back the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series after the show was canceled in 1969 after just three seasons. However, even it had a rough road to theaters as Roddenberry initially failed to convince Paramount Pictures it was worth it in 1975. Luckily, the success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and other factors helped finally convince those in power to make the movie and abandon the plans for a new television series called Star Trek: Phase II, which also would have continued the original story.

In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, James T. Kirk was now an Admiral in Starfleet, and certain events involving a mysterious alien cloud of energy called V’Ger cause him to retake control of a refitted version of the U.S.S. Enterprise with many familiar faces in tow.

7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had a sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture written, but Paramount turned it down after the reception to that first film was not what the studio had hoped for. In turn, Paramount removed him from the production and brought in Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards to write the script and Nicholas Meyer to direct the film.

The studio’s decision proved to be a successful one as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is considered by many, including IGN, to be the best Star Trek film. As for the story, it followed the battle between Admiral James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise vs. Ricardo Montalban’ Khan Noonien Singh. Khan is a genetically engineered superhuman and he and his people were exiled by Kirk on a remote planet in the episode ‘Space Seed’ from the original series. In this second film, after being stranded for 15 years, Khan wants revenge.

8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock continues the story that began in Wrath of Khan and deals with the aftermath of Spock’s death. While many on the U.S.S. Enterprise thought that was the end for their science officer, Kirk learns that Spock’s spirit/katra is actually living inside the mind of DeForest Kelley’s Dr. McCoy, who has been acting strange ever since the death of his friend. What follows is an adventure that includes a stolen U.S.S. Enterprise, a visit from Spock’s father Sarek, a run-in with Klingons, and so much more.

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

While it is undoubtedly great that Kirk and his crew saved Spock, it apparently wasn’t great enough to avoid the consequences that follow stealing and then losing the Enterprise. On their way to answer for their charges, the former crew of the Enterprise discover a threat to Earth that, without spoiling anything, causes them to go back in time to save everything they love. The Voyage Home is a big departure from the previous films as, instead of space, we spend most of our time in 1986’s San Francisco.

10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier once again brings back our favorite heroes from Star Trek: The Original Series, but it’s often regarded as one of the weakest films starring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc. In this adventure, our crew’s shore leave gets interrupted as they are tasked with going up against the Vulcan Sybok, who himself is on the hunt for God in the middle of the galaxy.

11. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the final movie starring the entire cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, and it puts the Klingons front and center. After a mining catastrophe destroys the Klingon moon of Praxis and threatens the Klingon’s homeworld, Klingon Chancellor Gorkon is forced to abandon his species' love of war in an effort to seek peace with the Federation. What follows is an adventure that calls back to the fall of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall and serves as a wonderful send-off to characters we’ve come to know and love since 1966, even though some will thankfully appear in future installments.

12. Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

After you make it through all six of the Star Trek: The Original Series movies, it’s time to start what many consider the best Star Trek series of all time - Star Trek: The Next Generation . The series, which starred Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, ran from 1987 through 1994 with 178 episodes over seven seasons.

There are so many iconic characters and moments in The Next Generation, including William Riker, Data, Worf, Geordi La Forge, Deanna Troi, and Dr. Beverly Crusher, and many of these beloved faces would return for Star Trek: Picard, which served as a continuation of this story.

While we are once again on the U.S.S. Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, this story takes place a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. However, there may just be a few familiar faces that pop up from time to time.

13. Star Trek Generations (2293)

While Star Trek Generations is the first film featuring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew, it also features a team-up that many had dreamed of for years and years between Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain James T. Kirk.

Our heroes are facing off against an El-Aurian named Dr. Tolian Soran, who will do whatever is necessary to return to an extra-dimensional realm known as the Nexus. Without spoiling anything, these events lead to a meeting with these two legendary captains and a heartfelt-at-times send-off to The Original Series, even though not every character returned that we wished could have.

14. Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

Star Trek: First Contact was not only the second film featuring the crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it also served as the motion picture directorial debut for William Riker actor Jonathan Frakes. In this film, the terrifying Borg take center stage and force our heroes to travel back in time to stop them from conquering Earth and assimilating the entire human race.

This movie picks up on the continuing trauma caused by Jean-Luc Picard getting assimilated in the series and becoming Locutus of Borg, and we are also treated to the first warp flight in Star Trek’s history, a shout-out to Deep Space Nine, and more.

15. Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

Star Trek: Insurrection, which unfortunately ranked last on our list of the best Star Trek movies, is the third film starring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew and followed a story involving an alien race that lives on a planet with more-or-less makes them invincible due to its rejuvenating properties. This alien race, known as the Ba’Ku, are being threatened by not only another alien race called the Son’a, but also the Federation. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew disobey Federation orders in hopes to save the peaceful Ba’Ku, and while it sounds like an interesting premise, many said it felt too much like an extended episode of the series instead of a big blockbuster film.

16. Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

The final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie is Star Trek: Nemesis , and it also isn’t looked at as one of the best. There are bright parts in the film, including Tom Hardy’s Shinzon who is first thought to be a Romulan praetor before it’s revealed he is a clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but it also features a lot of retreaded ground. There are some great moments between our favorite TNG characters, but it’s not quite the goodbye many had hoped for. Luckily, this won’t be the last we’ll see of them.

17. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the fourth Star Trek series and it ran from 1993 to 1999 with 176 episodes over seven seasons. Deep Space Nine was also the first Star Trek series to be created without the direct involvement of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, but instead with Rick Berman and Michael Piller. Furthermore, it was the first series to begin when another Star Trek Series - The Next Generation - was still on the air.

The connections between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine don’t end there, as there were a ton of callbacks to TNG in Deep Space Nine, and characters like Worf and Miles O’Brien played a big part in the series. Other TNG characters popped up from time to time, including Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and certain Deep Space Nine characters also showed their faces in TNG.

Deep Space Nine was a big departure from the Star Trek series that came before, as it not only took place mostly on a space station - the titular Deep Space Nine - but it was the first to star an African American as its central character in Avery Brooks’ Captain Benjamin Sisko.

Deep Space Nine was located in a very interesting part of the Milky Way Galaxy as it was right next to a wormhole, and the series was also filled with conflict between the Cardassians and Bajorans, the war between the Federation and the Dominion, and much more.

18. Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

Star Trek: Voyager is the fifth Star Trek series and it ran from 1995 to 2001 with 172 episodes over seven seasons. Star Trek: Voyager begins its journey at Deep Space Nine, and then it follows the tale of Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Kathryn Janeway (the first female leading character in Star Trek history!) and her crew getting lost and stranded in the faraway Delta Quadrant.

The episodes and adventures that follow all see the team fighting for one goal: getting home. Being so far away from the Alpha Quadrant we were so used to letting Star Trek be very creative in its storytelling and give us situations and alien races we’d never encountered before.

That doesn’t mean it was all unfamiliar, however, as the Borg became a huge threat in the later seasons. It’s a good thing too, as that led to the introduction of Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, a character who would continue on to appear in Star Trek: Picard and become a fan favorite.

19. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

Star Trek: Lower Decks debuted in 2020 and was the first animated series to make it to air since 1973’s Star Trek: The Animated Series. Alongside having that feather in its cap, it also sets itself apart by choosing to focus more on the lower lever crew instead of the captain and senior staff.

This leads to many fun adventures that may not be as high stakes as the other stories, but are no less entertaining. There have already been three seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks, and the fourth season is set to arrive later this summer.

The series is also worth a watch as it is having a crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that will mix the worlds of live-action and animation.

20. Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

Star Trek: Prodigy was the first fully 3D animated Star Trek series ever and told a story that began five years after the U.S.S. Voyager found its way back home to Earth. In this series, which was aimed for kids, a group of young aliens find an abandoned Starfleet ship called the U.S.S. Protostar and attempt to make it to Starfleet and the Alpha Quadrant from the Delta Quadrant.

Voyager fans will be delighted to know that Kate Mulgrew returns as Kathryn Janeway in this animated series, but not only as herself. She is also an Emergency Training Holographic Advisor that was based on the likeness of the former captain of the U.S.S. Voyager.

The second season of Star Trek: Prodigy was set to arrive later this year, but it was not only canceled in June, but also removed from Paramount+. There is still hope this show may find a second life on another streaming service or network.

21. Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

Star Trek: Picard is the… well… next generation of Star Trek: The Next Generation as it brings back not only Partick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard, but also many of his former crew members from the beloved series. The story is set 20 years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis and we find Picard retired from Starfleet and living at his family’s vineyard in France.

Without spoiling anything, certain events get one of our favorite captains back to work and take him on an adventure through space and time over three seasons and 30 episodes.

The show had its ups and downs, but the third season, in our opinion, stuck the landing and gave us an “emotional, exciting, and ultimately fun journey for Jean-Luc and his family - both old and new - that gives the character the send-off that he has long deserved.”

22. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3 and 4 (3188-TBD)

While Star Trek: Discovery begins around 10 years before Star Trek: The Original Series, the show jumps more than 900 years into the future into the 32nd Century following the events of the second season. The Federation is not in great shape and Captain Michael Burnham and her crew work to bring it back to what it once was.

Star Trek: Discovery is set to end after the upcoming fifth season, which will debut on Paramount+ in 2024.

For more, check out our look at the hidden meaning behind Star Trek’s great captains, why Star Trek doesn’t get credit as the first shared universe, if this may be the end of Star Trek’s golden age of streaming, and our favorite classic Star Trek episodes and movies.

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Abbreviation Guide

The 21st Century

The 22nd century, the 23rd century.

(DIS,SNW,TOS,TAS)

The 24th Century

(TNG,DS9,VOY,LDS,PRO,PIC)

The 25th Century

The 31st century, the 32nd century, introduction.

This Star Trek viewing guide will assist you through watching the entire franchise, based not on production dates, but on in-universe story order, all the way from the 21st to the 32nd centuries. As it is a viewing guide and not a rigid chronology, some episodes are shifted to keep things as clear and fun as possible. The site is updated regularly to stay current.

There is now a print-friendly version without the graphics as well.

To avoid spoilers, I’ve moved discussion of the thinking behind some less clear-cut decisions to a separate “methodology” page . Opinions and feedback are welcome!

Series Overview and Abbreviation Guide

Past Shows:

TOS —> Star Trek - The Original Series (1964, 1966-1969)

TAS —> Star Trek - The Animated Series (1973-1974)

TNG —> Star Trek - The Next Generation (1987-1994)

DS9 —> Star Trek - Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

VOY —> Star Trek - Voyager (1995-2001)

ENT —> Star Trek - Enterprise (2001-2005)

SHO —> Star Trek - Short Treks (2018-2020)

PIC —> Star Trek - Picard (2020-2023)

MOV —> Theatrical Movies (1979-1991, 1994-2002, 2009-2016)

Current Shows:

DIS —> Star Trek - Discovery (2017-2024)

LDS —> Star Trek - Lower Decks (2020-)

PRO —> Star Trek - Prodigy (2021-)

SNW —> Star Trek - Strange New Worlds (2022-)

Series Overview and Abbreviation Guide: Star Trek Universe

April 5th, 2063:

Star Trek essentially begins on this date, when Zefram Cochrane creates faster-than-light travel (“warp drive”) allowing humans to meet extraterrestrial life, the Vulcans, for the first time. We will see this event later in the viewing order, but for now it’s just backstory.

We start with Star Trek: Enterprise (technically just titled Enterprise until season three). While the first in the timeline, this show was actually the sixth Star Trek series made, and includes many fun hints of future events. We will mostly follow the release order, but will skip some episodes in Seasons two and four until later in the viewing order.

ENT Season 1, episode 1 - Broken Bow, Part 1
ENT Season 1, episode 2 - Broken Bow, Part 2
ENT Season 1, episode 3 - Fight or Flight
ENT Season 1, episode 4 - Strange New World
ENT Season 1, episode 5 - Unexpected
ENT Season 1, episode 6 - Terra Nova
ENT Season 1, episode 7 - The Andorian Incident
ENT Season 1, episode 8 - Breaking the Ice
ENT Season 1, episode 9 - Civilization
ENT Season 1, episode 10 - Fortunate Son
ENT Season 1, episode 11 - Cold Front
ENT Season 1, episode 12 - Silent Enemy
ENT Season 1, episode 13 - Dear Doctor
ENT Season 1, episode 14 - Sleeping Dogs
ENT Season 1, episode 15 - Shadows of P'Jem
ENT Season 1, episode 16 - Shuttlepod One
ENT Season 1, episode 17 - Fusion
ENT Season 1, episode 18 - Rogue Planet
ENT Season 1, episode 19 - Acquisition

ENT Season 1, episode 20 - Oasis
ENT Season 1, episode 21 - Detained
ENT Season 1, episode 22 - Vox Sola
ENT Season 1, episode 23 - Fallen Hero
ENT Season 1, episode 24 - Desert Crossing
ENT Season 1, episode 25 - Two Days and Two Nights
ENT Season 1, episode 26 - Shockwave, Part I
ENT Season 2, episode 1 - Shockwave, Part II
ENT Season 2, episode 2 - Carbon Creek
ENT Season 2, episode 3 - Minefield
ENT Season 2, episode 4 - Dead Stop
ENT Season 2, episode 5 - A Night in Sickbay
ENT Season 2, episode 6 - Marauders
ENT Season 2, episode 7 - The Seventh
ENT Season 2, episode 8 - The Communicator
ENT Season 2, episode 9 - Singularity
ENT Season 2, episode 10 - Vanishing Point
ENT Season 2, episode 11 - Precious Cargo
ENT Season 2, episode 12 - The Catwalk
ENT Season 2, episode 13 - Dawn
ENT Season 2, episode 14 - Stigma
ENT Season 2, episode 15 - Cease Fire
ENT Season 2, episode 16 - Future Tense
ENT Season 2, episode 17 - Canamar
ENT Season 2, episode 18 - The Crossing
ENT Season 2, episode 19 - Judgment

ENT Season 2, episode 20 - Horizon
ENT Season 2, episode 21 - The Breach
ENT Season 2, episode 22 - Cogenitor

We are skipping episode 23 (“Regeneration”) for now, but will return to it later.

ENT Season 2, episode 24 - First Flight
ENT Season 2, episode 25 - Bounty
ENT Season 2, episode 26 - The Expanse
ENT Season 3, episode 1 - The Xindi
ENT Season 3, episode 2 - Anomaly
ENT Season 3, episode 3 - Extinction
ENT Season 3, episode 4 - Rajiin
ENT Season 3, episode 5 - Impulse
ENT Season 3, episode 6 - Exile
ENT Season 3, episode 7 - The Shipment
ENT Season 3, episode 8 - Twilight
ENT Season 3, episode 9 - North Star
ENT Season 3, episode 10 - Similitude
ENT Season 3, episode 11 - Carpenter Street
ENT Season 3, episode 12 - Chosen Realm
ENT Season 3, episode 13 - Proving Ground
ENT Season 3, episode 14 - Stratagem
ENT Season 3, episode 15 - Harbinger

ENT Season 3, episode 16 - Doctor's Orders
ENT Season 3, episode 17 - Hatchery
ENT Season 3, episode 18 - Azati Prime
ENT Season 3, episode 19 - Damage
ENT Season 3, episode 20 - The Forgotten
ENT Season 3, episode 21 - E-Squared
ENT Season 3, episode 22 - The Council
ENT Season 3, episode 23 - Countdown
ENT Season 3, episode 24 - Zero Hour

In its fourth and final season, Enterprise, under the guidance of a new showrunner, really takes advantage of its ability to foreshadow events in later chronologically-placed stories. Please pay attention to the episode numbers as we skip episodes 18, 19, and 22 for now and watch them later.

ENT Season 4, episode 1 - Storm Front, Part 1
ENT Season 4, episode 2 - Storm Front, Part 2
ENT Season 4, episode 3 - Home
ENT Season 4, episode 4 - Borderland
ENT Season 4, episode 5 - Cold Station 12
ENT Season 4, episode 6 - The Augments
ENT Season 4, episode 7 - The Forge
ENT Season 4, episode 8 - Awakening
ENT Season 4, episode 9 - Kir'Shara
ENT Season 4, episode 10 - Daedalus
ENT Season 4, episode 11 - Observer Effect
ENT Season 4, episode 12 - Babel One
ENT Season 4, episode 13 - United
ENT Season 4, episode 14 - The Aenar
ENT Season 4, episode 15 - Affliction
ENT Season 4, episode 16 - Divergence
ENT Season 4, episode 17 - Bound

ENT Season 4, episode 20 - Demons
ENT Season 4, episode 21 - Terra Prime

Although we will be moving on from Enterprise for now, we will return to watch the skipped episodes and the series finale later. Even so, the two-parter above is near-universally considered a better end-point for this point in the story.

The Earth-Romulan War, which was first mentioned in the original 1960s series, occurs here. Enterprise intended to cover this starting in the fifth season, but was unfortunately cancelled after Season Four. While we don't get to see the conflict on screen, its impact is felt throughout Enterprise and beyond. During the war, Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites form a loosely structured Coalition of Planets which manages to push back the Romulans. This Coalition leads directly to…

…the formation of the United Federation of Planets, the primary political setting of the Star Trek franchise.

From this point on, Star Trek focuses on the Federation, depicting its periods of peace, war, expansion, and decline, which will set the agenda for much of the franchise.

Early 2230s

An adaptation of an (actual) ancient African legend, told to a young girl we will meet again later as an adult, this is our first “Short Treks” episode. These mini-episodes are not tied to any specific time or place in the Star Trek franchise and will appear occasionally throughout this list.

SHO Season 2, episode 5 - The Girl Who Made the Stars

2233 - A sidenote about universes/timelines:

There are two main “universes” in the Star Trek franchise: the Kelvin timeline (consisting of three feature films) and the Prime timeline (covering everything else). This year, 2233, is when events occur which split the universe into the Kelvin and Prime timelines. For now, we will stay with the Prime timeline in this viewing order, but keep in mind the Kelvin timeline for later. Note that there is a third universe, the "Mirror" universe, and occasional alternate timelines. However, for simplicity, our visits there will not be separated from the Prime episodes.

2233 (Prime)

The USS Kelvin flies through space, exploring strange new worlds.

Nothing happens.

All is well.

SHO Season 1, episode 3 - The Brightest Star

After a quick Short Trek in which we meet a young ensign reporting to his new ship, we reach the very first Star Trek episode produced: The Cage, dating from 1964-65. Rejected by NBC for being "too cerebral," studio owner Lucille Ball convinced the network to give the show another chance at a pilot. While much of The Cage’s footage is reused in a later episode, "The Menagerie," we recommend that you don't skip either one. The character of Captain Pike becomes highly significant shortly, and both episodes offer valuable insights into him and Spock.

Viewing notes: When referring to the original 1960s "Star Trek," this guide uses the abbreviation TOS (The Original Series). TOS is available in two versions: the classic 1960s version and a CGI- enhanced remastered version made from 2006-08. The remastered versions do not alter the stories in any way making the version you choose a matter of personal preference.

SHO Season 2, episode 1 - Q&A
TOS Season 0, episode 1 - The Cage

We now begin Star Trek: Discovery, which is the seventh Star Trek series produced, but only the second series chronologically. It also is the first series to significantly revamp the visual designs, departing from the previous assumption that the 23rd century looked the same as it did in the original 1960s series. Discovery updates the designs, and we are trusted to accept that they have "always" looked this way, affecting uniforms, ships, alien makeup, and more. The Klingons, in particular, received a dramatic redesign, though it was significantly backtracked after the first season. These are not continuity issues, and should not be viewed as such, though we could certainly nitpick details if we chose to.

DIS Season 1, episode 1 - The Vulcan Hello
DIS Season 1, episode 2 - Battle of the Binary Stars
DIS Season 1, episode 3 - Context is for Kings
DIS Season 1, episode 4 - The Butchers Knife Cares Not for the Lambs Cry
DIS Season 1, episode 5 - Choose Your Pain
DIS Season 1, episode 6 - Lethe
DIS Season 1, episode 7 - Magic to Make the Sanest Man go Mad

DIS Season 1, episode 8 - Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
DIS Season 1, episode 9 - Into the Forest I Go

Watching Trek in this order presents a quirk in episode 10, where the USS Defiant is, to avoid spoilers, somewhere it shouldn't be. The show assumes that we know the explanation, but don't worry about it. We will learn why when we reach 2268, but in the meantime, it is entirely unimportant to how the story in Discovery unfolds.

DIS Season 1, episode 10 - Despite Yourself
DIS Season 1, episode 11 - The Wolf Inside
DIS Season 1, episode 12 - Vaulting Ambition
DIS Season 1, episode 13 - What's Past is Prologue
DIS Season 1, episode 14 - The War Without, The War Within
DIS Season 1, episode 15 - Will You Take My Hand?
SHO Season 1, episode 1 - Runaway
SHO Season 1, episode 4 - Escape Artist
DIS Season 2, episode 1 - Brother
DIS Season 2, episode 2 - New Eden
DIS Season 2, episode 3 - Point of Light
DIS Season 2, episode 4 - An Obol for Charon
DIS Season 2, episode 5 - Saints of Imperfection
DIS Season 2, episode 6 - The Sound of Thunder
DIS Season 2, episode 7 - Light and Shadows
DIS Season 2, episode 8 - If Memory Serves
DIS Season 2, episode 9 - Project Daedalus
DIS Season 2, episode 10 - The Red Angel
DIS Season 2, episode 11 - Perpetual Infinity
DIS Season 2, episode 12 - Through the Valley of Shadows
DIS Season 2, episode 13 - Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1
DIS Season 2, episode 14 - Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2

I will avoid spoilers, but after watching the episode listed just above, it will be clear why we are pausing our viewing of Discovery, even though there are more episodes left to watch. We will come back to the series at the appropriate time to continue the series.

SHO Season 2, episode 2 - The Trouble with Edward
SHO Season 2, episode 3 - Ask Not

We now move away from the Discovery crew to follow Capt. Pike, back in command of the Enterprise, for an absolutely delightful series that deliberately throws back to 1960s Trek in many ways, including the first appearances of some characters we will continue to see for many years to come.

SNW Season 1, episode 1 - Strange New Worlds
SNW Season 1, episode 2 - Children of the Comet
SNW Season 1, episode 3 - Ghosts of Illyria
SNW Season 1, episode 4 - Momento Mori
SNW Season 1, episode 5 - Spock Amok
SNW Season 1, episode 6 - Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach
SNW Season 1, episode 7 - The Serene Squall
SNW Season 1, episode 8 - The Elysian Kingdom
SNW Season 1, episode 9 - All Those Who Wander
SNW Season 1, episode 10 - A Quality of Mercy
SNW Season 2 episode 1 - The Broken Circle
SNW Season 2, episode 2 - Ad Astra per Aspera
SNW Season 2, episode 3 - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
SNW Season 2, episode 4 - Among the Lotus Eaters
SNW Season 2, episode 5 - Charades
SNW Season 2, episode 6 - Lost in Translation

Skipping Episode 7 for later…

Pay attention to the possible future laid out in this next episode; we see how the timeline actually plays out later in this chronology.

SNW Season 2, episode 8 - Under the Cloak of War
SNW Season 2, episode 9 - Subspace Rhapsody
SNW Season 2, episode 10 - Hegemony

Here’s that second Original Series pilot Lucille Ball fought for, now with (most) of the classic 1960’s Star Trek crew. Still no Dr. McCoy, Uhura, or Chekov, Kirk has a different middle initial, the uniforms and sets still aren’t quite right… but we are for the first time recognizably in the world of the show that started it all.

TOS Season 1, episode 3 - Where No Man Has Gone Before

2266-Notes on The Original Series

Just to clarify - the original Star Trek will appear less advanced in terms of its designs and aesthetic compared to the other Star Trek shows we have watched so far, but this is only due to the limitations of television production at the time. This is not “true” in story terms - the technology and society in TOS should be read as on par with Discovery and Strange New Worlds, which all take place at roughly this point in the timeline, and the Enterprise, despite looking different, should be accepted as the exact same ship Pike commanded in Strange New Worlds.

As for the actual viewing order, to fully appreciate the development of the show, it's recommended to watch TOS in production order instead of by air date. In general, don’t get too hung up on continuity with the rest of the franchise in these early days - they take quite a while to pin some stuff down that the rest of the franchise takes for granted.

The Menagerie is largely reedited from The Cage, which we watched a while back, but don’t skip it - after spending so much time with Spock and Pike since, this episode is absolutely essential.

TOS Season 1, episode 10 - The Corbomite Maneuver
TOS Season 1, episode 6 - Mudd's Women
TOS Season 1, episode 5 - The Enemy Within
TOS Season 1, episode 1 - The Man Trap
TOS Season 1, episode 4 - The Naked Time
TOS Season 1, episode 2 - Charlie X

Next we revisit SNW’s season 1 finale, “A Quality of Mercy”, and see how differently events play out with Kirk in command of the Enterprise.

TOS Season 1, episode 14 - Balance of Terror
TOS Season 1, episode 7 - What Are Little Girls Made of?
TOS Season 1, episode 9 - Dagger of the Mind
TOS Season 1, episode 8 - Miri
TOS Season 1, episode 13 - The Conscience of the King
TOS Season 1, episode 16 - The Galileo Seven
TOS Season 1, episode 20 - Court Martial
TOS Season 1, episode 11 - The Menagerie (Part I)
TOS Season 1, episode 12 - The Menagerie (Part II)
TOS Season 1, episode 15 - Shore Leave
TOS Season 1, episode 17 - The Squire of Gothos
TOS Season 1, episode 18 - Arena
TOS Season 1, episode 27 - The Alternative Factor
TOS Season 1, episode 19 - Tomorrow is Yesterday
TOS Season 1, episode 21 - The Return of the Archons
TOS Season 1, episode 23 - A Taste of Armageddon
TOS Season 1, episode 22 - Space Seed
TOS Season 1, episode 24 - This Side of Paradise
TOS Season 1, episode 25 - Devil in the Dark
TOS Season 1, episode 26 - Errand of Mercy
TOS Season 1, episode 28 - The City on the Edge of Forever
TOS Season 1, episode 29 - Operation: Annihilate!

TOS Season 2, episode 7 - Catspaw
TOS Season 2, episode 9 - Metamorphosis
TOS Season 2, episode 11 - Friday's Child
TOS Season 2, episode 2 - Who Mourns for Adonais?
TOS Season 2, episode 1 - Amok Time
TOS Season 2, episode 6 - The Doomsday Machine
TOS Season 2, episode 14 - Wolf in the Fold
TOS Season 2, episode 3 - The Changeling
TOS Season 2, episode 5 - The Apple
TOS Season 2, episode 4 - Mirror, Mirror
TOS Season 2, episode 12 - The Deadly Years
TOS Season 2, episode 8 - I, Mudd
TOS Season 2, episode 15 - The Trouble with Tribbles
TOS Season 2, episode 25 - Bread and Circuses
TOS Season 2, episode 10 - Journey to Babel
TOS Season 2, episode 19 - A Private Little War
TOS Season 2, episode 16 - The Gamesters of Triskelion
TOS Season 2, episode 13 - Obsession
TOS Season 2, episode 18 - The Immunity Syndrome
TOS Season 2, episode 17 - A Piece of the Action
TOS Season 2, episode 22 - By Any Other Name
TOS Season 2, episode 20 - Return to Tomorrow
TOS Season 2, episode 21 - Patterns of Force
TOS Season 2, episode 24 - The Ultimate Computer
TOS Season 2, episode 23 - The Omega Glory
TOS Season 2, episode 26 - Assignment: Earth

While Mirror, Mirror is the episode that first introduces the Mirror universe, we’ve already been there on Discovery. Enterprise had a two-part episode there too, actually, but that’s one of the ones we skipped for later viewing and will be arriving at shortly.

TOS Season 3, episode 6 - Spectre of the Gun
TOS Season 3, episode 13 - Elaan of Troyius
TOS Season 3, episode 3 - The Paradise Syndrome
TOS Season 3, episode 2 - The Enterprise Incident
TOS Season 3, episode 4 - And the Children Shall Lead
TOS Season 3, episode 1 - Spock's Brain
TOS Season 3, episode 5 - Is There No Truth in Beauty?
TOS Season 3, episode 12 - The Empath
TOS Season 3, episode 8 - For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
TOS Season 3, episode 7 - Day of the Dove
TOS Season 3, episode 10 - Plato's Stepchildren
TOS Season 3, episode 11 - Wink of An Eye
TOS Season 3, episode 17 - That Which Survives
TOS Season 3, episode 15 - Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
TOS Season 3, episode 14 - Whom Gods Destroy
TOS Season 3, episode 16 - The Mark of Gideon
TOS Season 3, episode 18 - The Lights of Zetar
TOS Season 3, episode 21 - The Cloud Minders
TOS Season 3, episode 20 - The Way to Eden
TOS Season 3, episode 19 - Requiem for Methuselah
TOS Season 3, episode 22 - The Savage Curtain
TOS Season 3, episode 23 - All Our Yesterdays
TOS Season 3, episode 24 - Turnabout Intruder

In one of the more fun examples of the shows tying together, the next three episodes we watch have a TOS episode leading into two of the Enterprise episodes we skipped, PLUS they finally explain why the Discovery detected the USS Defiant in the Mirror Universe.

TOS Season 3, episode 9 - The Tholian Web
ENT Season 4, episode 18 - In a Mirror, Darkly, Part I
ENT Season 4, episode 19 - In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II

We finish Kirk's Five-Year Mission with Star Trek: The Animated Series. Is TAS in continuity? Debatable. In later years, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry liked to say it was not, but later works in the franchise certainly seemed to disagree, with Enterprise’s Vulcan arc as well as the first of the Kelvin films borrowing heavily from Yesteryear, Robert April appearing in Strange New Worlds, numerous references in Lower Decks, etc., so I see no reason not to consider it as canon as everything else. Besides, “La mort de l'auteur” means we don’t have to listen to Gene.

TAS Season 1, episode 5 - More Tribbles, More Troubles
TAS Season 1, episode 6 - The Survivor
TAS Season 1, episode 7 - The Infinite Vulcan
TAS Season 1, episode 8 - The Magicks of Megas-tu
TAS Season 1, episode 9 - Once Upon a Planet
TAS Season 1, episode 10 - Mudd's Passion
TAS Season 1, episode 11 - The Terratin Incident
TAS Season 1, episode 12 - The Time Trap
TAS Season 1, episode 13 - The Ambergris Element
TAS Season 1, episode 14 - The Slaver Weapon
TAS Season 1, episode 15 - The Eye of the Beholder
TAS Season 1, episode 16 - The Jihad
TAS Season 2, episode 1 - The Pirates of Orion
TAS Season 2, episode 2 - Bem
TAS Season 2, episode 3 - The Practical Joker
TAS Season 2, episode 4 - Albatross
TAS Season 2, episode 5 - How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth
TAS Season 2, episode 6 - The Counter-Clock Incident
TAS Season 1, episode 1 - Beyond the Farthest Star
TAS Season 1, episode 2 - Yesteryear
TAS Season 1, episode 3 - One of Our Planets is Missing
TAS Season 1, episode 4 - The Lorelei Signal

Movie time! Some background here. Paramount was planning on making a new network, and intended a new Star Trek series, "Star Trek Phase II", to anchor it. Scripts were written, sets were built, and actors cast. When network plans fell through, and Star Wars became a hit, they decided to take one of those scripts and streeeeeeeeeetch it out into a movie.

So…. Is it way too long for the amount of plot it has? Yes, though it has its charms. And isn’t it basically a retread of Nomad from the episode "The Changeling" anyway? It is. And hey, isn’t that the pedophile Dad from 7th Heaven? mm-hmm. Anyway, if you have access to it I recommend the Director’s Cut, in which pacing is much improved and some particularly flawed effects are redone, but either version works story-wise.

MOV Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Following The Motion Picture, the franchise underwent a significant transformation with the release of the next film, adopting a different style and tone that many, including the author, believe resulted in the best Star Trek movie to date.

MOV Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
MOV Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Ephraim and Dot ’s continuity really makes no sense anywhere, but it’s cute so who cares. Anyway, this seemed the BEST place to put it.

SHO Season 2, episode 4 - Ephraim and Dot

MOV Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Or, to use the all-but-official secondary title, “The One With The Whales”

MOV Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

A criminally underrated film.

MOV Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Sidenote: The opening sequence of the film. Star Trek: Generations takes place this year, a few months after The Undiscovered Country. I very much do not expect people to watch things in pieces, but as there IS a clear delineation in the film, you can, optionally, watch the beginning of Generations and stop when the “78 years later” caption comes up. Or you can just not worry about it, and watch the whole film in one sitting when we reach 2371.

We now jump forward 70-odd years to see a far more established Federation, and perhaps the most popular and beloved Star Trek series of all, Star Trek - The Next Generation. That said, it is extremely rough at the outset, so you’ll need to give it some time. I promise you, the series gets a lot better later on and absolutely earns the affection it still receives to this day.

TNG Season 1, episode 9 - The Battle
TNG Season 1, episode 10 - Hide and Q
TNG Season 1, episode 11 - Haven
TNG Season 1, episode 12 - The Big Goodbye
TNG Season 1, episode 13 - Datalore
TNG Season 1, episode 14 - Angel One
TNG Season 1, episode 15 - 11001001
TNG Season 1, episode 16 - Too Short a Season
TNG Season 1, episode 17 - When The Bow Breaks
TNG Season 1, episode 18 - Home Soil
TNG Season 1, episode 19 - Coming of Age
TNG Season 1, episode 20 - Heart of Glory
TNG Season 1, episode 21 - The Arsenal of Freedom
TNG Season 1, episode 22 - Symbiosis
TNG Season 1, episode 23 - Skin of Evil
TNG Season 1, episode 24 - We'll Always Have Paris
TNG Season 1, episode 25 - Conspiracy
TNG Season 1, episode 26 - The Neutral Zone
TNG Season 1, episode 1 - Encounter at Farpoint, Part 1
TNG Season 1, episode 2 - Encounter at Farpoint, Part 2
TNG Season 1, episode 3 - The Naked Now
TNG Season 1, episode 4 - Code of Honor
TNG Season 1, episode 5 - The Last Outpost
TNG Season 1, episode 6 - Where No One Has Gone Before
TNG Season 1, episode 7 - Lonely Among Us
TNG Season 1, episode 8 - Justice

This season introduces the most popular and iconic character of the entire Star Trek franchise: Riker’s Beard. More seriously, due to a writers strike this year the producers had to dip into episodes written for the early 70’s Phase II series that was never made. Will Riker and Troi were ALWAYS a revamp of the original plans for Will Decker and Ilia, but the season opener was literally written in the 70s with Ilia in the place of Troi.

The series doesn’t truly find its footing until Season 3, but “The Measure of a Man” is widely considered TNG’s first “great” episode, a sign of many more to come.

TNG Season 2, episode 9 - The Measure of a Man
TNG Season 2, episode 10 - The Dauphin
TNG Season 2, episode 11 - Contagion
TNG Season 2, episode 12 - The Royale
TNG Season 2, episode 13 - Time Squared
TNG Season 2, episode 14 - The Icarus Factor
TNG Season 2, episode 15 - Pen Pals
TNG Season 2, episode 16 - Q Who?
TNG Season 2, episode 17 - The Samaritan Snare
TNG Season 2, episode 18 - Up the Long Ladder
TNG Season 2, episode 19 - Manhunt
TNG Season 2, episode 20 - The Emissary
TNG Season 2, episode 21 - Peak Performance
TNG Season 2, episode 22 - Shades of Gray
TNG Season 2, episode 1 - The Child
TNG Season 2, episode 2 - Where Silence Has Lease
TNG Season 2, episode 3 - Elementary, Dear Data
TNG Season 2, episode 4 - The Outrageous Okona
TNG Season 2, episode 5 - Loud as a Whisper
TNG Season 2, episode 6 - The Schizoid Man
TNG Season 2, episode 7 - Unnatural Selection
TNG Season 2, episode 8 - A Matter of Honor

TNG Season 3, episode 1 - Evolution
TNG Season 3, episode 2 - The Ensigns of Command
TNG Season 3, episode 3 - The Survivors
TNG Season 3, episode 4 - Who Watches the Watchers?
TNG Season 3, episode 5 - The Bonding
TNG Season 3, episode 6 - Booby Trap
TNG Season 3, episode 7 - The Enemy
TNG Season 3, episode 8 - The Price
TNG Season 3, episode 9 - The Vengeance Factor
TNG Season 3, episode 10 - The Defector
TNG Season 3, episode 11 - The Hunted
TNG Season 3, episode 12 - A Matter of Perspective
TNG Season 3, episode 13 - The High Ground
TNG Season 3, episode 14 - Deja Q
TNG Season 3, episode 15 - Yesterday's Enterprise
TNG Season 3, episode 16 - The Offspring
TNG Season 3, episode 17 - Sins of the Father
TNG Season 3, episode 18 - Allegiance
TNG Season 3, episode 19 - Captain's Holiday
TNG Season 3, episode 20 - Tin Man
TNG Season 3, episode 21 - Hollow Pursuits
TNG Season 3, episode 22 - The Most Toys
TNG Season 3, episode 23 - Sarek
TNG Season 3, episode 24 - Menage a Troi
TNG Season 3, episode 25 - Transfigurations
TNG Season 3, episode 26 - The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1

TNG Season 4, episode 1 - The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2
TNG Season 4, episode 2 - Family
TNG Season 4, episode 3 - Brothers
TNG Season 4, episode 4 - Suddenly Human
TNG Season 4, episode 5 - Remember Me
TNG Season 4, episode 6 - Legacy
TNG Season 4, episode 7 - Reunion
TNG Season 4, episode 8 - Future Imperfect
TNG Season 4, episode 9 - Final Mission
TNG Season 4, episode 10 - The Loss
TNG Season 4, episode 11 - Data's Day
TNG Season 4, episode 12 - The Wounded
TNG Season 4, episode 13 - Clues
TNG Season 4, episode 14 - Devil's Due
TNG Season 4, episode 15 - First Contact
TNG Season 4, episode 16 - Galaxy's Child
TNG Season 4, episode 17 - Night Terrors
TNG Season 4, episode 18 - Identity Crisis
TNG Season 4, episode 19 - The Nth Degree
TNG Season 4, episode 20 - Qpid
TNG Season 4, episode 21 - The Drumhead
TNG Season 4, episode 22 - Half a Life
TNG Season 4, episode 23 - The Host
TNG Season 4, episode 24 - The Mind's Eye
TNG Season 4, episode 25 - In Theory
TNG Season 4, episode 26 - Redemption, Part 1

TNG Season 5, episode 1 - Redemption, Part 2
TNG Season 5, episode 2 - Darmok
TNG Season 5, episode 3 - Ensign Ro
TNG Season 5, episode 4 - Silicon Avatar
TNG Season 5, episode 5 - Disaster
TNG Season 5, episode 6 - The Game
TNG Season 5, episode 7 - Unification I
TNG Season 5, episode 8 - Unification II
TNG Season 5, episode 9 - A Matter of Time
TNG Season 5, episode 10 - New Ground
TNG Season 5, episode 11 - Hero Worship
TNG Season 5, episode 12 - Violations
TNG Season 5, episode 13 - The Masterpiece Society
TNG Season 5, episode 14 - Conundrum
TNG Season 5, episode 15 - Power Play
TNG Season 5, episode 16 - Ethics
TNG Season 5, episode 17 - The Outcast
TNG Season 5, episode 18 - Cause and Effect
TNG Season 5, episode 19 - The First Duty
TNG Season 5, episode 20 - Cost of Living
TNG Season 5, episode 21 - The Perfect Mate
TNG Season 5, episode 22 - Imaginary Friend
TNG Season 5, episode 23 - I, Borg
TNG Season 5, episode 24 - The Next Phase
TNG Season 5, episode 25 - The Inner Light
TNG Season 5, episode 26 - Time's Arrow, Part 1

2369, Part 1

We now reach my personal favorite series: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, which will eventually feature Star Trek’s first significant attempt at serialized storytelling. Like other shows in the franchise, it has a slow start, but once it gets going it’s a real joy. To stay in the correct chronological order, we’ll be bouncing between TNG and DS9, and later DS9 and Voyager, with occasional minor tweaks to avoid interrupting story arcs in progress.

TNG Season 6, episode 1 - Time's Arrow, Part 2
TNG Season 6, episode 2 - Realm of Fear
TNG Season 6, episode 3 - Man of the People
TNG Season 6, episode 4 - Relics
TNG Season 6, episode 5 - Schisms
TNG Season 6, episode 6 - True-Q
TNG Season 6, episode 7 - Rascals
TNG Season 6, episode 8 - A Fistful of Datas
TNG Season 6, episode 9 - The Quality of Life
TNG Season 6, episode 10 - Chain of Command, Part 1
TNG Season 6, episode 11 - Chain of Command, Part 2
DS9 Season 1, episode 1 - Emissary, Part 1
DS9 Season 1, episode 2 - Emissary, Part 2
DS9 Season 1, episode 3 - Past Prologue
DS9 Season 1, episode 4 - A Man Alone
DS9 Season 1, episode 5 - Babel
TNG Season 6, episode 12 - Ship in a Bottle
TNG Season 6, episode 13 - Aquiel

2369, Part 2

Pay attention to this next episode - it will be important (much, much) later.

DS9 Season 1, episode 6 - Captive Pursuit
DS9 Season 1, episode 7 - Q-Less
TNG Season 6, episode 14 - Face of the Enemy
DS9 Season 1, episode 8 - Dax
TNG Season 6, episode 15 - Tapestry
DS9 Season 1, episode 9 - The Passenger
TNG Season 6, episode 16 - Birthright, Part 1
TNG Season 6, episode 17 - Birthright, Part 2
DS9 Season 1, episode 10 - Move Along Home
DS9 Season 1, episode 11 - The Nagus
TNG Season 6, episode 18 - Starship Mine
TNG Season 6, episode 19 - Lessons
DS9 Season 1, episode 12 - Vortex
DS9 Season 1, episode 13 - Battle Lines
DS9 Season 1, episode 14 - The Storyteller
TNG Season 6, episode 20 - The Chase
TNG Season 6, episode 21 - Frame of Mind
TNG Season 6, episode 22 - Suspicions
DS9 Season 1, episode 15 - Progress
TNG Season 6, episode 23 - Rightful Heir
DS9 Season 1, episode 16 - If Wishes Were Horses
TNG Season 6, episode 24 - Second Chances
DS9 Season 1, episode 17 - Dramatis Personae
DS9 Season 1, episode 18 - The Forsaken
DS9 Season 1, episode 19 - Duet
TNG Season 6, episode 25 - Timescape
DS9 Season 1, episode 20 - In the Hands of the Prophets
TNG Season 6, episode 26 - Descent, Part 1

2370, Part 1

By the end of this year we’ll have bid farewell to The Next Generation with the fantastic series finale “All Good Things,” we’ll have finally watched Enterprise’s far less popular finale “These are the Voyages…”, and we will have been introduced to The Dominion, the major story driver for most of Deep Space Nine.

TNG Season 7, episode 5 - Interface
TNG Season 7, episode 6 - Phantasms
DS9 Season 2, episode 6 - Melora
TNG Season 7, episode 7 - Dark Page
DS9 Season 2, episode 7 - Rules of Acquisition
DS9 Season 2, episode 8 - Necessary Evil
TNG Season 7, episode 8 - Attached
TNG Season 7, episode 9 - Force of Nature
DS9 Season 2, episode 9 - Second Sight
DS9 Season 2, episode 10 - Sanctuary
TNG Season 7, episode 10 - Parallels
DS9 Season 2, episode 11 - Rivals
DS9 Season 2, episode 12 - The Alternate
TNG Season 7, episode 11 - Inheritance
TNG Season 7, episode 12 - Homeward
TNG Season 7, episode 13 - The Pegasus
ENT Season 4, episode 22 - These Are the Voyages...
TNG Season 7, episode 1 - Descent, Part 2
DS9 Season 2, episode 1 - The Homecoming
DS9 Season 2, episode 2 - The Circle
DS9 Season 2, episode 3 - The Siege
TNG Season 7, episode 2 - Liaisons
TNG Season 7, episode 3 - Gambit, Part 1
TNG Season 7, episode 4 - Gambit, Part 2
DS9 Season 2, episode 4 - Cardassians
DS9 Season 2, episode 5 - Invasive Procedures

2370, Part 2

DS9 Season 2, episode 13 - Armageddon Game
TNG Season 7, episode 14 - Sub Rosa
TNG Season 7, episode 15 - Lower Decks
DS9 Season 2, episode 14 - Paradise
DS9 Season 2, episode 15 - Whispers
DS9 Season 2, episode 16 - Shadowplay
TNG Season 7, episode 16 - Thine Own Self
TNG Season 7, episode 17 - Masks
DS9 Season 2, episode 17 - Playing God
TNG Season 7, episode 18 - Eye of the Beholder
DS9 Season 2, episode 18 - Profit and Loss
TNG Season 7, episode 19 - Genesis
DS9 Season 2, episode 19 - Blood Oath
TNG Season 7, episode 20 - Journey's End
DS9 Season 2, episode 20 - The Maquis, Part 1
DS9 Season 2, episode 21 - The Maquis, Part 2
TNG Season 7, episode 21 - Firstborn
TNG Season 7, episode 22 - Bloodlines
DS9 Season 2, episode 22 - The Wire
TNG Season 7, episode 23 - Emergence
DS9 Season 2, episode 23 - Crossover
TNG Season 7, episode 24 - Preemptive Strike
DS9 Season 2, episode 24 - The Collaborator
DS9 Season 2, episode 25 - Tribunal
DS9 Season 2, episode 26 - The Jem’Hadar
TNG Season 7, episode 25 - All Good Things, Part 1
TNG Season 7, episode 26 - All Good Things, Part 2

2371, Part 1

Like Phase II was intended to do, and Discovery does again a few decades later, Star Trek Voyager is launched as the centerpiece of a new network: the short-lived UPN, home of Shasta McNasty and The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfieffer. Note that Voyager episode orders, particularly in season two, jump around a bit due to some production weirdness.

DS9 Season 3, episode 8 - Meridian
VOY Season 1, episode 3 - Parallax
MOV Star Trek: Generations
DS9 Season 3, episode 9 - Defiant
DS9 Season 3, episode 10 - Fascination
DS9 Season 3, episode 11 - Past Tense, Part 1
DS9 Season 3, episode 12 - Past Tense, Part 2
VOY Season 1, episode 4 - Time and Again
DS9 Season 3, episode 13 - Life Support
DS9 Season 3, episode 14 - Heart of Stone
VOY Season 1, episode 5 - Phage
DS9 Season 3, episode 15 - Destiny
VOY Season 1, episode 6 - The Cloud
DS9 Season 3, episode 16 - Prophet Motive
VOY Season 1, episode 7 - Eye of the Needle
DS9 Season 3, episode 17 - Visionary
VOY Season 1, episode 8 - Ex Post Facto
DS9 Season 3, episode 1 - The Search, Part 1
DS9 Season 3, episode 2 - The Search, Part 2
DS9 Season 3, episode 3 - The House of Quark
DS9 Season 3, episode 4 - Equilibrium
DS9 Season 3, episode 5 - Second Skin
DS9 Season 3, episode 6 - The Abandoned
DS9 Season 3, episode 7 - Civil Defense
VOY Season 1, episode 1 - Caretaker, Part 1
VOY Season 1, episode 2 - Caretaker, Part 2

2371, Part 2

VOY Season 1, episode 9 - Emanations
VOY Season 1, episode 10 - Prime Factors
DS9 Season 3, episode 18 - Distant Voices
VOY Season 1, episode 11 - State of Flux
DS9 Season 3, episode 19 - Through the Looking Glass
VOY Season 1, episode 12 - Heroes and Demons
DS9 Season 3, episode 20 - Improbable Cause
DS9 Season 3, episode 21 - The Die is Cast
VOY Season 1, episode 13 - Cathexis
DS9 Season 3, episode 22 - Explorers
VOY Season 1, episode 14 - Faces
DS9 Season 3, episode 23 - Family Business
VOY Season 1, episode 15 - Jetrel
DS9 Season 3, episode 24 - Shakaar
VOY Season 1, episode 16 - Learning Curve
VOY Season 2, episode 3 - Projections
VOY Season 2, episode 4 - Elogium
DS9 Season 3, episode 25 - Facets
DS9 Season 3, episode 26 - The Adversary
VOY Season 2, episode 6 - Twisted
VOY Season 2, episode 1 - The 37’s

2372, Part 1

VOY Season 2, episode 2 - Initiations
VOY Season 2, episode 5 - Non Sequitur
DS9 Season 4, episode 1 - The Way of the Warrior, Part 1
DS9 Season 4, episode 2 - The Way of the Warrior, Part 2
DS9 Season 4, episode 3 - The Visitor
DS9 Season 4, episode 4 - Hippocratic Oath
VOY Season 2, episode 7 - Parturition
DS9 Season 4, episode 5 - Indiscretion
VOY Season 2, episode 8 - Persistence of Vision
VOY Season 2, episode 9 - Tattoo
VOY Season 2, episode 10 - Cold Fire
DS9 Season 4, episode 6 - Rejoined
VOY Season 2, episode 11 - Maneuvers
DS9 Season 4, episode 7 - Starship Down
DS9 Season 4, episode 8 - Little Green Men
DS9 Season 4, episode 9 - The Sword of Kahless
VOY Season 2, episode 12 - Resistance
DS9 Season 4, episode 10 - Our Man Bashir
DS9 Season 4, episode 11 - Homefront
DS9 Season 4, episode 12 - Paradise Lost
VOY Season 2, episode 13 - Prototype
VOY Season 2, episode 18 - Death Wish
VOY Season 2, episode 14 - Alliances
DS9 Season 4, episode 13 - Crossfire
VOY Season 2, episode 15 - Threshold
DS9 Season 4, episode 14 - Return to Grace

2372, Part 2

VOY Season 2, episode 16 - Meld
VOY Season 2, episode 17 - Dreadnought
VOY Season 2, episode 19 - Lifesigns
VOY Season 2, episode 20 - Investigations
VOY Season 2, episode 21 - Deadlock
DS9 Season 4, episode 15 - Sons of Mogh
DS9 Season 4, episode 16 - Bar Association
DS9 Season 4, episode 17 - Accession
VOY Season 2, episode 22 - Innocence
DS9 Season 4, episode 18 - Rules of Engagement
DS9 Season 4, episode 19 - Hard Time
DS9 Season 4, episode 20 - Shattered Mirror
VOY Season 2, episode 23 - The Thaw
DS9 Season 4, episode 21 - The Muse
VOY Season 2, episode 24 - Tuvix
DS9 Season 4, episode 22 - For the Cause
VOY Season 2, episode 25 - Resolutions
DS9 Season 4, episode 23 - To the Death
DS9 Season 4, episode 24 - The Quickening
DS9 Season 4, episode 25 - Body Parts
DS9 Season 4, episode 26 - Broken Link
VOY Season 2, episode 26 - Basics, Part 1

2373, Part 1

VOY Season 3, episode 8 - Future's End, Part 1
VOY Season 3, episode 9 - Future's End, Part 2
DS9 Season 5, episode 7 - Let He Who is Without Sin
DS9 Season 5, episode 8 - Things Past
VOY Season 3, episode 10 - Warlord
MOV Star Trek: First Contact
VOY Season 3, episode 1 - Basics, Part 2
DS9 Season 5, episode 1 - Apocalypse Rising
DS9 Season 5, episode 2 - The Ship
VOY Season 3, episode 7 - Sacred Ground
VOY Season 3, episode 5 - False Profits
VOY Season 3, episode 2 - Flashback
VOY Season 3, episode 3 - The Chute
VOY Season 3, episode 6 - Remember
VOY Season 3, episode 4 - The Swarm
DS9 Season 5, episode 3 - Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places
DS9 Season 5, episode 4 - Nor the Battle to the Strong
DS9 Season 5, episode 5 - The Assignment
DS9 Season 5, episode 6 - Trials and Tribble-ations

Only took 222 years, but after this next episode, we’ll have completed all of Star Trek Enterprise.

ENT Season 2, episode 23 - Regeneration
DS9 Season 5, episode 9 - The Ascent
VOY Season 3, episode 11 - The Q and the Grey
DS9 Season 5, episode 10 - Rapture
DS9 Season 5, episode 11 - The Darkness and the Light
VOY Season 3, episode 12 - Macrocosm
VOY Season 3, episode 13 - Fair Trade

2373, Part 2

VOY Season 3, episode 14 - Alter Ego
DS9 Season 5, episode 12 - The Begotten
DS9 Season 5, episode 13 - For the Uniform
VOY Season 3, episode 15 - Coda
VOY Season 3, episode 16 - Blood Fever
DS9 Season 5, episode 14 - In Purgatory's Shadow
DS9 Season 5, episode 15 - By Inferno's Light
VOY Season 3, episode 17 - Unity
VOY Season 3, episode 18 - Darkling
DS9 Season 5, episode 16 - Doctor Bashir, I Presume
VOY Season 3, episode 19 - Rise
DS9 Season 5, episode 17 - A Simple Investigation
DS9 Season 5, episode 18 - Business as Usual
DS9 Season 5, episode 19 - Ties of Blood and Water
VOY Season 3, episode 20 - Favorite Son
DS9 Season 5, episode 20 - Ferengi Love Songs
DS9 Season 5, episode 21 - Soldiers of the Empire
DS9 Season 5, episode 22 - Children of Time
VOY Season 3, episode 21 - Before and After
VOY Season 3, episode 22 - Real Life
VOY Season 3, episode 23 - Distant Origin
VOY Season 3, episode 24 - Displaced
DS9 Season 5, episode 23 - Blaze of Glory
VOY Season 3, episode 25 - Worst Case Scenario
DS9 Season 5, episode 24 - Empok Nor
DS9 Season 5, episode 25 - In the Cards
DS9 Season 5, episode 26 - Call to Arms
VOY Season 3, episode 26 - Scorpion, Part 1

2374, Part 1

Voyager gets a much needed shot in the arm with the introduction of Seven of Nine, and Deep Space Nine delivers a great season as the Dominion War arc reaches full swing.

DS9 Season 6, episode 6 - Sacrifice of Angels
VOY Season 4, episode 6 - The Raven
VOY Season 4, episode 7 - Scientific Method
DS9 Season 6, episode 7 - You are Cordially Invited
VOY Season 4, episode 8 - Year of Hell, Part 1
VOY Season 4, episode 9 - Year of Hell, Part 2
DS9 Season 6, episode 8 - Resurrection
VOY Season 4, episode 10 - Random Thoughts
DS9 Season 6, episode 9 - Statistical Probabilities
VOY Season 4, episode 11 - Concerning Flight
DS9 Season 6, episode 10 - The Magnificent Ferengi
DS9 Season 6, episode 11 - Waltz
VOY Season 4, episode 12 - Mortal Coil
VOY Season 4, episode 14 - Message in a Bottle
VOY Season 4, episode 1 - Scorpion, Part 2
VOY Season 4, episode 2 - The Gift
VOY Season 4, episode 3 - Day of Honor
VOY Season 4, episode 4 - Nemesis
VOY Season 4, episode 5 - Revulsion
DS9 Season 6, episode 1 - A Time to Stand
DS9 Season 6, episode 2 - Rocks and Shoals
DS9 Season 6, episode 3 - Sons and Daughters
DS9 Season 6, episode 4 - Behind the Lines
DS9 Season 6, episode 5 - Favor the Bold

2374, Part 2

VOY Season 4, episode 13 - Waking Moments
DS9 Season 6, episode 12 - Who Mourns for Morn?
DS9 Season 6, episode 13 - Far Beyond the Stars
DS9 Season 6, episode 14 - One Little Ship
VOY Season 4, episode 15 - Hunters
DS9 Season 6, episode 15 - Honor Among Thieves
DS9 Season 6, episode 16 - Change of Heart
VOY Season 4, episode 16 - Prey
VOY Season 4, episode 17 - Retrospect
VOY Season 4, episode 18 - The Killing Game, Part 1
VOY Season 4, episode 19 - The Killing Game, Part 2
DS9 Season 6, episode 17 - Wrongs Darker than Death or Night
DS9 Season 6, episode 18 - Inquisition
DS9 Season 6, episode 19 - In the Pale Moonlight
VOY Season 4, episode 20 - Vis a Vis
VOY Season 4, episode 21 - The Omega Directive
DS9 Season 6, episode 20 - His Way
VOY Season 4, episode 22 - Unforgettable
DS9 Season 6, episode 21 - The Reckoning
DS9 Season 6, episode 22 - Valiant

We are skipping Voyager episode 23 (“Living Witness”) for now, and will be watching it later.

VOY Season 4, episode 24 - Demon
DS9 Season 6, episode 23 - Profit and Lace
VOY Season 4, episode 25 - One
DS9 Season 6, episode 24 - Time's Orphan
VOY Season 4, episode 26 - Hope and Fear
DS9 Season 6, episode 25 - The Sound of her Voice
DS9 Season 6, episode 26 - Tears of the Prophets

2375, Part 1

VOY Season 5, episode 1 - Night
VOY Season 5, episode 2 - Drone
VOY Season 5, episode 3 - Extreme Risk
VOY Season 5, episode 4 - In the Flesh
VOY Season 5, episode 5 - Once Upon a Time
VOY Season 5, episode 8 - Nothing Human
VOY Season 5, episode 6 - Timeless
DS9 Season 7, episode 1 - Image in the Sand
DS9 Season 7, episode 2 - Shadows and Symbols
DS9 Season 7, episode 3 - Afterimage
DS9 Season 7, episode 4 - Take Me Out to the Holosuite
DS9 Season 7, episode 5 - Chrysalis
DS9 Season 7, episode 6 - Treachery, Faith, and the Great River
DS9 Season 7, episode 7 - Once More Unto the Breach
DS9 Season 7, episode 8 - The Siege of AR-558
VOY Season 5, episode 9 - Thirty Days
DS9 Season 7, episode 9 - Covenant
VOY Season 5, episode 7 - Infinite Regress
VOY Season 5, episode 10 - Counterpoint
DS9 Season 7, episode 10 - It's Only a Paper Moon

There’s no place where Insurrection’s references to the Dominion War and the presence of Worf really make perfect sense, but this is probably the closest to working. I’m not going to go too nuts about it.

MOV Star Trek: Insurrection
DS9 Season 7, episode 11 - Prodigal Daughter
VOY Season 5, episode 11 - Latent Image
VOY Season 5, episode 12 - Bride of Chaotica
DS9 Season 7, episode 12 - The Emperor's New Cloak
VOY Season 5, episode 13 - Gravity
DS9 Season 7, episode 13 - Field of Fire
VOY Season 5, episode 14 - Bliss
DS9 Season 7, episode 14 - Chimera
VOY Season 5, episode 17 - The Disease
DS9 Season 7, episode 15 - Badda-Bing Badda-Bang
DS9 Season 7, episode 16 - Inter Arma Silent Leges

2375, Part 2

VOY Season 5, episode 18 - Course: Oblivion
VOY Season 5, episode 15 - Dark Frontier, Part 1
VOY Season 5, episode 16 - Dark Frontier, Part 2
VOY Season 5, episode 19 - The Fight
VOY Season 5, episode 20 - Think Tank
DS9 Season 7, episode 17 - Penumbra
DS9 Season 7, episode 18 - 'Til Death Do Us Part
DS9 Season 7, episode 19 - Strange Bedfellows
DS9 Season 7, episode 20 - The Changing Face of Evil
DS9 Season 7, episode 21 - When it Rains
DS9 Season 7, episode 22 - Tacking into the Wind
DS9 Season 7, episode 23 - Extreme Measures
DS9 Season 7, episode 24 - The Dogs of War

Farewell, DS9. I’ll always love you best.

DS9 Season 7, episode 25 - What You Leave Behind, Part 1
DS9 Season 7, episode 26 - What You Leave Behind, Part 2
VOY Season 5, episode 21 - Juggernaut
VOY Season 5, episode 22 - Someone to Watch Over Me
VOY Season 5, episode 23 - 11:59
VOY Season 5, episode 24 - Relativity
VOY Season 5, episode 25 - Warhead
VOY Season 5, episode 26 - Equinox, Part 1

VOY Season 6, episode 1 - Equinox, Part 2
VOY Season 6, episode 2 - Survival Instinct
VOY Season 6, episode 3 - Barge of the Dead
VOY Season 6, episode 4 - Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy
VOY Season 6, episode 7 - Dragon's Teeth
VOY Season 6, episode 5 - Alice
VOY Season 6, episode 6 - Riddles
VOY Season 6, episode 8 - One Small Step
VOY Season 6, episode 9 - The Voyager Conspiracy
VOY Season 6, episode 10 - Pathfinder
VOY Season 6, episode 11 - Fair Haven
VOY Season 6, episode 15 - Tsunkatse
VOY Season 6, episode 12 - Blink of an Eye
VOY Season 6, episode 13 - Virtuoso
VOY Season 6, episode 16 - Collective
VOY Season 6, episode 14 - Memorial
VOY Season 6, episode 17 - Spirit Folk
VOY Season 6, episode 18 - Ashes to Ashes
VOY Season 6, episode 19 - Child's Play
VOY Season 6, episode 20 - Good Shepherd
VOY Season 6, episode 23 - Fury
VOY Season 6, episode 21 - Live Fast and Prosper
VOY Season 6, episode 24 - Life Line
VOY Season 6, episode 22 - Muse
VOY Season 6, episode 25 - The Haunting of Deck Twelve
VOY Season 6, episode 26 - Unimatrix Zero, Part 1

VOY Season 7, episode 1 - Unimatrix Zero, Part 2
VOY Season 7, episode 3 - Drive
VOY Season 7, episode 4 - Repression
VOY Season 7, episode 2 - Imperfection
VOY Season 7, episode 5 - Critical Care
VOY Season 7, episode 6 - Inside Man
VOY Season 7, episode 7 - Body and Soul
VOY Season 7, episode 8 - Nightingale
VOY Season 7, episode 9 - Flesh and Blood, Part 1
VOY Season 7, episode 10 - Flesh and Blood, Part 2
VOY Season 7, episode 11 - Shattered
VOY Season 7, episode 12 - Lineage
VOY Season 7, episode 13 - Repentance
VOY Season 7, episode 14 - Prophesy
VOY Season 7, episode 15 - The Void
VOY Season 7, episode 16 - Workforce, Part 1
VOY Season 7, episode 17 - Workforce, Part 2

VOY Season 7, episode 18 - Human Error
VOY Season 7, episode 19 - Q2
VOY Season 7, episode 20 - Author, Author
VOY Season 7, episode 21 - Friendship One
VOY Season 7, episode 22 - Natural Law
VOY Season 7, episode 23 - Homestead
VOY Season 7, episode 24 - Renaissance Man
VOY Season 7, episode 25 - Endgame, Part 1
VOY Season 7, episode 26 - Endgame, Part 2

MOV - Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek returns to animation with its ninth series, and first all-out comedy, Star Trek: Lower Decks, aimed towards a more adult audience than The Animated Series or Prodigy.

LDS Season 1, episode 1 - Second Contact
LDS Season 1, episode 2 - Envoys
LDS Season 1, episode 3 - Temporal Edict
LDS Season 1, episode 4 - Moist Vessel
LDS Season 1, episode 5 - Cupid’s Errant Arrow
LDS Season 1, episode 6 - Terminal Provocations
LDS Season 1, episode 7 - Much Ado About Boimler
LDS Season 1, episode 8 - Veritas
LDS Season 1, episode 9 - Crisis Point
LDS Season 1, episode 10 - No Small Parts

2381, Part 1

LDS Season 3, episode 3 - Mining The Mind's Mines
LDS Season 3, episode 4 - Room for Growth
LDS Season 3, episode 5 - Reflections
LDS Season 3, episode 6 - Hear All, Trust Nothing
LDS Season 2, episode 1 - Strange Energies
LDS Season 2, episode 2 - Kayshon, His Eyes Open
LDS Season 2, episode 3 - We’ll Always Have Tom Paris
LDS Season 2, episode 4 - Mugato, Gumato
LDS Season 2, episode 5 - An Embarrassment of Dooplers
LDS Season 2, episode 6 - The Spy Humongous
LDS Season 2, episode 7 - Where Pleasant Fountains Lie
LDS Season 2, episode 8 - I, Excretes
LDS Season 2, episode 9 - wej Duj
LDS Season 2, episode 10 - First First Contact
LDS Season 3, episode 1 - Grounded
LDS Season 3, episode 2 - The Least Dangerous Game

We now travel back for our last Strange New Worlds episode, which is ABSOLUTELY a delight.

SNW Season 2, episode 7 - Those Old Scientists
LDS Season 3, episode 7 - A Mathematically Perfect Redemption
LDS Season 3, episode 8 - Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus
LDS Season 3, episode 9 - Trusted Sources
LDS Season 3, episode 10 - The Stars at Night

2381, Part 2

LDS Season 4, episode 1 - Twovix
LDS Season 4, episode 2 - I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee
LDS Season 4, episode 3 - In the Cradle of Vexilon
LDS Season 4, episode 4 - Something Borrowed, Something Green
LDS Season 4, episode 5 - Empathological Fallacies
LDS Season 4, episode 6 - Parth Ferengi’s Heart Place
LDS Season 4, episode 7 - A Few Badgeys More
LDS Season 4, episode 8 - Caves
LDS Season 4, episode 9 - The Inner Fight
LDS Season 4, episode 10 - Old Friends, New Planets

The first Star Trek since The Animated Series to be geared explicitly for kids, Star Trek: Prodigy takes place on the border of the Delta Quadrant last seen in Voyager, and features the return of several characters from that series. Don’t dismiss this as “just a kids show” though — it’s quite complex, quite good, and quite Star Trek.

PRO Season 1, episode 1 - Lost & Found, Part 1
PRO Season 1, episode 2 - Lost & Found, Part 2
PRO Season 1, episode 3 - Starstruck
PRO Season 1, episode 4 - Dream Catcher
PRO Season 1, episode 5 - Terror Firma
PRO Season 1, episode 6 - Kobayashi
PRO Season 1, episode 7 - First Con-tact
PRO Season 1, episode 8 - Time Amok
PRO Season 1, episode 9 - A Moral Star
PRO Season 1, episode 10 - A Moral Star, Part Two
PRO Season 1, episode 11 - Asylum
PRO Season 1, episode 12 - Let Sleeping Borg Lie
PRO Season 1, episode 13 - All the World’s a Stage
PRO Season 1, episode 14 - Crossroads
PRO Season 1, episode 15 - Masquerade
PRO Season 1, episode 16 - Preludes
PRO Season 1, episode 17 - Ghost in the Machine
PRO Season 1, episode 18 - Mindwalk
PRO Season 1, episode 19 - Supernova, Part 1
PRO Season 1, episode 20 - Supernova, Part 2

As of this update, no episodes of this season have aired in a language I speak. It is possible that when they are viewed, I will wish to update their placement in this list. The below is tentative.

Also note, the listed titles are derived from their French-language titles, and their eventual English titles may vary.

PRO Season 2, episode 7 - The Race
PRO Season 2, episode 8 - Veritas?
PRO Season 2, episode 9 - The Time Devouring Scavengers, Part 1
PRO Season 2, episode 10 - The Time Devouring Scavengers, Part 2
PRO Season 2, episode 11 - The Last Flight of the Protostar, Part 1
PRO Season 2, episode 12 - The Last Flight of the Protostar, Part 2
PRO Season 2, episode 13 - A Tribble Called Bridule
PRO Season 2, episode 14 - The Mirror Universe
PRO Season 2, episode 15 - The Ascent, Part 1
PRO Season 2, episode 16 - The Ascent, Part 2
PRO Season 2, episode 17 - On the Brink
PRO Season 2, episode 18 - Behind Enemy Lines
PRO Season 2, episode 19 - Ouroboros, Part 1
PRO Season 2, episode 20 - Ouroboros , Part 2
PRO Season 2, episode 1 - Into the Breach, Part 1
PRO Season 2, episode 2 - Into the Breach, Part 2
PRO Season 2, episode 3 - Who Saves the Saviors?
PRO Season 2, episode 4 - Temporal Mechanics 101
PRO Season 2, episode 5 - The Mystery Spiral
PRO Season 2, episode 6 - Imposter Syndrome

The events of this Short Trek set the events of Star Trek - Picard, which we’ll be coming to shortly, in motion.

SHO Season 2, episode 6 - Children of Mars

Okay. Deep breath. In 2387 the Romulan sun goes supernova, devastating the Romulan empire. A failed attempt by Starfleet to help stop this accidentally sends the Romulan mining vessel Narada back to 2233, creating an alternate reality known as the “Kelvin Universe” or “Kelvinverse.” We'll be watching the three movies set in this universe next. It's essential to note that this new timeline DOES NOT replace the original “Prime” timeline, which still exists as it always has and to which we will be returning shortly.

2233 - (Kelvinverse)

The USS Kelvin is destroyed by the Narada, newly arrived from the Prime Universe 2387. This begins the divergence from the Prime timeline.

2258 - (Kelvinverse)

Too action-oriented for some, and plot-holes galore, 2009’s “Star Trek” is not what I would want Star Trek to be all the time, but is a quite fun alternate take on the original series, with some great acting and effects. Don’t overthink the chronology and details of this batch of movies though, or you’ll start seeing all kinds of things that make no sense.

MOV Star Trek (2009)

2259 - (Kelvinverse)

MOV Star Trek Into Darkness

2263 - (Kelvinverse)

MOV Star Trek Beyond

This film, while a solid improvement on Into Darkness, did not perform to expectations, meaning that the long-promised fourth film has been in-and-out of production for years, and I cannot say if we’ll ever see the Kelvin timeline again.

Therefore, we now return to the Prime timeline, already in progress.

PIC Season 1, episode 1 - Remembrance
PIC Season 1, episode 2 - Maps and Legends
PIC Season 1, episode 3 - The End is the Beginning
PIC Season 1, episode 4 - Absolute Candor
PIC Season 1, episode 5 - Stardust City Rag
PIC Season 1, episode 6 - The Impossible Box
PIC Season 1, episode 7 - Nepenthe
PIC Season 1, episode 8 - Broken Pieces
PIC Season 1, episode 9 - Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1
PIC Season 1, episode 10 - Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2

I gotta say, I strongly feel the Picard seasons all would make much more sense if you assume A LOT more time takes place between them than what the official sources say, but it is what it is.

PIC Season 2, episode 1 - The Star Gazer
PIC Season 2, episode 2 - Penance
PIC Season 2, episode 3 - Assimilation
PIC Season 2, episode 4 - Watcher
PIC Season 2, episode 5 - Fly Me to the Moon
PIC Season 2, episode 6 - Two of One
PIC Season 2, episode 7 - Monsters
PIC Season 2, episode 8 - Mercy
PIC Season 2, episode 9 - Hide and Seek
PIC Season 2, episode 10 - Farewell
PIC Season 3, episode 1 - The Next Generation
PIC Season 3, episode 2 - Disengage
PIC Season 3, episode 3 - Seventeen Seconds
PIC Season 3, episode 4 - No Win Scenario
PIC Season 3, episode 5 - Imposters
PIC Season 3, episode 6 - The Bounty
PIC Season 3, episode 7 - Dominion
PIC Season 3, episode 8 - Surrender
PIC Season 3, episode 9 - Vox
PIC Season 3, episode 10 - The Last Generation

As you watch this you’ll see why the exact placement can be debatable, but 3074ish seemed best. With this episode, we finish Star Trek: Voyager. Keep in mind that this episode takes place entirely in the Delta quadrant, far away from most of the events of the franchise.

VOY Season 4, episode 23 - Living Witness

Several hundred years later, we rejoin Star Trek: Discovery, already in progress, to discover what has happened in the interim.

DIS Season 3, episode 1 - That Hope is You, Part 1

DIS Season 3, episode 2 - Far From Home
DIS Season 3, episode 3 - People of Earth
DIS Season 3, episode 4 - Forget Me Not
DIS Season 3, episode 5 - Die Trying
DIS Season 3, episode 6 - Scavengers
DIS Season 3, episode 7 - Unification III
DIS Season 3, episode 8 - The Sanctuary
DIS Season 3, episode 9 - Terra Firma, Part 1
DIS Season 3, episode 10 - Terra Firma, Part 2
DIS Season 3, episode 11 - Su’Kal
DIS Season 3, episode 12 - There is a Tide…
DIS Season 3, episode 13 - That Hope is You, Part 2

DIS Season 4, episode 1 - Kobayashi Maru
DIS Season 4, episode 2 - Anomaly
DIS Season 4, episode 3 - Choose to Live
DIS Season 4, episode 4 - All is Possible
DIS Season 4, episode 5 - The Examples
DIS Season 4, episode 6 - Stormy Weather
DIS Season 4, episode 7 - …But to Connect
DIS Season 4, episode 8 - All In
DIS Season 4, episode 9 - Rubicon
DIS Season 4, episode 10 - The Galactic Barrier
DIS Season 4, episode 11 - Rosetta
DIS Season 4, episode 12 - Species Ten-C
DIS Season 4, episode 13 - Coming Home

As of this update, only two episodes of this season have aired. It is possible that when they are viewed, I will wish to update their placement in this list. The below is tentative.

DIS Season 5, episode 1 - Red Directive
DIS Season 5, episode 2 - Under the Twin Moons
DIS Season 5, episode 3 - Jinaal
DIS Season 5, episode 4 - Face the Strange
DIS Season 5, episode 5 - Mirrors
DIS Season 5, episode 6 - Whistlespeak
DIS Season 5, episode 7 - Erigah
DIS Season 5, episode 8 - Labyrinths
DIS Season 5, episode 9 - Lagrange Point
DIS Season 5, episode 10 - Life, Itself

Far Future:

Calypso is intentionally somewhat mysterious, and we have yet to learn exactly how it fits into the Star Trek timeline, but for now it seems to be the final part of our Star Trek Viewing Guide. There are still questions here. I expect Disco to answer them in Season 5, which will be the final season.

SHO Season 1, episode 2 - Calypso

Click here to read about my methodology and intentions with this list.

If you use or have an opinion on this viewing order, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!

How to watch Star Trek in order

Whether you're wanting to check out the Original Series or Discovery, figuring out how to watch Star Trek in order is a breeze with this easy guide!

Is it just us or is figuring out how to watch Star Trek in order getting more and more complex with each passing year? The prospect of watching Star Trek in order would be daunting for even the most decorated of starship captains with multiple series being brought to life on both the big and small screens. But fear not Trekkies - we've got you covered!

If you've ever tried to watch the Marvel movies in order , you'd be forgiven for thinking that was the most complicated franchise on the planet, but we kid you not - it has nothing on Star Trek. The 55-year-old sci-fi franchise includes nine (soon to be 11) TV shows and 13 movies and it spans 1000 years, making for one super complicated and vast timeline.

So, what is the best way to watch Star Trek in order? Well, that depends. For you purists out there, you might like to opt for viewing this franchise by release date, just like all the original Trekkie fans did back in the day. This will allow you to follow along as they did and get a similar experience. While the timeline does jump around, ( Star Trek: Discovery , for example, is set at the end of the 32nd century but was released before Star Trek: Picard , which is set in the 24th century), it gives you a more complete picture.

Because the Star Trek franchise involves movies and TV series that take place at different times, another option is to watch everything in chronological order. This means you get to start with something a little bit more modern, but the one problem with this is that references will often be made to films you've not yet seen, which could make certain elements difficult to follow.

To be honest, just like we recommend in our guide to how to watch the Star Wars movies in order , it really is a matter of personal preference. As long as you have one of the best TVs , you'll find you enjoy this franchise no matter what order you decide to watch it in.

So, without further ado, here's how to watch Star Trek in order - based on release date and in-universe continuity...

Star Trek TV shows and movies in chronological order

This is probably the list you're looking for if you're trying to figure out how to watch Star Trek in order. It's where things get really interesting, as Star Trek movies and TV shows have a habit of jumping around the franchise's chronology with sequels, prequels and bits in between. There are even two distinct timelines – but don't worry, we'll explain all that.

The original ‘Prime’ timeline was started by the Original Series, the Next Generation-era TV shows, and the first ten movies, The alternative ‘Kelvin’ timeline, meanwhile, was created in JJ Abrams’ first Star Trek (2009) to allow the familiar Enterprise crew of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura and Chekov to have new adventures without contradicting canon . To avoid confusion, we've defined the two timelines as separate entities below.

This list doesn't, however, include all of the brief Short Treks – short stories which are mostly set around the Star Trek: Discovery era – and adventures where Starfleet crews time-travelled to the eras before any of the shows/movies are set (eg visits to 1986 in The Voyage Home and 2063 in First Contact). We've also left out upcoming Discovery spin-off Star Trek: Section 31 , since it's not yet in production. (Also, we're not entirely sure exactly when it'll be set.)

Let's start with everything in one big list.

Star Trek: Enterprise (seasons 1-4)
‘The Cage’
Star Trek: Discovery (seasons 1-2)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Star Trek: The Original Series (seasons 1-3)
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock
Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home
Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier
Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: Generations (opening sequence)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (seasons 1-5)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (seasons 6-7), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seasons 1-2)
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seasons 3-4), Star Trek: Voyager (seasons 1-2)
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seasons 5-6), Star Trek: Voyager (seasons 3-4)
Star Trek: Insurrection
S tar Trek: Deep Space Nine (season 7), Star Trek: Voyager (season 5)
Star Trek: Voyager (seasons 6-7)
Star Trek: Nemesis
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Star Trek: Prodigy
Star Trek (2009) – Prime timeline sequences
Star Trek: Picard
Star Trek: Discovery (season 3-)
Short Treks: 'Calypso'

If you watch in the order given above, you'll get a continuous ‘history’ of the 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 32nd centuries according to the Star Trek timeline. That said, you will notice some odd discrepancies – thanks to the time in which respective shows were made, the technology in prequel show Star Trek: Discovery is significantly more advanced than what Kirk and Spock used in the Original Series.

Below, we'll explain how the different eras of the shows and movies break down for context.

Note that Gene Roddenberry's original pre-Kirk Star Trek pilot, 'The Cage', is counted as an instalment of the Original Series. You'll usually find it listed as a bonus episode as part of season one when you're watching it on streaming services.

Star Trek: Enterprise era (22nd century) Begins and ends with: Star Trek Enterprise seasons 1-4

About a century before James T Kirk and his crew embark on their famous five-year mission in Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Jonathan Archer leads Earth's first steps into the wider universe.

Star Trek: The Original Series era (23rd century) Begins with: 'The Cage' Ends with: Star Trek: Generations (opening sequence)

For many this is the most familiar era of Star Trek, since it involves Kirk, Spock and the classic Enterprise crew.

This section of the Trek timeline kicks off with the original unaired Star Trek pilot, 'The Cage' . Next up in franchise chronology are the first two seasons of Star Trek: Discovery , which work as a prequel to the Original Series (they even feature a younger version of Spock), but it's all change in season 3 – the events of the season 2 finale send the crew into the distant future of the 32nd century. More on that later...

Upcoming spin-off Strange New Worlds will follow the adventures of Captain Pike, Number One and Spock on the Enterprise after the USS Discovery travelled to the future. And at some point after that, Captain James T Kirk will take command of Starfleet's most famous ship – a role he filled throughout The Original Series , The Animated Series and the first six Star Trek movies ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture , The Wrath of Khan , The Search for Spock , The Voyage Home , The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country ).

The latest point we've seen (so far) in the 23rd century era is James T Kirk being taken away by the Nexus ribbon in the prologue of Star Trek: Generations . This is the event that allows Kirk to meet Picard when the Next Generation crew take on the mantle of headlining the big screen franchise.

Star Trek: The Next Generation era (24th century) Begins with: Star Trek: The Next Generation Ends with: Star Trek (2009) – Prime timeline sequences

The richest, most complicated period in Star Trek chronology. During The Next Generation era, Star Trek was experimenting with the idea of a shared universe years before Marvel got in on the act, with three TV shows (TNG, Deep Space Nine and Voyager ) and four movies ( Generations , First Contact , Insurrection and Nemesis ) interweaving through the same timeline – Voyager's Captain Kathryn Janeway even shows up in Star Trek: Nemesis as a newly promoted admiral.

New animated comedy spin-off Lower Decks is set a year after Picard and the Next Generation crew's final mission in Star Trek: Nemesis, while Nickelodeon kids' cartoon Star Trek: Prodigy will see Kate Mulgrew reprising her role as Voyager's captain, Kathryn Janeway. That suggests it will presumably be set at a similar point in the Star Trek timeline.

In JJ Abrams' first Star Trek movie (2009), the destruction of Romulus and Spock Prime's accidental trip back to the pre-Original Series era (in the Kelvin timeline) also take place after the events of Nemesis.

In the list above, we've shown how the movies (roughly) fit into the chronology of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.

Picard era (turn of the 25th century) Begins with: Picard Ends with: ???

Aside from glimpses of the destruction of Romulus in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek (2009), Star Trek: Picard gives us our first post-Star Trek: Nemesis look at what the United Federation of Planets has become.

Since we last saw Jean-Luc Picard, he's retired to his vineyard in France, an android uprising on Mars has led to a ban on all synthetic life, and a disabled Borg Cube (known simply as the 'Artifact') is being mined for technology.

Distant future (32nd century) Begins with : Star Trek: Discovery season 2 (finale) Ends with: ???

In order to save the galaxy, the brave crew of the USS Discovery set off on a one-way mission 900 years into the future in Star Trek: Discovery 's season 2 finale. Their 32nd century destination is new territory for Star Trek – thanks to the mysterious 'Burn', most of the dilithium in the galaxy has been destroyed, making warp travel impossible. As a result, the Federation is a shadow of its former self – even Earth has decided to go it alone.

This isn't, however, the furthest Star Trek has ventured into the future – Short Trek ' Calypso ' is set on the Discovery in a distant future where the ship's computer has become sentient.

Star Trek's alternate 'Kelvin' timeline explained

In 2009's Star Trek movie directed by JJ Abrams, Spock Prime tries to save Romulus from a supernova, inadvertently creates a black hole while doing so, and gets pulled into the past, along with Romulan mining vessel the Narada. Once there, the Narada attacks the USS Kelvin on the day James T Kirk is born. The ship is destroyed as Kirk's father, George, sacrifices himself to save the rest of the crew.

When all that happens, the alternative ‘Kelvin’ timeline is created, with events unfolding in parallel (but with remarkable similarity) to the original Prime timeline.

Got all that? There are just three movies set in the Kelvin timeline:

Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek into Darkness
Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek TV shows and movies in release date order

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)
Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home (1986)
‘The Cage’ (previously unavailable Star Trek pilot from 1965, given VHS release in 1986)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Star Trek: Discovery (2017-)
Short Treks (2018-2020)
Star Trek: Picard (2020-)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-)
Star Trek: Prodigy (2021, TBC)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TBC)

Considering The Original Series was cancelled after just three seasons in 1969, it's remarkable that Star Trek is still around half a century later. But as the show's popularity grew in syndication on US TV, Trek fandom became a big enough force for the five-year mission to resume via Star Trek: The Animated Series in 1973. Most of the original cast – with the notable exception of Walter Koenig (Chekov) – were enticed back to voice their characters.

Then, helped by Star Wars turning sci-fi into the hottest genre in Hollywood, Star Trek beamed onto the big screen with 1979's The Motion Picture . The original crew headed up five more movies ( The Wrath of Khan , The Search for Spock , The Voyage Home , The Final Frontier and The Undiscovered Country ) before bowing out in 1991. The ’80s also gave the world a hint of the Star Trek that never was when 'The Cage' , the original unaired pilot, was released on VHS in 1986 (it appeared on TV two years later). Of the pilot crew, only Leonard Nimoy's Spock went on to reprise his role in the TV show, though footage from 'The Cage' was used extensively in the Original Series’ only two-parter, 'The Menagerie'.

While the Enterprise was making it big in cinemas, the franchise returned to its TV roots in 1987 with The Next Generation . Set over 70 years after Kirk and Spock's final mission, it featured a new crew – led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard – on board a new starship Enterprise. The Next Generation was arguably even more successful than the Original Series, spawning two spin-off series: Deep Space Nine (which began in 1993) played with the Trek format by focusing on a space station, while Voyager (1995) dumped its crew on the other side of the galaxy, hundreds of light years from home.

The Next Generation crew also fronted four movies of their own ( Generations , First Contact , Insurrection and Nemesis ) between 1995 and 2002.

After Voyager came to an end in 2001, Star Trek left the Next Generation era behind, and went in a completely different direction – Star Trek: Enterprise was a prequel set a century before Kirk and Spock's adventures. Enterprise lasted only four seasons, however (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager all made it to seven), and was canceled in 2005.

These were also dark times for the movie branch of the Trek franchise, as the disappointing box office performance of Nemesis had put the film saga on hiatus – it wasn't until 2009 that Star Trek warped back onto the big screen.

Future Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams (already hot property as director of Mission: Impossible 3 and co-creator of Lost) gave the franchise an action blockbuster makeover, recasting Kirk, Spock and the rest of the original crew as rookies on their first mission. The reboot, simply titled Star Trek , made more than twice as much at the box office as any of its predecessors, and two sequels ( Star Trek into Darkness , Star Trek Beyond ) followed.

Star Trek belatedly returned to TV in 2017 with Star Trek: Discovery . Set a decade before the Original Series, it was a darker, more serialized Trek than we’d seen before – more in tune with the prestige shows of the so-called Golden Age of TV. As it’s turned out, it was just the beginning of Star Trek's renewed assault on TV...

A series of brief Short Treks appeared online ahead of Discovery's second season, while The Next Generation follow-up Star Trek: Picard left spacedock in January 2020. Animated series Lower Decks followed in August 2020, and Discovery spin-off Strange New Worlds – featuring Anson Mount's Captain Pike, Rebecca Romijn's Number One and Ethan Peck's Spock on the pre-Kirk Enterprise – is now in production.

There's also another cartoon offering heading for the Alpha Quadrant, in the form of animated kids show Star Trek: Prodigy.

And there's potentially even more to come, as the much-talked about Michelle Yeoh vehicle Section 31 is still in development. But with Paramount Plus programming boss Julie McNamara telling Variety that the streaming service's current aim is to debut "a new Trek every quarter", we may have to wait for Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks and/or Strange New Worlds to stand aside before we get a new TV iteration of Trek.

To keep things simple, all the shows above are listed by the date their first episode aired. While the chronology does jump around if you watch Star Trek in order of release date, there are some benefits. For example, the prequel shows assume a fair bit of knowledge of earlier series, like the Borg's appearance in Star Trek: Enterprise episode 'Regeneration', or Star Trek: Discovery's revelations about the ultimate fate of Christopher Pike (the Enterprise captain in 'The Cage', who later shows up in 'The Menagerie'). Moments like that undoubtedly make more sense in the context of later events in the Star Trek timeline.

How to stream Star Trek TV shows and movies

If you just want to know how to stream the 13 Star Trek movies and eight TV shows in the US and the UK, we've laid it out below.

In the US, the newly rebranded Paramount Plus (formerly CBS All Access) is definitely the place to go, with every TV show available to watch. In the UK, Netflix hosts all the Star Trek series except for Picard and Lower Decks.

Watching the 13 Trek movies is a rather more complex affair, with the films spread across numerous streaming services in the US and UK – and some of them you'll have to pay to rent/buy.

The TV shows

Star Trek: The Original Series ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: The Animated Series ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: The Next Generation ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Voyager ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Enterprise ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Discovery ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Netflix)
Star Trek: Picard ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Amazon Prime Video)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (US: Paramount Plus US: Amazon Prime Video)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek: Generations ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek: First Contact ( US: Paramount Plus UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek: Insurrection ( US: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek: Nemesis ( US: Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime Video UK: Only available to rent/buy)
Star Trek 2009 ( US: DirectTV UK: Sky Cinema/Now TV)
Star Trek Into Darkness ( US : FX Now UK: Amazon Prime Video)
Star Trek Beyond ( US: Amazon Prime, Hulu UK: Amazon Prime Video)

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Richard is a freelance journalist specialising in movies and TV, primarily of the sci-fi and fantasy variety. An early encounter with a certain galaxy far, far away started a lifelong love affair with outer space, and these days Richard's happiest geeking out about Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other long-running pop culture franchises. In a previous life he was editor of legendary sci-fi and fantasy magazine SFX, where he got to interview many of the biggest names in the business – though he'll always have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum who (somewhat bizarrely) thought Richard's name was Winter.

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How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline

The full star trek timeline, explained..

How to Watch Star Trek in Chronological Order

How to Watch Star Trek by Release Order

1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

2. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

4. Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

5. Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

Star Trek: The Animated Series lasted for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 and told even more stories of the Enterprise and its adventures throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)

7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

11. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

12. Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

13. Star Trek Generations (2293)

14. Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

15. Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

16. Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

17. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

18. Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

19. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

The series is also worth a watch as it is having a crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that will mix the worlds of live-action and animation.

20. Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

21. Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

Without spoiling anything, certain events get one of our favorite captains back to work and take him on an adventure through space and time over three seasons and 30 episodes.

22. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3 and 4 (3188-TBD)

Star Trek: Discovery is set to end after the upcoming fifth season, which will debut on Paramount+ in 2024.

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How to watch Star Trek in order – both release and chronological orders

From The Original Series to Strange New Worlds, here's how to watch the entire Star Trek canon in order.

David Craig
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It's a hugely exciting time to be a Star Trek fan, especially after the news that we'll be getting a new prequel movie from the director of Andor!

The Star Trek franchise has enjoyed a dramatic revitalisation in recent years, returning to its original home on the small screen to launch a sprawling shared universe of exciting shows.

Coming up next in the world of Star Trek, we've got Star Trek: Discovery season 5 to look forward to, as well as Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 after the series was saved by Netflix – and more! Meanwhile, Star Trek: Picard wrapped up with a third and final season, while we got renewals for shows like Lower Decks .

With all these interconnecting stories, it's not surprising that newcomers to the franchise want to ensure they are watching in the correct order. Fortunately, we can help with that.

Below, we've compiled how to watch Star Trek in release and chronological order, while we also weigh in on the pros and cons of each method. Once you have all the information you need, venture forth into the final frontier.

More like this

How to watch star trek in release order.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things

Arguably, the most faithful way of watching Star Trek is in the order each series was made, allowing you to follow the franchise from its inception and explore its universe as the original fans did decades ago.

It makes sense to do it this way as while the shows do jump around in terms of time period, they still find ways to build on what came before in order of release.

In that sense, you're likely to get a slightly more complete picture of Star Trek by watching in this order, instead of piecing the shows together in a chronological timeline.

Star Trek release order (films listed in italics )

Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS)
Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS)
The first six Star Trek films (The Motion Picture up to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG)
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
Star Trek: Voyager (VOY)
Star Trek films 8-10 (First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis)
Star Trek: Enterprise (ENT)
Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond
Star Trek: Discovery (DSC)
Star Trek: Short Treks*
Star Trek: Picard (PIC)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (LOW)
Star Trek: Prodigy (PRO)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (SNW)
Untitled Toby Haynes Star Trek prequel film

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* Star Trek: Short Treks premiered after Discovery, hence the listing here. However, Short Treks season 2 sets up some plot threads picked up in Discovery season 2 and beyond, so it's best to alternate between them if you can.

Some people who watch in this order choose to skip over the first three steps and begin with Star Trek: The Next Generation. There is a belief among certain Trekkies that TNG has aged better than The Original Series, making it an easier entry point for newcomers to the franchise.

It would be worth watching the first few episodes of TOS to see what you think of it, but if William Shatner's Captain Kirk doesn't quite cut it for you, feel free to move on to the dulcet tones of Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard. The two shows have relatively few connections, so you don't need to worry about feeling lost (although they do eventually cross over in a major way in the Star Trek: Generations movie).

How to watch Star Trek in chronological order

As previously stated, the various shows in the Star Trek universe take place at different points in a sprawling timeline, so an alternative method is to watch in chronological order.

This comes with pros and cons: on the one hand, it allows you to begin with a modern show, which may be preferable to some people. But on the other hand, some of the references contained in more recent episodes may not land with you in the way they were intended.

Star Trek chronological order (films listed in italics )

Star Trek: Enterprise (Year: 2151-2161)
Short Trek: The Girl Who Made the Stars (Year: 2230s)
Short Trek: The Brightest Star (Year: 2239)
Star Trek: The Cage – The Original Series one-off pilot episode (Year: 2254)
Short Trek: The Escape Artist (Year: 2250s)
Short Trek: Q&A (Year: 2253)
Star Trek: Discovery season 1 (Year: 2256)
Short Trek: Runaway (Year: 2257)
Star Trek: Discovery season 2 (Year: 2258)
Short Trek: The Trouble with Edward (Year: 2250s)
Short Trek: Ask Not (Year: 2250s)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Year: 2259)
Star Trek: The Original Series (Year: 2265-2269)
Short Trek: Ephraim and Dot (Year: 2267-2285)
Star Trek: The Animated Series (Year: 2269-2270)
The first six Star Trek films (Year: 2273-2293)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (Year: 2364-2370)
Star Trek films 7-10: Generations up to Nemesis (Year: 2293-2379)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Year: 2369-2375)
Star Trek: Voyager (Year: 2371-2378)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380)
Star Trek: Prodigy (Year: 2383)
Short Trek: Children of Mars (Year: 2385)
Star Trek: Picard seasons 1-3 (Year: 2399-2402)
Star Trek: Discovery seasons 3-4 (32nd Century)
Short Trek: Calypso (far future, year unknown)

Note – Star Trek: Short Treks was a two-season anthology series, which visits various periods on the franchise timeline. Anything listed as a Short Trek is a single episode of this show (with a runtime between 8 and 18 minutes).

It's not currently confirmed where precisely Toby Haynes' film will sit in the chronology but we do know it'll be a prequel film, taking place "decades" before Star Trek (2009).

For those wondering, the recent trilogy of Star Trek movies directed by JJ Abrams and Justin Lin – Star Trek, Into Darkness and Beyond – are set in an alternate universe, meaning they do not connect to a chronological order of the series.

They do, however, contain references to The Original Series – most notably the return of Leonard Nimoy as Spock – but can be watched at any point as standalone stories.

Star Trek: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Voyager and Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Netflix .

Star Trek: Picard is exclusive to Prime Video. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that.

Star Trek: Discovery and Strange New Worlds can be found on Paramount Plus. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on tonight.

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Star Trek movies in order: Chronological and release

Untangle the different timelines and get the popcorn: Here are the Star Trek movies in order — both chronological and release.

Chronological order
Prime Timeline

The Original Series movies

The next generation movies.

Kelvin Timeline
Release order

Upcoming Star Trek movies

We've got a guide to watching the Star Trek movies in order, decloaking off our starboard side!

So long as movies stick numbers on the ends of their titles, it’s easy to watch them in order. Once they start branching out, however, things can get a little muddled, especially when reboots come along and start the whole process over from scratch.

You may have heard that the even-numbered ones are good and the odd-numbered ones are not. That’s spot on for the films starring the cast of The Original Series (aka Kirk and friends) falls apart once you reach the tenth entry in the series. It would probably be worth your while to have this list of the Star Trek movies, ranked worst to best around to steer clear of the clunkers. Look, we’re not going to pretend everything here is worth two hours of your day, we’re just letting you know which came out after which.

Should your Trek appetite remain unsatiated after your movie watchathon, feel free to pull from either our list of the best Star Trek: The Original series episode s or best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes . Either one will set you up for a weekend jam-packed with great Trek moments. Consult our Star Trek streaming guide for all the details on where to watch the movies and shows online

Star Trek movies: Chronological order

Below is the quick version of our list if you just need to check something to win an argument, but it comes with a lot of in-universe time travel-related caveats that we'll explain below.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Nemesis
Star Trek Into Darkness
Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek: Prime Timeline

The first thing you need to know about the Star Trek films is that while they travel back and forth in time, they also diverge into two (for now) different timelines. The films of the original crew (well, the first iteration of them, anyway – more on that later) are all in what is known as the Prime Timeline.

Within the Prime Timeline, the movies are then split between The Original Series movies and The Next Generation movies.

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Crew in Star Trek: The Motion Picture_Paramount Pictures

Release date: December 8, 1979
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

This is the film that brought the voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise to the big screen. An energy cloud is making its way toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. Kirk and crew intercept it and discover an ancient NASA probe at the heart of the cloud. Voyager – known as V’ger now – encountered a planet of living machines, learned all it could, and returned home to report its findings, only to find no one who knew how to answer. It’s a slow-paced film, and the costumes are about as 70s as they come, but there’s classic Star Trek at the heart of this film.

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Ricardo Montalban in Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan (1982)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: June 4, 1982
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban

Ask a Star Trek fan what the best Star Trek movie is and more often than not, you’ll get Khan as your answer. A sequel to the events of the “Space Seed” episode of The Original Series, Khan is a retelling of Moby Dick with Khan throwing reason to the wind as he hunts his nemesis, James T. Kirk. Montalban delivers a pitch-perfect performance, giving us a Khan with charisma and obsession in equal parts.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Walter Koenig, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, and George Takei in Star Trek III The Search for Spock (1984)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: June 1, 1984

Spock might have died in The Wrath of Khan, but this third entry set up the premise for his return, with the creation of the Genesis planet. Essentially a heist movie in reverse, Search for Spock has the crew defying orders from Starfleet in an attempt to reunite Spock’s consciousness with his newly-rejuvenated body. It’s not a great movie, but it does include two very important events: the rebirth of Spock and the death of Kirk’s son at the hands of the Klingons. That’ll be important a few flicks from now.

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Walter Koenig, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek IV The Voyage Home (1986)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: November 26, 1986
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks

If Star Trek fans don’t say Khan is the best Star Trek movie, odds are very high they say Voyage Home is. It’s a funny film where the mission isn’t destruction, but creation – or more accurately, repairing the devastating effects of humankind’s ecological short-sightedness.

A probe arrives at Earth, knocking out the power of everything in its path as it looks for someone to respond to its message (yeah, it happens a lot). This time, however, the intended recipient is the long-extinct blue whale. To save Earth, Kirk and co. go back in time to 1980s San Francisco to snag some blue whales. The eco-messaging isn’t exactly subtle, but it doesn’t get in the way of a highly enjoyable movie.

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, and Laurence Luckinbill in Star Trek V The Final Frontier (1989)

Release date: June 9, 1989

A writers’ strike and Shatner’s directorial skills (or lack thereof) doomed this film before a single scene was shot. The core plot is actually pretty good: Spock’s half-brother hijacks the Enterprise so that he can meet God, which he believes to be… himself. Some Star Trek fans have an odd fondness for this movie, as it showcases the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy when they’re off-duty.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and Christopher Plummer in Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country (1991)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: December 6, 1991
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Plummer

Right, so if that Star Trek fan you’ve been talking to doesn’t choose either Khan or Voyage Home as the best Star Trek movie ever, they almost certainly name Undiscovered Country (and if they don’t, they have highly questionable taste, frankly). The Klingon moon of Praxis explodes, putting the entire Klingon race at risk. The Enterprise hosts a diplomatic entourage of Klingons, much to Kirk’s discomfort.

Remember how Klingons murdered Kirk’s son? Well, he certainly hasn’t forgotten. Kirk’s lingering rage makes him the perfect patsy for the murder of the Klingon Chancellor, sending him and McCoy to a prison planet and setting the stage for war. Christopher Plummer is perfection as a Shakespeare-quoting Klingon general with no taste for peace.

7. Star Trek: Generations

Malcolm McDowell, Brian Thompson, and Gwynyth Walsh in Star Trek Generations (1994)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: November 18, 1994
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner

And thus the torch is passed from the crew of The Original Series to that of The Next Generation. It’s a bit of a fumble, to be honest, but they all did their best to get Kirk and Picard into the same film and have it make sense. Malcolm McDowell plays Soran, a scientist who will stop at nothing to control the Nexus, a giant space rainbow that exists outside of space-time.

Soran lost his family when his home world was destroyed and he wants to re-join them (or at least an illusion of them) in the Nexus. He’s not so much a villain as a tragic figure, but the Nexus makes a meeting between Kirk and Picard possible. Not all that sensible, but possible.

8. Star Trek: First Contact

U.S.S. Enterprise battling the Borg in Star Trek First Contact (1996)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: November 22, 1996
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Alice Krige

Okay, no, for real, if your Star Trek pal didn’t pick Khan or Voyage Home or… oh, nevermind. Cueing off the iconic two-part episode “Best of Both Worlds,” in which Picard is assimilated by the Borg, First Contact sees the collective traveling back in time in order to disrupt First Contact, the day Earth’s first foray into space attracted the attention of the Vulcans, kicking off the events that would eventually lead to Starfleet’s victory over the Borg. The Borg Queen torments Picard with visions of the past and tempts Data with humanity, going so far as to give him some human skin.

The fight with the Borg aboard the Enterprise is thrilling, and the work on the surface to get first contact back on track is fun. Plus, there’s just nothing like Patrick Stewart turning it up to 11 as he lashes out at the enemy that haunts his dreams.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection

Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek Insurrection (1998)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: December 11, 1998
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, F. Murray Abraham

Essentially an episode inflated for the big screen, Insurrection is about the Federation conspiring to displace a planet’s population in order to harvest the planet’s unique resource – super healing metaphasic particles. In addition to the rejuvenating natural resource, the Ba’ku also have access to exceptional technology, which they shun in favor of a more simple lifestyle.

Data malfunctions, the villains are Federation allies (and former Ba’ku!), Picard gets to knock boots with a local – Insurrection is the very definition of “fine.” Chronologically, Insurrection is relevant for rekindling the romance between Riker and Troi, but not much else.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis

Patrick Stewart and Tom Hardy in Star Trek Nemesis (2002)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: December 13, 2002
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Tom Hardy

Before he mumbled his way into our hearts as Bane, Tom Hardy was Shinzon, a clone of Picard the Romulans created in an eventually abandoned attempt to infiltrate Starfleet. Shinzon is dying, and all that will save him is a transfusion of Picard’s blood. Unfortunately, Shinzon also happens to be a megalomaniac who happens to want to destroy all life on Earth and maybe a few other planets, too, if he’s feeling saucy.

Nemesis is notable mostly for killing Data with a noble sacrifice, only to resurrect him moments later in a duplicate body found earlier by the Enterprise crew.

Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline

The last of the Prime Timeline movies failed to impress at the box office, so it was a few years before anyone tried to bring the Enterprise back to the big screen. Rather than lean on any of the TV crews, this new slate of movies would serve as a reboot, welcoming new audiences while honoring long-time fans. Welcome to the Kelvin Timeline. (For all the ins and outs, check out our Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline explained article).

11. Star Trek

John Cho, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, and Chris Pine in Star Trek (2009)_Paramount Pictures

Release date: May 8, 2009
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban

Back to the beginning! Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk, Spock, and “Bones” McCoy as they meet and join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Though the plot is a relatively straightforward affair of a Romulan named Nero trying to destroy the Earth. His anger borne out of grief, what matters most is how it all came to be. In the future, Spock – the Prime Timeline version – tries to save Romulus from being destroyed by a supernova, but fails. Both his ship and Nero’s are kicked back in time, setting off a chain of events that diverge from the original, “true” timeline.

The name “Kelvin” refers to the U.S.S. Kelvin, the ship heroically captained by Kirk’s father, which is destroyed in the opening moments of the movie.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness

Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and Chris Pine in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)_© Zade Rosenthal_Paramount Pictures

Release date: May 16, 2013
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch

The benefit of the Kelvin Timeline is that it not only allows Star Trek to explore canon material – such as Khan (he of the Wrath) – but to do something completely new with it. Khan features heavily in Into Darkness, but he has no beef with Kirk. Instead, a Starfleet Admiral is threatening the lives of Khan’s crew, forcing them to craft weapons of mass destruction.

Khan inevitably eludes captivity and strikes out against Starfleet, killing Captain Pike (and a bunch of others) in the process. Kirk and company eventually take Khan down, but not before Kirk sacrifices himself to save his crew. Don’t worry, these things don’t last in either Star Trek timeline, as Kirk gets better moments later thanks to *checks notes* Khan's super blood.

13. Star Trek Beyond

Idris Elba and Chris Pine in Star Trek Beyond (2016)_© Kimberley French_Paramount Pictures

Release date: July 22, 2016
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba

Beyond leans into the camaraderie of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy now that they’ve had some time together, much to the movie’s benefit. The Enterprise is lured to Altamid under false pretenses, leading to much of the crew being marooned on the planet. The architect of the deception was Krall, who wants an opportunity to return to a galaxy where war is the order of the day.

Beyond is a significant point in the timeline for two reasons. First, it sadly marked the death of Spock Prime due to the passing of Leonard Nimoy. Second, it culminates in the Enterprise embarking on the five-year-mission that started everything back in 1966.

Star Trek movies: Release order

If you can't be bothered remembering two different orders for the Star Trek movies then we've got good news for you — the release order is identical to the chronological order that we've shown above (accounting for the Kelvin timeline as it's own entity anyway).

The full run of Star Trek films currently tops out at 13 entries; the fate of the 14th was hidden within a nebula of conflicting information. “Star Trek 4” was slated for December 22, 2023, but given that filming had yet to begin as of July 2022, it seems inevitable that date will change. Back in February 2022, Paramount that the principal cast would be returning for the fourth installment of the Kelvin timeline, a claim quickly disputed by the agents of those selfsame actors. Awkward.

Soon after, however, Chris Pine eventually signed on the dotted line, and his shipmates reached their own agreements. As of right now, Kirk (Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), McCoy (Karl Urban, assuming he can make it work around filming of The Boys), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldaña), and Sulu (John Cho) are all ready to beam up and get filming. Sadly, this will be the first of the Kelvin films to not feature Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Yelchin died in an accident at his home in 2016. It’s currently unclear if Chekov will be recast or if a different character will take his place on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Though the Kelvin timeline is often referred to as “J.J. Abrams Trek,” he won’t be directing Star Trek 4; Matt Shakman will take on that responsibility, leaving Abrams to produce. As for what it will be about, that’s anyone’s guess, but Chris Pine told Deadline he hopes this one tells a smaller story that appeals to the core Trek audience. “Let’s make the movie for the people that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek,” he said. “Let’s make it for them and then, if people want to come to the party, great.” It’s a strategy that makes sense; the disappointment with recent Trek films hasn’t been their content so much as their box office. A Trek film with a smaller scope (and budget) would almost certainly have a very healthy profit margin while also resonating with the fanbase.

With no new announcements coming from San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it seems that we’ll have to wait for any more insight into the next Star Trek film. Sill, recent comments from Paramount CEO Brian Robbins have us cautiously optimistic: “We’re deep into [Star Trek 4] with J.J. Abrams, and it feels like we’re getting close to the starting line and excited about where we’re going creatively,” he told Variety .

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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This Is The Correct Order In Which To Watch The Star Trek Franchise

Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard in Picard

Don't look now, but "Star Trek" is a thing again. It's been a while — after redefining television in the 1960s and enjoying a resurgence in the '80s and '90s, the final episode of ""Star Trek: Enterprise" in 2005 marked the beginning of a dark period in which there was simply no "Trek" to be had. Then, in 2017, the drought ended with the premiere of " "Star Trek: Discovery ," and when it rains, it pours. "Discovery" heralded the arrival of a whole new era of ""Star Trek," and that's just the beginning — Paramount+ will soon play host to two new "Star Trek" shows, with three more currently in development, and there's a new movie scheduled for release in 2023 . Suddenly, we are awash in "Trek," which means that if you're unfamiliar with Gene Roddenberry's universe, it's a pretty good time to jump on board. Only where do you start with a franchise this big — and more importantly, what's the proper watch order?

These are the questions we're here to answer. While it's tempting to try and watch "Star Trek" chronologically, using either the fictional timeline or release dates, we recommend an order that's a bit of a blend of both. Following this list should result in an experience that provides a complete picture of what "Star Trek" is while also remaining easy to binge. With that in mind (and with the understanding that a few spoilers are unavoidable ), it's time to boldly go where every previous "Star Trek" installment has gone before!

The Original Series

When you watch "Star Trek," you really need to begin at the beginning. Not with Enterprise, which is set earlier in the "Trek" timeline than any show, but with "Star Trek" — or as it's lovingly called these days, "The Original Series." This is the show that ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969, forever altering the television medium, the science fiction genre, and the experience of being a fan. While some viewers may find the special effects laughable or the political themes unsubtle, the most astonishing thing about "TOS" is how well it holds up, even more than 50 years later. The first two seasons, in particular, are absolutely riddled with classic episodes, and while the third season is significantly worse due to changes in the creative team, it's still fun to watch William Shatner ham it up as Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy raise a single Vulcan eyebrow as Mr. Spock, and the original Starship Enterprise soar through space. Most importantly, though, those first 79 episodes introduce rules, concepts, and even characters that "Star Trek" is still playing with today, from Class M planets and the Prime Directive to Khan and the Klingons.

The Animated Series

The unofficial fourth and fifth seasons of "Star Trek," "The Animated Series" aired on NBC from 1973 to 1974, after tempers had cooled somewhat between NBC and Roddenberry, who left "Star Trek" after its second season out of frustration with the network. Not only was the entire original cast back (minus Walter Koenig), but so was Roddenberry, and so was D.C. Fontana, Roddenberry's longtime assistant who had grown into one of the most celebrated "Trek" writers and had also departed after Season 2. Between the return of some of the show's original creative minds and cast, and the fact that animation allowed them to do so much more than live action special effects of the era, "TAS" is pure, undiluted "Star Trek."

It's never been made explicitly clear whether "TAS" is canon, but considering the number of "TAS" ideas re-used in later live-action shows, plus the introduction in "TAS" of canon pieces of backstory, like Kirk's middle name, it's silly at this point to believe otherwise. And it's required viewing for completists who want to see every televised adventure undertaken by the original Enterprise crew.

The first six films

"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was released by Paramount in 1979, and while it's not an especially good film, it holds historical importance as the launching point for the "Star Trek" movie franchise. The real highlights in this part of the list, though, are the three films that followed. The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home essentially form their own trilogy of movies within the larger "Trek" saga, and are some of the most popular and critically acclaimed installments in the franchise. "The Wrath of Khan," in particular, tends to show up near the top of "best science fiction films in history" lists, making the titular Khan such an iconic villain that he was recast for the J.J. Abrams reboot movies, while "The Voyage Home" is probably the most charming "Star Trek" film, as the Enterprise travels to the past to rescue the humpback whale species from extinction.

Even the most dedicated binge-watcher can safely skip the horrendous fifth movie, "The Final Frontier," but "The Undiscovered Country" is an absolute masterpiece, and taken together, these six films provide a worthy capstone to the franchise's inaugural era.

It might seem counterintuitive to follow up the oldest "Star Trek" series with one of the newest, especially given that "Star Trek: Discovery" actually takes place prior to "The Original Series." But there's a good reason to jump from the tales of Kirk and Spock to the tales of Michael Burnham and...well, and Spock, who shows up in Season 2. "The Original Series" and its accompanying animated and film extensions are foundational to "Discovery," which is set shortly after the events of the rejected "Star Trek" pilot "The Cage." And characters from "The Cage" show up in Season 2 and are also appearing in their own spinoff, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

While an in-universe chronological watch order would put the first two seasons of "Discovery" before "TOS" and the third season at the very end (as the crew travels forward in time to the far future) it makes more sense to us to treat "Discovery" as its own story. The third season does occasionally reference "past" events from other shows, but that does lead nicely into the next "Trek" installment...

The Next Generation (Seasons 1-5)

For many Trekkies today, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was their introduction to the franchise, and for good reason. If any one series beyond the original can lay a claim to being the single most iconic "Star Trek" story, it's Next Generation, which premiered in 1987 and went on to not only have seven seasons of its own, but to jumpstart a chain of interlocking "Star Trek" shows that would thoroughly dominate the 1990s. Before that, though, the first five seasons of Next Generation stood alone, and if you're trying to get somebody instantly hooked on Trek, this might actually be the place to start, despite the fact that the first couple of seasons don't hold up incredibly well.

If you're absorbing all of "Star Trek," though, "Next Generation" has to be the place to start. After all, it's the next generation of what, exactly? The answer is the Starship Enterprise, which comes with an entirely new cast and crew, introducing the world to Worf, Data, Counselor Troi, and Geordi LaForge, and permanently branding the hearts of a thousand Trekkies with the image of Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard .

The Next Generation (Season 6) / Deep Space Nine (Season 1)

Okay, this is where it gets weird. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" debuted in January 1993, just a few months after "Next Generation" kicked off its sixth season — a season full of unmitigated classics, incidentally, from the return of Montgomery Scott in "Relics" to the legendary two-parter "Chain of Command." Picard even makes a cameo in the first episode of "DS9," which takes place aboard a space station and uses the ideas and events of earlier "Next Generation" episodes to inform characters like Commander Benjamin Sisko and Quark. It's essentially impossible to understand Sisko's backstory, for example, without first having seen the "Next Generation" episode "The Best of Both Worlds."

Despite the fact that they take place over roughly the same time period, we recommend watching the entirety of Season 6 of "Next Generation" followed by the entirety of Season 1 of "DS9," if for no other reason than the former has more episodes than the latter, making it a complicated process to intercut between them. But however you choose to do it, these two seasons really should be watched back to back.

The Next Generation (Season 7) / Deep Space Nine (Season 2)

Similarly, the second season of "DS9" coincides with the last "Next Generation" season. While it might lack the standout episodes of earlier seasons, Season 7 manages a few achievements. For one thing, it puts a bow on one of the most beloved shows in television history with a flourish, ending the program with an ambitious, timeline-jumping two-parter that ties directly into the events of the very first episode. It also inadvertently lays the groundwork for a much more modern "Trek" show with an episode about junior officers called "Lower Decks." But most importantly, it ties into and reinforces "Deep Space Nine," most notably in the penultimate episode "Preemptive Strike," which deals with concurrent "DS9" problems like the Cardassians and the Maquis.

By the end of Season 2, "DS9" has already proven capable of standing on its own, having picked up and ran with the Maquis threads from earlier "Next Generation" episodes, returned to the Mirror Universe first introduced in the original series, and introduced the Dominion and the Jem'Hadar, who will serve as the series' primary antagonists. But the stories of Picard and company were far from over...

Generations

The four feature films built around the cast of "Next Generation" are a direct continuation of the movies that came before, not least because the first one, 1994's "Generations," serves as a bridge between "TOS" and its descendant, and between Kirk and Picard, in about the most literal way you could imagine. This movie marks the final appearance of several characters from the original show, including Kirk himself (the one played by William Shatner, at any rate) which makes it a crucial piece of the "Star Trek" timeline, as does the introduction of Data's emotion chip. Of course, some might consider the movie worth it just to see Malcolm McDowell chew the scenery like he hasn't eaten in three days, and we can't say they're wrong.

"Generations" launched Picard's crew onto the big screen almost immediately after their exit from the small one, meaning they would continue to be the face of "Star Trek" for the remainder of the decade. But back in the realm of "Trek" TV, things were only heating up, as a new series prepared to take the field and challenge "DS9" for television dominance.

Deep Space Nine (Season 3) / Voyager (Season 1)

Once again, it's time to switch between two seasons of "Star Trek," as the third season of "DS9" overlaps with the debuting "Star Trek: Voyager." The first "Trek" series to feature a woman (Kathryn Janeway) in the captain's chair, "Voyager" also had a unique and fascinating premise. Much of the "DS9" action is driven by the existence of a nearby wormhole that leads to the Gamma Quadrant, a section of space far away from the Federation's native Alpha Quadrant. This allows the titular space station and its intrepid crew to encounter any number of new and dangerous alien species. "Voyager" goes even farther, literally — a solitary ship finds itself transported to the even more distant Delta Quadrant and spends the rest of the series trying to get home.

Due to this premise, there's no reason whatsoever to jump between individual episodes of these two seasons, as the events of one show don't affect the other in any way. But jumping between shows by the season provides a fun and accurate experience of what it was like to watch the interlocking "Star Trek" programs of the 1990s.

Deep Space Nine (Season 4) / Voyager (Season 2)

Like most "Star Trek" shows, "Voyager" takes a couple of seasons to find its feet, and Season 2 in particular contains some of its most notoriously bad episodes, from the tone-deaf Native American implications of "Tattoo" to Janeway and Voyager pilot Tom Paris turning into salamanders and having salamander babies together in "Threshold" to the utter abomination that is "Tuvix." At least it has the consideration to get them all out of the way early on.

"DS9," meanwhile, was encountering its own problems in Season 4, which took a sharp turn away from the burgeoning conflict with the Dominion and instead spent most of its time dealing with the newly antagonistic Klingon Empire. Fortunately, even as the overarching plot went briefly off the rails, the writing was getting better and better, and the diversion is, if nothing else, entertaining. As a bonus, Season 4 features one of television's first lesbian kisses, and also brings in Worf, the Klingon security officer from "Next Generation" — until Picard, Michael Dorn was the only actor to star in the main casts of two different "Star Trek" shows.

First Contact

As a result of his dual roles, Worf would spend the next several years hopping back and forth between television and the movies. One reason it's important to watch Season 4 of "DS9" prior to watching "First Contact," the second film starring the "Next Generation" cast, is because in order to include Worf in the story, the latter is obligated to include a scene in which the Enterprise rescues another ship called the Defiant, introduced in "DS9" and captained by Worf himself. Future "Next Generation" movies, which decline in quality moving forward, come up with increasingly hand-wavy reasons for his presence on the Enterprise bridge.

"First Contact" itself, however, is by far the best of the "Next Generation" films and one of the best "Star Trek" films in general, as the crew travels back in time to prevent the cybernetic hive mind known as the Borg from altering history. Not only is "First Contact" a great movie (and the film directorial debut of Jonathan Frakes, who plays Commander William Riker), it also kicks off a spectacular "Star Trek" run that can stand up against any other period in franchise history.

Deep Space Nine (Season 5) / Voyager (Season 3)

With Season 5, "DS9" gets back on track after the previous outlier season, quickly focusing around a single unified threat thanks to an alliance between the show's original antagonists the Cardassians and the Dominion. The presence of the sinister Changelings adds an intrigue element to the story, as any character could potentially be a Changeling in disguise — a concept that would be used to great effect years later in the 2004 reboot of "Battlestar Galactica." The season concludes with the official start of the Dominion War, a conflict that would dominate the remainder of the show.

"Voyager," meanwhile, was also getting back on track in its third season, which generally sees an uptick in quality — particularly toward the end, with episodes like "Before and After," "Real Life," and "Worst Case Scenario." Robert Picardo, who plays Voyager's holographic doctor, also gets to make a cameo in "DS9" as the Doctor's creator, Lewis Zimmerman, in the episode "Doctor Bashir, I presume." And Season 3 ends with the first installment of "Scorpion," which catalyzed "Voyager's" official rise to greatness in part thanks to a memorable new character.

Deep Space Nine (Season 6) / Voyager (Season 4)

These two overlapping seasons, airing in late 1997 and early 1998, represent the pinnacle of "Star Trek's" '90s golden age. In "DS9," the Dominion War is in full swing, the series' much-discussed religions themes are building in prominence, the mysterious Section 31 is introduced, foreshadowing its prominent role in both "Enterprise" and "Discovery," and most memorably, the showrunners do what almost no iteration of "Star Trek" has ever dared to do: permanently kill off a member of the main cast.

Casting changes are also a major part of Season 4 of "Voyager," which jettisons the little-loved character of Kes and officially introduces Seven of Nine , a liberated Borg drone played by Jeri Ryan who quickly joins the ranks of the franchise's most widely known characters. It's an oversimplification to suggest that the overall brilliance of Season 4 is the direct result of Ryan joining the cast, but no matter how much of it you attribute to her, it's a phenomenal season of television, filled from start to finish with some of the best "Voyager" episodes (and also "Retrospect," but we don't talk about that one).

Insurrection

It's not "First Contact," but 1998's "Insurrection" is still a pretty good "Next Generation" movie, another solid offering from Jonathan Frakes. While "Insurrection" doesn't interact much with the events of "DS9" or "Voyager," watching it at this point in the "Trek" timeline provides an overall context for the state of the Federation, which has been intermittently challenged, as the movie's primary villain points out, by the Borg, the Cardassians, and the Dominion. A sense of the Federation being assailed from all sides isn't strictly necessary for the film's story of familial betrayal on a planet that confers immortality, but it does make viewing it a more interesting experience (though again, the perfunctory inclusion of Worf simply because he's expected to be in "Next Generation" movies is potentially jarring for "DS9" fans who have become invested in his character development, which "Insurrection" largely ignores).

"Insurrection" is Frakes' last "Star Trek" movie as director (though he would later direct episodes of "Discovery" and "Picard") and marks the beginning of the end of the '90s "Trek" boom. There's still plenty of great "Trek" ahead, but the curve is now pointing down.

Deep Space Nine (Season 7) / Voyager (Season 5)

The final season of "DS9" represents one of the single greatest creative accomplishments in "Star Trek" history, as no "Trek" show to date has managed to stick such an ambitious and satisfying landing. In a unique move, the last 10 episodes of the season form a single, series-ending story, and the feature-length finale, "What You Leave Behind," is considered one of the greatest "Trek" episodes of all time. "DS9" had been great for at least two seasons prior to this one, but the success of Season 7 cemented it as a foremost jewel in the crown of the "Star Trek" franchise.

"Voyager," meanwhile, continued its stellar run of episodes, capping off a three-year rehabilitation effort that saw one of the franchise's shakiest shows become one of its best. It was good timing, too, because with "DS9" wrapping up ("What You Leave Behind" aired the week after the Season 5 "Voyager" finale, "Equinox"), Captain Janeway and her crew were suddenly the only starship in the galaxy. And you, intrepid binge-watcher, can finally stop switching between two different shows.

Voyager (Seasons 6-7)

Unlike "DS9," the final seasons of "Voyager" are not its best, though admittedly, after Seasons 4 and 5, that's a high bar to clear. Season 6 comes close with a steady stream of classics, introducing both the popular Holodeck scenario Fair Haven and the "Pathfinder" storyline that sees "Next Generation" vets Reginald Barclay and Deanna Troi join up as recurring characters. By Season 7, however, the quality of "Voyager" has begun to dip noticeably — the final season contains few memorable episodes and at least one extremely ill-conceived romantic subplot. It earns some redemption, however, with the two-part series finale "Endgame," which, whether you like it or not, at least fulfills the promise of the show's premise and comes to a definitive conclusion about whether the ship and its crew are ever getting back to the Alpha Quadrant. It's a moment that would have been easy to shy away from, and "Voyager" meets it head on.

"Endgame" aired in May 2001, and in retrospect, the title didn't only apply to "Voyager." The continuous story that "Star Trek" had been telling for the past 14 years over the course of three different shows and three different movies was over. There was, however, one last (incredibly depressing) chapter to get through.

The final "Next Generation" film, released in 2002, is by far the worst of them, and the worst "Star Trek" movie in general since 1989's "The Final Frontier." It was so bad, in fact, that it notoriously killed "Star Trek" — plans for a fifth "Next Generation" movie were scrapped after "Nemesis" bombed at the box office, and creatively, it's an absolute nightmare, introducing a Romulan sister planet with the unfortunate name of Remus, blatantly attempting to restart Data's entire character arc via a literal copy with the also unfortunate name of B-4, and tying these and other unfortunate decisions together with a nonsensical plot featuring Tom Hardy as a secret clone of Picard. After "Nemesis," the scuttling of future franchise installments can honestly be seen as a mercy killing.

"Star Trek" wasn't quite dead in 2002, however. While we've now officially made it through the combined stories of "Next Generation," "DS9," and "Voyager," there's one more show, independent from the others, that now enters the viewing order. And watching it involves going back to the very beginning... and even before that.

In a chronological viewing, "Star Trek: Enterprise" would actually be the first show you watch, since it takes place a hundred years prior to "The Cage." Indirectly spinning off from the events of "First Contact," it tells the story of Earth's first warp starship, appropriately named the Enterprise and captained by Scott Bakula's Jonathan Archer, and of humanity's early relationships with alien species like the Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, and Andorians. Despite its status as a prequel, the sheer degree to which "Enterprise" relies on its audience having knowledge of other "Star Trek" properties makes it almost impossible to recommend as an entry point. It fits much better here, as the official end of the franchise's second major era, especially given that the final episode, "These Are The Voyages...," frames itself as a holodeck simulation being watched by the Enterprise crew from "Next Generation."

"There Are The Voyages..." aired on May 13th, 2005. There wouldn't be another "Star Trek" show for more than 12 years. At this point, our watch order breaks away from order of release, but we feel strongly that it's how "Star Trek" from 1987 to 2005 should be watched.

Lower Decks

If you think 12 years is a long gap between "Star Trek" installments, that's nothing compared to the 45 years that went by between "Trek" stories told via animation. "Short Treks" was technically the first "Trek" show since "The Animated Series" to include animated episodes, and that aired in 2019, but 2020 gave us the first season of "Lower Decks," an entirely animated show about the people who don't get to hang out on the bridge.

The first franchise installment to ever concern itself primarily with characters who are not in command of a starship or space station, "Lower Decks" is the "Star Trek" equivalent of shows like HBO's "Harley Quinn" — an irreverent, adult-oriented comedy that revels in its TV-MA rating, delivering violence, sex, and swearing at warp speed frequencies. Chronologically, it's set shortly after the events of "Nemesis," but more importantly to the binge-watcher, it's the dessert following a feast — a vital dose of pure fun after absorbing almost four full decades of space drama.

The Kelvin timeline

After the box office failure of "Nemesis" brought an abrupt end to the "Next Generation" movies, there wasn't a new "Trek" film until 2009. And far from being a continuation of the existing movie franchise, this new version, simply called "Star Trek," was a reboot of "The Original Series," casting new, younger versions of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the first Enterprise crew. Sequels to the reboot followed in 2013 and 2016.

Watching these three movies as part of a "Star Trek" binge is pretty much entirely optional, since they take place in an alternate timeline created when the USS Kelvin was destroyed in battle with time-traveling Romulan ship from the 24th century, leaving an infant James T. Kirk without a father in the process. Moreover, the trilogy is widely considered to be of uneven quality (though the third movie, "Star Trek Beyond," is considerably better than its predecessor, possibly due to the departure of director J.J. Abrams). Still, if you're going to watch them, this is the place in the viewing order to do it, as a key plot point of the first film — the Romulan sun going supernova — plays a major role in "Picard."

Short Treks

The Kelvin movies might not exert much direct influence over the larger plot of "Star Trek," but they played a major role in the future of the franchise by bringing in Alex Kurtzman. Kurtzman is the showrunner on "Discovery," and with the exception of "Lower Decks," he has been directly involved in every modern "Trek" series. In 2018, after the successful first season of "Discovery" led to a new expansion of the "Star Trek" franchise, Kurtzman and co-creator Bryan Fuller (formerly a writer on "DS9" and "Voyager") premiered "Short Treks," an anthology series of short, unrelated stories. As of this writing, there have been two seasons and 10 total episodes, some live-action, some animated.

"Short Treks" spans almost the entire "Star Trek" timeline — two episodes are set in the period of time between "Enterprise" and "The Original Series," while a third takes place in the far future. As a result, watching it requires a sense of the entire scope of the "Trek" universe. It's the penultimate entry in this watch order, however, because the Season 2 finale, "Children of Mars," leads directly into the final entry: "Picard."

"Star Trek: Picard" is the first of the modern "Trek" offerings to look forward rather than back, giving us a story set after the events of "Next Generation," "DS9," and "Voyager." Indeed, not only does the series follow up with Jean-Luc Picard 20 years after we last saw him (and 12 years after the Romulan sun went supernova) but it also brings in an older version of Seven of Nine, once again portrayed by Jeri Ryan. As mentioned, Picard also ties into the most recent installment of "Short Treks," which involves a terrorist attack by synthetic life forms that eventually leads to a ban on their creation — one of the many plot elements of "Picard" that has drawn criticism for being inconsistent with the original utopian vision of "Star Trek."

With so many new "Trek" shows on their way, this list will quickly become outdated. But all the upcoming series will reward previous "Trek" viewing, from Janeway's return on "Star Trek: Prodigy" to a show focused entirely on Section 31. So if you're going to binge all of "Star Trek," you might want to get started now!

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How to watch the Star Trek movies and TV shows in order

When the USS Enterprise first brought audiences aboard in 1966, few imagined that Star Trek: The Original Series ( TOS ) would spawn a media empire half a century later — including both live-action and animated Star Trek series, as well as more than a dozen Star Trek movies.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star trek: discovery, seasons 1 and 2, star trek: the original series, star trek: the animated series, the original six star trek movies, star trek: the next generation, seasons 1 to 5, tng, seasons 6 to 7 and star trek: deep space nine, seasons 1 to 2, ds9, season 3; star trek: voyager, season 1, and star trek: generations, ds9, seasons 4 to 5; voyager, seasons 2 to 3; and star trek: first contact, ds9, seasons 6 to 7; voyager, seasons 4 to 5; and star trek: insurrection, voyager, seasons 6 to 7, and star trek: nemesis, star trek: lower decks.

The Kelvin Timeline — Star Trek (2009) to Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek: Picard

Star trek: discovery, season 3.

What’s next for Trek?

As the Star Trek universe expands, so does its fictional timeline, and for fans who want to know exactly what happened and when, it’s getting a little difficult to navigate. That’s why we put together a guide to enjoying all of Star Trek’s canonical films and series in chronological order .

If you’re new to Star Trek, be warned: We’ll do our best to avoid spoilers, but for the sake of clarity, here and there, a tribble-sized reveal will have to make its way through the cracks.

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While Star Trek: Enterprise proved to be the last of the Trek revival series (it ended in 2015 after four seasons) until Star Trek: Discovery ‘s premiere 12 years later, ironically, it’s your first stop on any franchise-wide binge. Beginning in 2151 — a little over a century before the events of TOS — Enterprise has no United Federation of Planets, no Prime Directive, and no shields.

Considering how often time travel comes up in Star Trek, it shouldn’t be a surprise that while most of the events of Enterprise take place long before any other shows or films, there are a few exceptions. Some leftover Borg from 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact show up in season 2, a season 3 two-parter connects with TOS ‘ The Tholian Web episode, and the series finale surprisingly crosses over with the Star Trek: The Next Generation ( TNG ) season 7 episode The Pegasus .

Star Trek: Discovery ‘s premiere takes place a little over a century after the Enterprise finale and roughly a decade before TOS . The United Federation of Planets has been formed, and Discovery opens with its first destructive war with the Klingon Empire.

If you’re doing a franchise-wide binge, make sure to schedule TOS ‘s pilot episode The Cage before season 2 of Discovery . It’s Captain Christopher Pike in the Enterprise’s captain’s chair in the pilot, played by the late Jeffrey Hunter. Anson Mount plays Pike in season 2 of Discovery , and the events of The Cage are critical to the plot.

At the end of season 2, Discovery jumps ahead over 900 years into the future, so you should probably wait a bit before getting back to it.

Finally, the series that started it all with its iconic trio: The always pensive and logical Spock (Leonard Nimoy), the always complaining Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and between them, the adventurous James T. Kirk (William Shatner).

It can be a little jarring to watch The Original Series after Discovery . Not only is it weird to see a spaceship run on dials, buttons, and paper printouts after witnessing a ship like Discovery — where every panel looks like it was designed personally by Tony Stark — but particularly in season 1, it’s clear TOS hadn’t yet worked out everything about the Federation and Starfleet. For example, in one early episode, McCoy makes a joke implying that rather than being Earth’s allies, the Vulcans were conquered by humans.

While the original crew’s live-action adventures went on hold after TOS ‘ final season, in 1973, almost the entire regular cast — save for Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov in TOS — returned to voice their characters in Star Trek: The Animated Series ( TAS ). They were joined by a couple of new alien crew members who would’ve been nearly impossible to make work in a live-action series of the time.

Even though it originally aired as a Saturday morning cartoon, TAS is impressively faithful to the canon. We see the return of recurring characters like Harry Mudd and Spock’s father, Sarek, and even minor details from TOS — such as a brief mention of Spock’s childhood pet — are faithfully reproduced in TAS .

If you get this deep into the Trek-wide binge and are getting tired of TV episodes, this will be a nice break. Kirk, now an Admiral, muscles his way back into the Captain’s chair in 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the timeline continues through Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , and ending with 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

TNG ‘s first five seasons enjoy the single longest chronology of all the franchise’s shows to go uninterrupted by other series or films. While there were plenty of naysayers who never thought the series would last or live up to the original, TNG outlives TOS by four seasons, and its success would help make even more spin-offs viable.

For its final two seasons, TNG shares time with the first two seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ( DS9 ). Still traumatized by the death of his wife at the hands of the Borg, Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) takes command of a space station overlooking the newly liberated Bajor.

Make sure to not start DS9 until at least after watching TNG ‘s Rascals episode — chronologically, it’s Chief Miles O’Brien’s (Colm Meaney) final episode of TNG as a member of the ship’s crew, after which he jumps ship to become the Chief of Operations on DS9 .

Deep Space 9 enjoys precious little time at the end of its second season and the beginning of its third as the only Star Trek game in town. Early in its third season, it’s joined by the beginning of Star Trek: Voyager, and in fact, part of Voyager ‘s premiere episode takes place on the DS9 space station guarding the Bajoran wormhole.

Originally tasked with capturing the rebellious Maquis, Voyager ‘s Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) soon finds herself and her crew thrown across the galaxy, and both Starfleet and Maquis have to work together to begin the long journey home.

About midway through DS9 ‘s third season comes the first film to feature the TNG crew — 1994’s Star Trek: Generations , which features the first and only meeting between Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and TOS ‘s Captain Kirk.

Season 4 of DS9 opens with the fan-favorite episode The Way of the Warrior , with Michael Dorn joining the show’s regular cast as Worf — but don’t worry, they keep sneaking him onto the Enterprise for the movies anyway. Seasons 4 and 5 of DS9 run fairly concurrently with seasons 2 and 3 of Voyager . Early in season 5 of DS9, the Starfleet uniforms change to gray, and that change is reflected on the Enterprise in TNG ‘s first motion picture, 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact , pitting the TNG crew against fan-favorite villains the Borg, set toward the end of DS9 ‘s fifth season and Voyager ‘s third.

With Voyager ‘s fourth season comes the game-changing addition of Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, while back in the Alpha Quadrant on DS9 , open war rages between the Federation and the tyrannical Dominion. The Dominion War lasts until the very end of the series, which unfolds around the same time as the end of Voyager ‘s fifth season. In the meantime, the eighth Trek film, 1998’s Star Trek: Insurrection , takes place fairly early in DS9 ‘s final season.

For its final two seasons, Voyager gets to fly all on its own. The lost ship’s journey culminates in the two-part Endgame , with the heroes confronting the Borg while making a desperate attempt to get back home.

And in the final Trek film before J.J. Abrams steps in to create the so-called Kelvin Timeline stories, 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis takes place about a year after the Voyager finale, and the film doesn’t forget about the show. One of Voyager ‘s lead characters makes a cameo, and since the show ended, they’ve gotten enough pips on their collar to give Captain Picard orders.

In 2020, Trek fans were introduced to one of the most unique series in the franchise — the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks . Partly inspired by the TNG final season episode Lower Decks , focusing on the usually anonymous crew members we see milling in the background aboard Starfleet ships and space stations, the series feels like Star Trek with a couple of dashes of Rick & Morty . In spite of its goofiness, Lower Decks is canonical, and its first season begins in 2380 — one year after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis .

The Kelvin Timeline — Star Trek (2009) to Star Trek Beyond (2016)

The films of what’s come to be known as the Kelvin Timeline have an interesting, if confusing, place in Trek chronology.

Rather than acting as a prequel, as some thought it would, 2009’s Star Trek introduces a whole new timeline. In the prime timeline’s 24th century, the Romulan sun goes supernova. Romulus is destroyed, and both Spock and the Romulan mining ship Narada are sucked into a black hole and sent backward in time. Coming out the other side in the 23rd century, the Narada — captained by the vengeful Nero (Eric Bana) — destroys the Kelvin, creating a new timeline.

So, in one sense, the three Abrams-era films — Star Trek , 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness , and 2016’s Star Trek Beyond — come between the events of Lower Decks and those of Star Trek: Picard , because that’s when the Romulan sun goes boom. But in another sense, they run partly concurrent to the events of Discovery ‘s first two seasons and between those seasons and TOS . We’re putting it here because, all things considered, it’s the less confusing option.

We can only imagine where (and when) the events of subsequent seasons will take Captain Picard and his new friends, but the first seasons of Star Trek : Picard are set at the end of the 24th century, in 2399. Since we last saw him in Star Trek: Nemesis , Picard’s been promoted to admiral, led an ultimately abandoned evacuation of Romulus, and left Starfleet in protest. In spite of the time that’s passed, the series’ opening episode makes it clear Picard is still not over a tragic loss he suffers in the final TNG -era film.

While Discovery begins as a prequel series, in its third season, it becomes something different. At the end of season 2, the heroes jump forward over 900 years into the future, and the galaxy is a changed place.

A little over a century before the events of Discovery season 3, a cataclysmic event known as The Burn destroys almost all the dilithium in the galaxy, killing untold numbers of space-bound people and making warp technology almost useless. As a result, while the Federation still exists, it’s fractured, with its number of member planets shrinking from around 350 to 38.

Among the major historical events to have occurred between the 24th and 32nd centuries, we learn that at one point, Spock’s dream of reuniting the Vulcan and Romulan people has become a reality, with both races giving Vulcan the new name of Ni’Var. There was also a series of conflicts known as the Temporal Wars, whose events led to such destruction that all forms of time travel have been banned within the Federation.

What’s next for Trek?

Along with future seasons of Discovery , Picard , and Lower Decks on their way — not to mention the possibility of future films — the timeline of Star Trek is always changing. While there’s no firm release date, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is expected to release sometime in 2022. Anson Mount will reprise the role of Christopher Pike from season 2 of Discovery , and along with brand new characters, he will be joined by Ethan Peck as Spock and Rebecca Romijn as Number One. The series promises to take place between the events of Discovery ‘s second season and TOS , as well as reportedly giving fans a more episodic format reminiscent of Trek’s earliest series .

Timeline-wise, as far as some of the upcoming Trek series are concerned, there are a couple of unknowns. First, there’s the animated kids’ series, Star Trek: Prodigy , in which a group of alien teens commandeers a derelict Starfleet ship. According to TrekMovie ‘s April 2021 report, Prodigy ‘s first season begins in 2383, placing it between Lower Decks and Picard , assuming Lower Decks — which begins in 2380 — doesn’t go past 2383. If it does, then eventually, the two timelines will intermingle.

Likewise, there’s Star Trek: Section 31 , which is still in development. Michelle Yeoh will reportedly lead the series in her role as the Mirror Universe version of Philippa Georgiou, and Shazad Latif is also believed to be returning as Ash Tyler. Our best guess is that Section 31 ‘s timeline will intermingle with that of Strange New Worlds , but it’s too early to tell. While she initially joins the Discovery crew in the 32nd century, Georgiou is sent back to an undisclosed point in time in season 3’s episode Terra Firma, Part 2 .

We know the Star Trek timeline keeps getting more complex — not only because new properties keep getting added, but because the franchise’s heroes use time travel almost as often as they do phasers. But don’t worry. As Trek keeps trekkin’, we’ll keep updating our timeline guide.

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The Best Order to Watch All of Star Trek

Whether you’ve overlooked Star Trek for the past 60 years, looking to finally catch up, or are a die-hard fan setting out on a new binge, this list is here help you figure out the best order to watch everything the long-running sci-fi series has to offer.

There are really three ways to approach a binge of this size and complexity: chronologically, by release, or the mythical “best.” Here we’ll provide you with the full list of how to do each one and you can choose for yourself from there.

How to Watch All of Star Trek in Release Order

Watching by release date is probably the easiest way to do this, though it might not deliver the best overall experience. Considering this is how much of the fanbase got hooked, however, it’s a perfectly valid way to get into Trek . It also helps with the times when later shows reference earlier ones, ensuring you’ve seen everything that’s being referenced. It should be noted here that many series and films — especially the current Paramount+ ones — overlap. For these moments, which are noted below when shows/movies were on at the same time, it might be wise to stagger your viewing of the seasons as there may be overlap in their storylines.

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Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)
Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974) — (Note: Maybe not canon but maybe also is.)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) — (Note: some characters overlap with TNG )
Star Trek: Generations (1994) — (Note: Overlap with TNG )
Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) — (Note: While rare, some characters overlap with DS9 )
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Star Trek: Discovery (2017-2024)
Star Trek: Short Treks (2018-2020) — (Note: Bridges gaps between Discovery seasons)
Star Trek: Picard (2020-2023)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-Present) (Note: Overlaps with SNW )
Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-Present)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-Present) — (Note: Overlaps with Discovery and Lower Decks )
Star Trek: Very Short Treks (2023) — (Note: Not canon)

How to Watch All of Star Trek in Chronological Order

Watching a franchise with as many entries as Star Trek in chronological order can be pretty tricky since some newer shows and films take place in the earlier in the timeline while older shows take place later. There’s also the films starring Chris Pine that take place on a different timeline entirely (the Kelvin timeline). That’s not to mention that time travel is an accepted and heavily regulated science in-universe and a popular plot mechanic, so almost every crew has, at some point, done it. That raises the question of where to put films like The Voyage Home , which has the TOS crew traveling back to the 1980s, or something like Discovery , which starts in the TOS era, spends half its first season in a parallel dimension, and then jumps millennia forward. Let’s not even get started on the ending of Enterprise . The point being is that chronological order is a terrible way to watch this franchise. If you must, though, here is the correct order, based on what time period each crew called “home” originally.

Star Trek: Enterprise (Stardates: 2151-2156)
Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Short Treks (First two seasons: 2256-2258, Final three seasons: 3188-?)
Star Trek (2258-2259 Kelvin Timeline)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2259-2260 Kelvin Timeline)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-??)
Star Trek Beyond (2263 Kelvin Timeline)
Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)
Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2273)
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (2285)
Star Trek: The Search for Spock (2285)
Star Trek: The Voyage Home (2286)
Star Trek: The Final Frontier (2287)
Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (2293)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)
Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)
Star Trek: Generations (2371)
Star Trek: First Contact (2373)
Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)
Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-??)
Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-??)
Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)
Star Trek: Very Short Treks — (Not canon)

How to Watch All of Star Trek in the Best Order

As you can tell from the two very long lists above, there is a lot of Star Trek to watch. Those lists don’t even do it justice considering that even without all the new streaming shows and movies, there are 709 episodes. That is a lot of time to dedicate to one franchise (and it is totally worth it), but if you’re going to do it, you’ll want an order that gets you hooked. Release date order may work for some, but it’s not the best way to get into great Trek right away. Instead use the method below to enjoy your journey through Star Trek to its fullest.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Start with what is easily the most accessible series and, for many, still the best. The first two seasons can be a little rocky, but they build the foundations for basically all Trek to come. The majority of Star Trek’s greatest episodes reside within this series, making it easy to get into and stick with. The episodic nature also makes it a good series to binge in free time to get your addiction kicked off without paying 100% attention. Yes, there are references and cameos from TOS , Voyager , and DS9 but not enough to not recommend simply watching TNG on its own straight through.

Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek movies I-VI

Now that you’re hooked, go back to the start. TOS may be a bit dated and wonky, but it’s all Trek , and it’s incredibly ahead of its time. The contrast between Kirk and Picard as Captains will also play off each other by watching these series back-to-back. Once you’re done, jump into the TOS films, which will keep things chronological for a good while as none of these films cross over with the TV shows in any way.

Star Trek Kelvin Timeline Films

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter where you watch Star Trek , Star Trek Into Darkness , or Star Trek Beyond as long as you’ve watched TOS and its films already. The movies are heavily connected to that series but kick off an entirely different timeline from every other show and film. Since they’re separate, you can really watch these at any point post- TOS , but watching it right after will give you the best experience of Star Trek ‘s “What if…?” storylines.

Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and TNG Films

Here’s where things get a little mushy. You can quite easily binge these three completely separately as they have minimal impact on each other. However, the best experience is probably to watch these as audiences of the time would. That means binging Deep Space Nine for two seasons, then alternating between episodes with Voyager while watching the TNG films during the seasons they came out before capping it all off with Star Trek: Nemesis . This order should give a good variety through a very long stretch of what can be some fantastic television and film. Fair warning, however, that the groundbreaking, serialized, final season of DS9 is going to be very hard to pause for even one episode of Voyager .

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy , having recently been renewed by Netflix , pops up in a weird place in the watch order because it’s just hard to place. Geared towards engaging younger viewers in Trek , it’s absolutely fantastic. Honestly, if you’re watching with a child, it could even be a perfect way to start your viewing. However, the Voyager cast play a large role in the first season, so watching it after Voyager is really helpful if you care about plotlines and canon like any well-respected adult should. Can you watch it any time after your Voyager binge? Sure, but why not dive into something really good before you start Discovery ?

Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Short Treks , and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

You have to watch Discovery to get to SNW , which is the only reason this list doesn’t have SNW higher. The second season of Discovery functions as a backdoor pilot to SNW while also being the best season of Discovery . Once the latter show jumps to the far future, they’re entirely separate so there’s no need to alternate viewing between the two if you feel like binging all of Discovery before moving onto SNW . You’ll need to watch Short Treks between the Discovery seasons they debuted before as they have some plot points in them you would miss otherwise.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Look, there’s very obviously a lot of not-so-great Trek to get through at the end of this list, but the goal is to be such a fan by this time that you’ll watch it anyway. Enterprise isn’t as bad as you may have heard, but it isn’t good either. Get through it. Enjoy the weird season set almost entirely in a hidden portion of the universe known as The Expanse, and then get just as angry as everyone else at its idiotic conclusion. At least you’ll be able to complain with the best of them once you’re done.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

We’re going to break up the suck with some of the best Trek on TV right now. Lower Decks is a Star Trek parody made by Star Trek . As such, you can’t really appreciate it until you’ve watched everything else. In fact, thanks to binging the rest, you may appreciate it more than most as you pick out deep cuts and references that those who watched the shows as they aired might miss. It’s a great reminder why you’re watching all of this before having to suffer through the final show.

Star Trek: Picard

One might expect that you’d just keep the good times rolling by watching Picard right after TNG . The show is, after all, a continuation of that series built on nostalgia and some unfinished plotlines. However, the first two seasons of Picard are so terrible that doing so would be like eating filet mignon and then instantly washing it down with some moonshine. Plus, the third and only decent season, is a massive nostalgia trip that can only be fully appreciated if you’ve spent the hours and hours and hours it takes to get through all of Trek . It’s the perfect victory lap for what you’ve just accomplished.

Bonus: Star Trek: The Animated Series and Star Trek: Very Short Treks

Is it canon? Is it not? Who cares. TAS is weird, dumb, poorly animated, and kind of hard to watch — but there’s some great episodes in there. You can avoid it entirely and be totally fine or slot it into any watch order you want post- TOS . Very Short Treks are just some fun YouTube shorts released in the style of TAS . Watch them whenever too.

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The Right Order to Watch ALL of Star Trek

By: Author Brad Burnie

Posted on Published: January 13, 2021 - Last updated: December 19, 2022

Share the Universe!

If you’ve just learned about the Star Trek universe and want to watch all of the series and movies within the franchise, you will want to start at the very beginning to understand what is happening and the references made in later series or movies. While you might be tempted to start with the Original Series, you will miss critical information based on later shows. What is the right order to watch all of Star Trek?

There are two timelines: the Prime timeline and the Kelvin timeline. Begin with the Prime timeline, as this is where the Original Series started. Begin with the movie “First Contact” to understand how space exploration began, then watch Enterprise to see the continuing voyages.

While it all seems confusing right now, you will understand how to watch the entire Star Trek franchise after you read the article. Let’s dig in!

A Brief Explanation of the Order

While most advice is to start with the series “ Enterprise ,” that doesn’t explain how Earth ended up in space, or how the Vulcans became involved as consultants on Earth in the pursuit of space travel. The movie “ First Contact ” answers those questions, and though it involves the Next Generation crew, it shows how the first warp ship got the Vulcans’ attention and how humans become space-faring.

The order given here puts the movie first, as it gives you a background to the Enterprise series and helps you understand what happened. While it is a time travel movie, it starts you at the very beginning. But there are two separate timelines you need to be aware of.

The Prime Timeline

Gene Roddenberry started the Prime timeline with the Original Series. The movies and series are based on this timeline, and it follows the work of Kirk, Spock, and Picard through the years. The Kelvin timeline is not part of this article, and will only focus on the Prime timeline.

The Kelvin Timeline

In 2009, J.J. Abrams created a Star Trek reboot that explored the idea of an alternate timeline, otherwise known as the Kelvin timeline . The movies, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek: Beyond (2016), explore the world where the Romulan Nero went back in time to destroy the first Starfleet ship he met, which was the USS Kelvin.

In 2387, the Romulan sun was about to go supernova, which would destroy an entire quadrant. Spock took this on and promised the Romulans that he could stop it from happening.

Spock tried halting the supernova with red matter but failed, leaving Romulus destroyed. Nero was so angry that he attacked Spock’s ship, the Narada. During the attack, both ships were pulled into the black hole left by the supernova and were sent back in time.

Nero was not aware that the Narada went back in time, but he attacked the first Starfleet vessel, which happened to be the ship that James Kirk’s father served on and killed him.

Before this event happened, the timeline traveled the same path as the Prime timeline. That one event skewed the original timeline to create an alternate reality. Many things were altered, including the technology, but the events stayed mostly similar, including Khan.

Star Trek: First Contact (2063) (2373)

The Next Generation crew are on the new Enterprise-E. A distress signal from the Federation alerts the crew that the Borg made it to the Alpha quadrant to assimilate Earth.

Picard tells his crew that they cannot help fight because of his prior involvement with the Borg. The crew argues that this is why they should be at the forefront of the battle.

Later, Counselor Troi tells Picard that the battle with the Borg started. Picard and Riker come out to the bridge and listen to the ships’ various transmissions trying to take down the cube. Once he heard enough, he asked the crew what they should do–go against their orders and fight, or stay where they are.

Commander Data says, “If I were human, I believe I would say ‘to hell with our orders.’” Then they make their way to the Alpha quadrant.

Since Picard has experience with Borg ships, he orders all other ships to fire on a non-critical system, which destroys the cube. As the cube explodes, they notice a sphere leave and open up a time anomaly. Picard orders the Enterprise to follow the sphere after they realize the Borg assimilated Earth of the past.

They are pulled in the stream with the sphere and end up in the 21st century–April 4, 2063, to be exact–one day before Zephram Cochrane was to fly his warp ship.

The Enterprise crew assists Cochrane in his original mission to keep the timeline preserved.

Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2161)

Star Trek Enterprise continues where First Contact left off–humans meeting Vulcans for the first time. The series shows how the Vulcans became consultants to humans in constructing warp-capable ships and interacting with other species.

While the Vulcans thought they were doing a decent service, humans often resented this and felt that they could have been further along in their development had it not been for the Vulcans holding them back.

The series explored the Earth-Romulan war, the tensions with the Klingons, how the United Federation of Planets came to be, and the Vulcan-Andorian alliance’s development. The series ran four seasons before it was canceled, but it did clear up things that the Original Series alluded to.

Star Trek: Discovery (2255-?)

Discovery first debuted in 2017, making it the next to the last series developed in the Prime timeline. This series’s events take place ten years before the Original Series and explain why the war between the Klingons and the Federation ignited after over 100 years of tense peace between the two sides.

It also highlights the life of Spock’s foster sister, Micheal Burnham. Spock grew up with a foster sister that his parents took in after the Klingons killed her parents on a Federation outpost. Micheal grew up with Amanda and Sarek, learning the Vulcan ways while suppressing her human emotions.

Discovery attempts to explain why Spock never spoke of this sister in other series. Micheal said horrible things to Spock when they were children about his heritage and how he would never fit in on Vulcan or Earth because of it. But she only said that to keep him safe from Vulcan extremists while she ran away.

At the end of the second season, the Discovery crew jumps 900 years into the future, leaving Captain Pike to command the Enterprise until Captain Kirk takes over.

Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

The series that started it all, The Original Series (TOS), explores the world of James Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the crew in the “five-year mission to explore the universe, seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Since this was the first series of a new fictional world, no one knew what to expect.

The series introduced Vulcans, Andorians, Tellerites, and Klingons. It also showed how alien influences could disrupt a primitive culture’s development and create problems that they would not otherwise have, demonstrating the need for their Prime Directive that prohibited their interference in pre-warp societies.

Star Trek Continues (Fan Fiction)

Most fan fiction is best left to a franchise’s sidelines due to their non-canonical events and stories. Star Trek Continues , however, is a cut above the rest of Star Trek fan fiction and was even approved as canon by Gene Roddenberry’s son.

The series was conceived and produced by Vic Mignogna, who also plays James Kirk in the series. They made use of the same studio and set that TOS was filmed on, and care was put into every single detail to make it appear the same as TOS in every way.

It attempted to explain why starships in later series had a counselor and a chief of security, and what happened in the last year of their five-year mission. The series tied up loose ends that TOS left, and explains how Kirk became an Admiral, and why Spock left Starfleet for several years.

It is recommended that you include this fanfiction series in your watchlist because it will answer certain questions that The Next Generation fails to answer. The episodes are also free to watch, as the project was a labor of love for Vic, as he was a fan of TOS and was honored to create the series for other fans.

Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

Soon after TOS went off the air, the Star Trek writers worked with professional science fiction writers and Filmation to create Star Trek: The Animated Series . The Animated Series was an attempt to answer some of the questions that TOS left open and appeal to younger viewers.

Some of the episodes were continuations of TOS episodes, such as “The Trouble with Tribbles,” and the Mudd episodes. Other episodes outlined new technologies such as a recreation room that utilized a holographic suite, or an “aqua-shuttle.”

Many of the episodes kept the original actors to voice the characters, except Chekov’s character, due to budgetary constraints. However, the actor that played Chekov wrote one episode of the series.

Because the ratings were low, it only lasted one and a half seasons.

Original Star Trek Movies (2273-2293)

Though The Original Series had low ratings when it first aired, it gained enough popularity to produce movies for the big screen. Studio executives wanted nothing to do with Star Trek movies initially, but after a bit of convincing, they decided to move ahead with the Motion Picture.

Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the very first cinematic project of the Star Trek universe, and it bombed. While they tried to play with the special effects and show the space stations for the first time, it wasn’t enough to save the film from bad ratings.

The story begins with a large entity traveling across the galaxy, killing or vaporizing everything in its path. Admiral Kirk boards the redesigned Enterprise to give it an inspection before it goes out on another mission. Captain Decker is in command and thinks Kirk is there as a “top brass sendoff,” not realizing that the Admiral is there to command the ship.

Once they get going, Kirk briefs the crew about this entity that they will intercept, and hopefully, stop before it kills anyone else. Captain Decker is temporarily demoted to Science Officer in Spock’s absence, much to his disappointment and irritation.

Meanwhile, Spock realizes that something is calling to him in space and refuses to complete the Kolinahr ritual. He gets a lift to the Enterprise to figure out what the entity is.

In the end, they find out that this entity is V’Ger, or Voyager, a probe sent from Earth in the late 20th century. It had amassed so much knowledge, and it was ready to transmit its information to the creator.

The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan continues the story started in TOS episode, “Space Seed,” left off. It starts with Commander Chekov on the starship “Reliant” looking for a suitable planet that Dr. Carol Marcus could use to test their new Genesis device. The device allows a dead planet to be terra-formed into a new planet for whatever life “we see fit to deposit on it.”

As the Reliant crew goes to what they think is Ceti Alpha VI, Chekov notices the “Botany Bay” on one of the walls of a shelter on the planet. He suddenly remembers who that is and tries getting the captain to leave. When they go out the door, they are met by several people who push them back inside the shelter. It turns out to be Khan and his people that were left on Ceti Alpha V.

It is determined that Ceti Alpha VI exploded six months after they were left on Ceti Alpha V, and Khan was angry and wanted revenge on Kirk. He hijacked the Reliant and went in search of Kirk.

Khan took revenge on everyone except Kirk, because “like a poor marksman, you keep missing the mark!” Eventually, after several battles between the Reliant and the Enterprise, Khan has one last trick up his sleeve before he dies. He sets the Genesis device to explode, and in 4 minutes, everything in the system will be dead or dying.

Spock saves the Enterprise in the most extreme sacrifice. At his funeral, they jettison his body into space, which lands on the Genesis planet.

The Search for Spock

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock picks up where the last movie left off, as Sarek tasks Kirk to bring both Spock and McCoy to Vulcan to release them both of Spocks’ Katra, or the essence of who he was in life. But in the Enterprise’s absence, the Mutara sector became off-limits, and only certain science vessels were allowed in that region of space.

Kirk, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura work together to bring Bones and Spock back to Vulcan. However, on the way, the Klingon commander Kruge bought the secrets of the Genesis device and wanted to exploit the technology for the glory of the Empire. He got to the planet first and destroyed the science vessel Grissom that Kirk’s son David, and Lieutenant Saavik served on.

By the time Kirk got to the area, he had realized that there was trouble. When the Klingons wanted to board the Enterprise, Kirk and crew escaped to the planet and blew up the ship, along with the Klingons.

They found Spock alive, and once they got rid of most of the Klingons, including Kruge, they made their way to Vulcan in a Klingon ship.

The Voyage Home

The third movie in a series of movies, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , finds the Enterprise crew still on Vulcan after saving Spock. They decided they must go back to Earth to face the consequences of their actions. Once the Klingon ship was ready to go, Spock boarded the ship to testify at the crews’ trial.

But once they get close to Earth, a planetary distress call from Earth reaches their ship. An alien probe is cutting off all life support and power to Earth and her space docks and is disrupting the planet itself.

The Enterprise crew realizes that the sound the probe makes is the same sung by humpback whales, extinct in the 22nd century but still alive in the 20th century. They go back in time, snatch a couple of whales and water, and go back to their time to help repopulate the species and, hopefully, save Earth.

The Final Frontier

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier introduces the audience to Spock’s half-brother, Sybok. Sybok believes that he found the Vulcan equivalent to the Garden of Eden on the other side of the Great Barrier and steals the Enterprise-A to get there. Along the way, he helps people release their pain from past trauma, which enables him to get people to do what he wants them to do.

But, when they cross the great barrier and get to the planet, Sybok realizes his mistake. “God” isn’t the “real God” and takes it upon himself to wrestle and kill the alien that deceived him.

The movie was not as popular as the previous three movies due to the storyline.

The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country explains how the cold war between the Klingons and the Federation ended. Praxis, the Klingon moon responsible for Kronos’ energy output, blew up, leaving Kronos with about 50 Earth years of life left. If left to their own devices, they would be dead soon.

So Chancellor Gorkon brought up his idea to reconcile with the Federation and appealed to Ambassador Spock to create peace. But many in the Federation, and the Klingon Empire, didn’t believe that the Klingons should be admitted to the Federation. The idea was so repulsive to some people that they were willing to frame Captain Kirk for sabotage to keep the cold war alive.

The Klingons arrested Bones and Kirk for Chancellor Gorkon’s murder and were sentenced to life on Rura Penthe, the Klingon penal asteroid.

But this was not to be, and the peace conference was held on Khitomer as planned, which was the start of the Klingon-Federation alliance.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

The Next Generation continued where the movies left off with the Enterprise-D. Instead of being given a five-year mission, the crew has an “ongoing mission to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before.”

The series showed several new advances in technology, such as a new holodeck, food replicators, and other things that TOS never had. The new crew was under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

They met the Q entity who loved torturing the Enterprise crew and introduced them to the Borg. The series lasted for seven seasons.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

Deep Space Nine was a spinoff series from The Next Generation. It centered around an outlier Bajoran space station previously occupied by the Cardassians. Commander Benjamin Sisko commanded the station that was located near the only stable wormhole in the galaxy. The wormhole was a gateway from the Alpha quadrant to the Beta quadrant and was the site of the war with the Dominion.

It lasted seven seasons and overlapped with The Next Generation and Voyager in the timeline.

Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

Star Trek: Voyager tells the story of a starship that gets pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker to search for a “suitable replacement” to care for the Ocampa. But because Captain Janeway didn’t want to let the array fall into the hands of Ocampan enemies, she destroyed the array.

They spend the next seven years working on ways to get home, coming across many different species and anomalies. Eventually, they get home using the Borg conduit leading to the Alpha quadrant.

The Next Generation Movies

The Next Generation crew appeared in four movies, one of which showed how Earth’s space exploration started.

Generations (2371)

Star Trek: Generations connects Captain Kirk and Captain Picard in a way that has them working against a common enemy–Soran. Soran was intent on destroying a star so that he could enter into the Nexus, which is a place of pure joy. However, in destroying the star, Soran would destroy entire civilizations. Captain Picard could not allow that, and while in the Nexus, he persuades Captain Kirk to come with him and help make a difference.

The Enterprise-D was destroyed by a Klingon ship.

Insurrection (2375)

Star Trek: Insurrection tells the story of the Federation working with the Son’a to get the benefits of the Ba’ku homeworld amidst the Briar patch. But as the Enterprise-E investigates further, they realize that the Son’a planned to transport the Ba’ku to another planet without their knowledge to take the metaphasic particles of the outer rings to create a “fountain of youth” that would provide medical benefits for people of the Federation.

But Picard and crew found out that the Son’a were children of the Ba’ku over a century ago who were expelled because of wanting to go off-world. They came back to kill their elders.

Nemesis (2379)

In Star Trek: Nemesis , the clone of Picard shows up to tell him about how he came to be. He grew up on Remus, which was a mining planet. He grew up with the same issues that Picard has, but because of the temporal RNA he was sequenced with, his body was breaking down that much quicker.

In the end, Data sacrifices himself to save the captain and the Enterprise crew.

Picard (2399-?)

The latest series within the franchise, Picard picks up 20 years after Nemesis and tries to explain the Kelvin timeline a bit more. He helped evacuate the Romulan homeworld before the sun went supernova, but was not completely successful. After that happened, he left Starfleet due to how they didn’t approve of his plans.

Synthetic life forms were banned after they attacked the Mars colony, but one found Picard right before being killed. That synthetic life form was a descendant from Data’s matrix. The rest of the season focuses on finding the twin synth before she was killed as well.

Well, there you have it–all the Star Trek series , movies, and even a fanfiction series to watch. Once you’ve watched all of these programs, feel free to go back and watch the Kelvin timeline movies to see how it is different from the Prime timeline shows.

Star Trek shows often were a vague commentary on real-life issues, such as racism, homophobia, misogyny, and economic disparities. The franchise shows how humans overcame these issues, but then encountered several species on other planets that were still in the process of overcoming the issues and their strong dislike of any new thoughts. If you liked this post then you should check out our Star Wars Watch Order post

Looper: The Star Trek Kelvin Timeline Explained
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Memory Alpha: Star Trek: The Next Generation
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Memory Alpha: Star Trek: The Original Series
Memory Alpha: Star Trek Generations
Memory Alpha: Star Trek: Insurrection
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Star Trek Continues: About Us

Brad Burnie is the founder of Starships.com. He loves all video game genres. In his spare time, he loves reading, watching movies, and gaming

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Star Trek Order: How to Watch the Movies and Series

It’s time to boldly go where no one has gone before. This post will tell you how to watch all the Star Trek movies and shows in the best way possible. Whether you’re a hardcore Trek fan who wants to know the chronological order or someone new to this franchise, I’ve got something for you.

What’s in the Star Trek Viewing Order?

Star trek movies in order, star trek series in order, star trek kelvin timeline, what order should you watch star trek, how to watch star trek in order, the complete star trek chronological order, frequently asked questions about the star trek timeline.

Trek creators only consider the episodes and films to be canonical in the Star Trek universe so we display them here in chronological order according to stardate (though stardate definitions have changed over time, so we work with what we have).

This list attempts to create a viewing order for all Star Trek television and films, but does not attempt to split up any episodes to view congruently. Instead, it focuses on an easy to follow viewing list. In the event that two works cover the exact same timeframe we first list the one published first. Additionally the placement within the timeline is often based on where the work ends rather than where it begins. There may be a few exceptions which will be pointed out in individual reviews. This timeline includes:

The Original Series (TOS)
The Next Generation (TNG)
Deep Space Nine (DS9)
Voyager (VOY)
Enterprise (ENT)
Short Treks
Lower Decks

So enjoy this table version of the timeline, and continue reading for a detailed breakdown of all this information.

Believe it or not, the Star Trek movies as they were released, are already in chronological order. So I don’t have to give you two orders here. Even the films in the Kelvin timeline are best watched in this order. I’ll get more into why that is, but the short answer is that for old Spock, the Kelvin timeline is still chronologically later than all of the other films.

Here is the films order:

Star Trek I: The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982)
Star Trek III: Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek VII: Generations (1994)
Star Trek VIII: First Contact (1996)
Star Trek IX: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek X: Nemesis (2002)
Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek: Beyond (2016)

All of that said, the films are fun, but the heart of Star Trek is really in the television series. So that’s what were going to talk about next.

Giving the order of the TV series is a little trickier, because several of them came out at the same time, and covered the same era. So we’ll be sure to break down those individually by season.

The release order look something like this:

The Original Series (1966-1969)
The Animated Series (1973-1974)
The Next Generation Seasons 1-5 (1987-1992)
The Next Generation Season 6-7/Deep Space Nine Seasons 1-2 (1992-1994)
Deep Space Nine Seasons 3-7/Voyager Seasons 1-5 (1994-1999)
Voyager Seasons 6-7 (1999-2001)
Enterprise (2001-2005)
Discovery (2017-)
Picard (2020-)
Lower Decks (2020-)
Prodigy (2021-)
Strange New Worlds (2022-)

And if you want to watch all of them chronologically, this is what that would look like:

Discovery Seasons 1-2
Strange New Worlds
The Original Series
The Animated Series
The Next Generation Seasons 1-5
The Next Generation Season 6-7/Deep Space Nine Seasons 1-2
Deep Space Nine Seasons 3-7/Voyager Seasons 1-5
Voyager Seasons 6-7
Discovery Season 3 and onward

Before we move on, let’s get into some of the details about how I place the new Star Trek movies in order.

First, let’s get one thing clear, the Kelvin universe is an alternate timeline from everything else, including Star Trek Discovery, and all of the new Star Trek TV shows.

However, there is one character from the main universe that shows up in the Kelvin universe, and that is old Spock. It’s his traveling back in time that creates this new universe.

So while this time period technically takes place before the events of the original series, I actually think a better place to watch them is where they take place chronologically, which would be after all of the main films, and after all of the series except for Picard in the later seasons of Discovery.

As of right now there are only three movies in the Kelvin timeline, and they are:

There is some debate on whether these are “good” Star Trek movies, as some say they are more like Star Wars , leaning heavily on the action. But whatever your opinion, it’s fair to say that these films are responsible for bringing in a whole new generation of Star Trek fans.

While the chronological order can be fun to do, especially for diehard Trek fans, I actually recommend going by release order if you want to watch everything.

Obviously, there is a lot to get through, so you might not want to watch everything, or if you do, you’ll want to pace yourself.

I would start with some of the films, and make your way through some of the most important episodes of The Original Series, as well as all of the shows that aired in the late 80s and 90s. That will get you caught up enough to be well-versed in Star Trek for the new shows that are coming out these days.

And I would definitely watch all of the films, because some of the most important events in Star Trek’s timeline take place in those films.

The best way to watch all of the Star Trek series and order is on Paramount+ which has pretty much everything.

However, if you don’t have Paramount+ and still want to get your Star Trek fix, there are a few other streaming services that have some of the older shows such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, though some of those streaming services are losing those shows as Paramount+ consolidates all of their Star Trek shows onto their own platform.

The other viable option is to buy them all for yourself, and there are links to do just that in the table above. This is particularly important if you want 4K versions of the films, you’re only interested in one specific type of show, or if you just don’t want to stream your Star Trek.

Personally, I would just go with Paramount+.

All right, now that we’ve outlined the release and chronological orders for Star Trek, let’s get into the full breakdown of everything together.

Enterprise (Year 2151-2161)

First, at least chronologically, we have Enterprise. This was a prequel to the original series, set at a time when humans were first sending out their warp five starships, i.e. the first starships that were able to go into deep space.

It is set during a time of uneasy alliances and contention between humans and other races, including even the Vulcans.

It also lays the groundwork for a number of key events, including the first contact with the Klingons, Romulans, Andorians, and many others.

It was canceled after four seasons, which at the time was the shortest run since the original series. It also marked the end of episodic Star Trek television for 12 years, until Star Trek Discovery appeared in 2017.

While definitely not the strongest of Star Trek shows, it still follows the basic formula, so if you like that, you will likely enjoy Star Trek Enterprise as well.

The Cage (Year 2254)

The Cage was a pilot episode to the original series that technically takes place before Star Trek Discovery. It actually takes place a number of years before the rest of the Original Series, and doesn’t even feature Capt. James T. Kirk as a character.

While some elements will be familiar to later trek fans, such as the USS Enterprise itself and Mr. Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy), this really was a test ground for the series.

Although much of the original pilot would be scrapped in favor of a different Capt., several other different characters, and the shifting premise, overall The Cage would remain an important part of Star Trek canon, with a legacy that has built to the modern day with the introduction of Strange New Worlds, which features the same characters.

Discovery, Seasons 1-2 (Year 2255)

One of the newer entries of the franchise, Star Trek Discovery starts out in the years just before the time of The Original Series.

It focuses on a starship with a unique purpose, to discover the secrets of instant travel.

But doing so has consequences, and not to get too spoilery here, but let’s just say that, starting with season 3, the rest of this show takes place in a completely different time period.

The Original Series (Year 2265-2269)

The Original Series is what started it all when it aired in 1967, right at the height of the space race. It features Captain Kirk and a host of memorable cast as they elect to boldly go where no man has gone before.

It has since become iconic, spawning several films and multiple sequels until Star Trek became the media juggernaut that it is today.

Though a bit low on budget, and a little over the top in places, The Original Series still holds up remarkably well, and is a testament to how innovative and ahead of its time it truly was.

The Animated Series (Year 2269-2270)

Many people do not know that there was actually an animated series that followed the original series by a few years. I like to think of this series as the remaining two years in the supposed five year mission, following the original series cancellation after three years.

The animation looks a lot like the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the time, including the Flintstones and Scooby Doo, but the quality is not the best that Star Trek has seen overall, and this is definitely one that can be skipped unless you are a completionist.

The Original Series Films (Year 2273-2293)

In 1979, the first of the Star Trek films was released. It would be the first in a long line of Star Trek film and TV shows. There would be six films specifically focusing on the original Enterprise crew. Chronologically, these all take place after the original series but before The Next Generation.

The Next Generation, Seasons 1-5 (Year 2364-2469)

Next comes five full seasons of Star Trek: The next generation, which is one of the more uninterrupted periods of the chronological timeline.

This series deals with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart) and his crew, as they continue the ongoing mission of the Star Trek Enterprise. It includes memorable characters such as Commander data, Commander Riker, Lieutenant Worf (the first Klingon with the Federation), and Chief Engineer Jordi Laforge.

The Next Generation, Season 6-7/Deep Space Nine, Seasons 1-2 (Year 2469-2471)

Following the first five seasons of The Next Generation, we get the final two seasons plus the first two seasons of Deep Space Nine.

The seasons overlap with each other, interweaving their narratives. If you want to know the exact episode order, I recommend referencing the table above.

The Deep Space Nine is a favorite Star Trek show for a lot of people. It involved some of the most memorable characters, including Captain Benjamin Sisko, who for many people, is the best captain. During the show they encounter a series of threats, including the Cardassian Union.

Star Trek: Generations (Year 2371)

I’m one of those few people who actually really love Star Trek Generations, the film that took place just after Star Trek The Next Generation, and involves the same cast. It also marks the final film appearance of William Shatner as Captain Kirk.

While many criticize it as being just an extended episode of Star Trek The Next Generation, I find this to be one of the films that is most true to its Star Trek roots, and feels the most like Star Trek.

Deep Space Nine Seasons 3-4/Voyager Seasons 1-2 (Year 2371-2372)

We get a few seasons of Deep Space Nine and the start of Star Trek Voyager following the events of Star Trek Generations.

Voyager is another Star Trek show that would run for seven seasons, and features a crew led by Captain Janeway as they tried to navigate an unknown region of space so they can return home.

Star Trek: First Contact (Year 2373)

Interrupting the ongoing shows is Star Trek First Contact, the Next Generation film that many people consider to be one of the Star Trek films of all time. It includes a definitive confrontation with the Borg, and some time travel shenanigans that lead to the witness of first contact with Earth.

It’s definitely one of the best films of Star Trek in general, largely due to Patrick Stewart’s brilliant performance, and an emphasis on character development for him in particular.

Deep Space Nine Seasons 5-7/Voyager Seasons 3-5 (Year 2373-2375)

As with many of these films, you will find several seasons of Deep SpaceNine and Star Trek Voyager in between. In this case you get the final two seasons of deep space nine, as well as two more seasons of Voyager.

Star Trek: Insurrection (Year 2375)

Next we get Star Trek Insurrection, which was not as well received as Star Trek First Contact. It’s plot was more mellow, trying to do too much, inject too much humor, and is overall a rather dull film. Nevertheless this film takes place right as Deep Space Nine ends, and should be watched at this point.

Voyager Seasons 6-7 (Year 2376-2378)

Here we finish off the last of the 90s era television shows. Star Trek Voyager ended with a bang, and although Star Trek Enterprise did come to take its place in 2001, by this time the golden age of Star Trek had kind of fizzled out.

In addition to Enterprise being canceled after four seasons, we will see with our next installment that people had rather grown tired of Star Trek.

Star Trek: Nemesis (Year 2379)

According to release date, Star Trek Enterprise would’ve been the next installment after Voyager, but chronologically our next step is Star Trek Nemesis. This Star Trek movie came out in 2002, to a weak box office return and lukewarm critical reception.

Personally, I am not a huge fan of this film, though it did lay the groundwork for a sort of Search for Data type of story, which I was very excited about at the time. And it does introduce us to Tom Hardy as the lead villain Shinzon.

Unfortunately this was the last we saw Star Trek for many years, and certainly the last of the Next Generation crew that we saw until just recently.

Lower Decks (Year 2380-2381)

With a revived interest in Star Trek television came an animated series called Lower Decks, which was a series geared for fans of adult animated series like Rick and Morty.

Though not quite is “adult” as Rick and Morty or similar television shows, it’s definitely not meant for kids. Chronologically, it takes place one year after Star Trek Nemesis, and spends a lot of time throwing Easter eggs and fun bits of Star Trek lore at us.

Overall, it’s a good time.

Prodigy (Year 2383)

Prodigy is another animated series, this time intended for children. It takes place just a few years after Lower Decks, and involves a group of young aliens coming across the USS Voyager.

It features the returning voice of Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway, and is a great entry point for younger fans of the Star Trek franchise.

Picard (Year 2399)

Picard is one of the flagship series in modern-day Star Trek. It shows the fallout of several key events, including the Romulan tragedy that resulted in Spock going back in time to inadvertantly start the Kelvin universe.

It takes place over a decade after the events of Star Trek Nemesis, and a lot has happened at that time. Of note is the fact that the former Captain Picard is no longer satisfied with the way Starfleet works, and he has to take some matters into his own hands.

Chronologically, this takes place several years after the last appearance of the Next Generation crew, but is technically not the end of the Star Trek timeline…

Discovery Season 3 and onward (Year 3188-89)

Finally we get back to Star Trek Discovery. Starting in season three, this show takes place nearly a thousand years after the main part of the timeline, and shows a very different universe than what we would expect.

To say more would be to spoil the show, so I won’t do that, but Star Trek Discovery is one of those shows that started off a little shaky, but has ended up being extremely good. I highly recommend it.

I’ve got a few extra questions that I get asked a lot related to this watch order, so I thought I’d include them in a short list here at the end.

Where does Star Trek Discovery Fit in the Timeline?

The first two seasons of Star Trek Discovery take place in 2255, just 10 years before the events of the original series. Beginning with the third season, Discovery takes place nearly a thousand years further in the future.

What is the Kelvin Timeline in Star Trek?

The Kelvin timeline is an alternate reality in Star Trek, one where Kirk’s parents died, Vulcan is destroyed, and a lot is different in general. It does not have any direct effect on the main timeline for Star Trek’s other shows. Right now it only consists of three films, the first two directed by JJ Abrams, and starring Chris Pine, along with a lot of other amazing actors.

When is the Picard Series in the Star Trek Timeline?

The Star Trek Picard series takes place in the year 2399, 20 years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis.

Where does Lower Deck Take Place in the Timeline?

Star Trek Lower Decks takes place in the year 2380, one year after the events of Star Trek Nemesis.

Where does Star Trek Prodigy Take Place in the Timeline?

Star Trek Prodigy takes place in the year 2383, four years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis, and three years after the events of Lower Decks.

Where Does Strange New Worlds Take Place in the Star Trek Timeline?

Strange New Worlds takes place in the year 2255, beginning immediately following the events of season two of Star Trek Discovery.

Do You Need to Watch Star Trek in Order?

No, you do not need to watch Star Trek in order. If you are a completionist, and want to watch everything in order, I recommend release order over chronological order. But most of the shows are designed to stand on their own, and can be watched without prior knowledge of the franchise.

Where is the Best Place to Start Watching Star Trek?

Star Trek began with the Original Series, but that show is hard for some to get through since we’re used to much higher modern standards. Generally, I encourage people to start with the first films (starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture). The new Kelvin timeline can also be a good place to start, but be aware that those films are much different than most of the Star Trek media. As always, if you have questions or comments about this timeline, we recommend you visit our contact page .

22 thoughts on “Star Trek Order: How to Watch the Movies and Series”

Got a guy working on it.

Great, thx for the quick fix. I really appreciate the work you guys do. This site is a fennimonial tool.

Will this be updated when Discovery S03, Picard and Lower Decks come around?

Yep, it will be updated by the end of the year, then probably monthly or every other month after that.

I believe “The Cage” With Captain Pike happened before Star Trek Discovery season 1.

Are you sure First Contact takes place after In Purgatory’s Shadow? Because I am watching that episode right and Sisko mentioned the “recent Borg attack”

Right after season 1, though season 3 will be different.

Thomas Bates, on the Star Trek Fandom website it says, “ This episode mentions a Borg attack. This was intended to refer to the Battle of Sector 001 seen in Star Trek: First Contact. (AOL chat, 1997) However the stardate given in the film (50893.5) is later than the stardate given in this two-parter (50564.2; seen in the next episode, “By Inferno’s Light”). When asked about the inconsistency, Ronald D. Moore commented, tongue-in-cheek, “I am not at liberty to reveal the secret messages contained within the seeming “mistaken” stardates, but rest assured that it is another brilliantly conceived and skilfully executed Star Trek moment brought to you by the people who wrote “Meridian”.” (AOL chat, 1997).” So it was supposed to be about First Contact but in a way it is not.

You are aware that the Animated Series is not considered Canon by THe franchise owners.

Great site. But there seems to be an error in the release order when sorting Star Trek episodes by release dates

Technical problem. We’re working on it.

What happened to DS9 season 1 episode 8? It is missing from you list. Also when filtering out viewed episodes and movies in you r app it switches from Star Trek to Shakespeares… I enjoy Shakespeare and did Captain Jean-Luc Picard. However, I do not think he would appreciate the Enterprise’s computer doing something similar.

Yeah the app is experiencing some technical difficulties, but we’re working on it.

The cage is set between Enterprise and Discovery, not after Discovery. The events of Discovery Season 2 show that the events of the Cage have already occurred.

I think it is stupid to watch this series in any other order than the order of release. Thx for the list.

Star Trek Voyager season 4 episode 23 Living Witness takes place hundreds of years after the rest of the series

It’s the end of 2020 and Discovery S03 and Lower Decks aren’t on the list. When will the site be updated?

I guess you’ll be adding season 3 of Discovery AFTER Picard, but before Calypso. At least that’s where it would make sense.

Thank you for compiling this list! I’ve been watching Deep Space Nine and Voyager for this first time and simultaneously thanks to this timeline. Thank you, too, for including The Animated Series which has been repeatedly reinforced by CBS as canonical.

This is a good list. But you might want to make a small correction. Most of the time it makes sense to watch shows in the order in which they aired. But on rare occasions the show was originally aired out of order. In those cases, it makes more sense to watch them in the order in which they were MADE rather then the order in which they were AIRED. Such was the case with Star Trek TOS. Here is link to an alpha site that shows the list in the order they should be. [[https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series]]

One more thing about that list. Discover and Strange New Worlds take place after “The Cage” but Before everything else.

Also for some of you with the TNG movies. What I originally did when I was watching the show on dvd, was I looked at the date that they were released in Theaters and then looked at the airdates of the corresponding seasons of the shows airing at the time. I noticed that around that time, there was a gap in the airdates where the shows went on Hiatus for the holidays. That is where I placed the movies.

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How to Watch the Star Trek Movies in Order

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All 13 movies were released chronologically.
Search various streaming platforms to stream the movies by release date.
Organized by three eras: The Original Series, The Next Generation, and Kelvin Timeline.

Unlike Star Wars , which is housed on Disney+ , there’s currently no way to watch all 13 Star Trek movies on a single streaming service. Instead, you need to boldly go (sorry) to multiple platforms in order to watch every movie in the legendary sci-fi franchise.

This article only covers Star Trek movies that were released theatrically. It doesn’t include TV series like The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine , or canonical adaptations across other media. Although having knowledge of The Original Star Trek Series and other Star Trek TV series is helpful, it's not essential for enjoying the movies.

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How to Watch the Star Trek Movies in Chronological Order

The Star Trek movies can be separated into three distinct eras. The first era covers the “Prime” timeline started by Gene Roddenberry’s original series from the 1960s and features James T. Kirk and Spock. This era spans six films, beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and ending with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

The second era is spun off from Star Trek: The Next Generation and features characters from that TV series. Fittingly, these are known as The Next Generation films. Finally, the Kelvin timeline kicked off with the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek in 2009. This era is an alternate timeline featuring a significantly different history from the “Prime” universe.

If you watch all 13 Star Trek movies in one sitting, it takes you just over 25 hours. But if you add in the seven TV shows, that time climbs to nearly 25 days .

How to Watch the Star Trek Movies in Order of Release

The great thing about Star Trek is that the movies were released chronologically, so you’ll be following the exact same order as above if you want to watch them based on the release date.

The majority of the movies are available to stream on Amazon Prime or Paramount+ , but you also need to dip into other services like Fubo or SlingTV to track down the rest.

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How To Watch Star Trek In Order

Star Trek first beamed onto television screens in September 1966. The Original Series quickly found itself a place in popular culture, but when it reached an abrupt end after three live-action seasons, it looked as though the USS Enterprise would never complete its five-year mission.

That mission would prove to be an ongoing one, and Star Trek had its best days ahead of it. By its 55th birthday in 2021, the franchise had grown to include 10 series, 10 films, and countless spin-off media, with more to come.

The space saga has found a new lease on life in the last half-decade, buoyed by subscription streaming. CBS All Access, now Paramount+, brought the franchise to a second peak after the 1990s. Between 1987 and 1994, the second Star Trek series, The Next Generation, brought the Enterprise to a whole new set of fans on the backs of the earlier crew’s ongoing cinematic exploits. TNG would launch a phenomenal 18 years of continuous Star Trek adventures on television screens spanning four series.

When the original Star Trek crew wrapped up their big-screen adventures in 1991 with The Undiscovered Country , TNG was ready to move into movie theaters at its peak. Enterprise reached a premature end in 2005 despite finding some form in its third and fourth seasons. After nearly two decades and 624 hours of primetime television, it’s understandable that the franchise needed a rest.

A few bleak years followed for Trek fans, although the extended universe of comics, books, and video games kept the franchise alive while replenishing its dilithium crystals.

Just as the movie run of the 1980s had proven the franchise’s worth and eventually returned it to television, the clever reset of 2009’s Star Trek began a resurgence over multimedia.

The result is a rich and diverse collection of series that has explored the history of Starfleet forwards and back. Main storylines across the combined series now cross from the 22nd to the 33d century. That time span, along with its production history, is what you should consider when you take on an epic Star Trek marathon.

Time and again

Star_Trek_Deep_Space_Nine_Trials_and _Tribblations

Time travel is built into Star Trek and has been since the fourth episode of The Original Series , “The Naked Now.” The penultimate episode of that first season, “The City on the Edge of Forever,” became an instant classic thanks to the heartbreaking time travel mechanic at the center of its drama.

Trek’s frequent trips through time mean that any chronological viewing of Star Trek, even following the general narrative period of each series, will usually leap about the timelines. If you’re as fortunate as the crew of Deep Space Nine was during the brilliant 30th-anniversary episode Trials and Tribble-ations , you might find yourself back on the original USS Enterprise itself.

Some series have deeper connections to multiple timelines than others. Star Trek Enterprise may have taken the franchise back in time to prequel The Original Series , but it couldn’t resist tying itself to the future. A temporal cold war plot introduced interference from the 28th century even though it charted Starfleet’s early days in the 22nd century.

Star Trek Discovery went further when it reset its timeline after its second season, propelling the show and most of its cast to the 33rd century. So far, Discovery has taken Star Trek further forward than any series has gone before.

Watching the Star Trek series in order

Despite the considerable gap between the series’ two peaks, during the 1990s and now, Star Trek has adjusted to modern streaming in more ways than one. Most notably, episode counts have more than halved per live-action season since 2017.

The television series by release date

Star Trek: The Original Series (3 seasons, 1966 – 1969) Star Trek: The Animated Series (2 seasons, 1973 – 1974) Star Trek: The Next Generation (7 seasons, 1987 – 1994) Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (7 seasons, 1993 – 1999) Star Trek: Voyager (7 seasons, 1995 – 2001) Star Trek: Enterprise (4 seasons, 2001 – 2005) Star Trek: Discovery (3 seasons, 2017 – present) Star Trek: Short Treks (2 seasons, 2018 – 2020) Star Trek: Picard (1 season, 2020 – present) Star Trek: Lower Decks (2 seasons, 2020 – present) Star Trek: Prodigy (1 season, 2021 – present)

The film series by release date

The Star Trek films followed directly on from The Animated Series after the concept of a live-action revival on television was abandoned. With the second film, the timeline wisely jumped two decades into the future, allowing the original crew of the USS Enterprise to age gracefully. The seventh Star Trek film took TNG to movie theatres, and they bid adieu to Captain Kirk on the way. The crew of the Enterprise-E would voyage for three more movies before the franchise returned to that continuity during 2020’s Picard .

In 2009, Star Trek successfully relaunched the story onto the big screen , bringing the crew of the Enterprise back thanks to a split timeline. The three films, 2009’s Star Trek , 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness , and 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, are set in the so-called Kelvin timeline, named after the USS Kevin, which was present at its creation. This timeline diverged from the Prime Star Trek universe that includes all other films and series (despite speculation early in Discovery ’s run that it was in a different timeline to The Original Series ). As such, the new Star Trek films run concurrent to The Original Series in chronology, but their unique position allows them to incorporate several future echoes. The reason behind the divergence was picked up in the prime timeline during Star Trek: Picard .

To see the Prime Universe movies in production and chronological order, use this watch list.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) Star Trek Generations (1994) Star Trek: First Contact (1996) Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

By chronology

The recent animated expansion of the Star Trek Universe has allowed the show to drift back in time. Both Lower Decks , the adult comedy series, and Prodigy , the kids-focused animation, tag on to the end of The Next Generation period, shortly after the return of USS Voyager from the Delta Quadrant.

Over the last decade, Star Trek: Online has become a powerful narrative outside the shows and films. It deserves mention because it uses well-known characters and includes voiceovers from original series cast members. However, it is classed as soft canon, which means that future Star Trek series may contradict it despite its mainly future setting. Star Trek: Online is set in 2411, approximately 30 years after the final Next Generation film, Nemesis , and a decade after Star Trek: Picard .

Star Trek: Short Treks was an anthology series that ranged from Discovery ’s second season to the far future of the 33rd century during the excellent Calypso .

If you want to watch the complete Star Trek series in chronological order, you’ll have to warp through this watch list.

Star Trek: Enterprise (2151 – 2161) Star Trek: Discovery, Seasons 1 and 2 (2255) Star Trek: The Original Series (2265 – 2269) Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269 – 2270) Star Trek I – VI (2273 – 2293) Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364 – 2370) Star Trek: Generations (VII) – Star Trek: Nemesis: X (2293 – 2379) Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2269 – 2375) Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378) Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380) Star Trek: Prodigy (2383) Star Trek: Picard (2399) Star Trek: Discovery, Season 3 onwards (3188 – 3189)

Upcoming shows

star-trek-discovery-captain-pike-1550063612

We’re going to be setting foot in the Alpha Quadrant more than ever. At least two more live-action Star Trek shows are planned, both spinning out from the period of Discovery ’s first two seasons. Strange New Worlds will continue the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike, Mr. Spock, and Number One in the 22nd century, promising something a little closer to The Original Series .

Section 31, the ever-intriguing dark side of The Federation that first appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, is set to have a show too, picking up the misadventures of Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou. We last encountered her in the 22nd century. However, whether the former Emperor of the Mirror Universe’s Terran Empire will stay in the Prime Universe and that period is yet to be seen.

The upcoming Star Trek series are:

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Arriving 2022) Star Trek: Section 31 (TBC)

How to watch the Star Trek movies in order

Set phasers to "fun" and watch the Star Trek movies in order

It’s a good time to be a Star Trek fan and watch all the Star Trek movies in order. With three active TV series ( Discovery , Picard , Lower Decks ) and three more in the works (Section 31, Prodigy, Strange New Worlds ), there are more Star Trek adventures airing now than at any point since the mid-90s.

While Star Trek TV shows have come and gone since the ‘60s, Star Trek movies maintained a pretty consistent release schedule between 1979 and 2016. On average, we got a new film once every three years. But with the fourth move of the Star Trek reboot franchise allegedly canceled , we may be in for a long wait until we see the U.S.S. Enterprise on the big screen again.

Still, there’s one missing piece of the puzzle: Where are all the Star Trek movies? Unlike watching the Star Wars movies in order , you can't see every Trek film on the same service.

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In the meantime, there are thirteen Star Trek movies to watch (or rewatch), either on DVD or your favorite streaming services. I personally bought the Blu-ray collections so that I wouldn’t be at the mercy of shifting streaming schedules, but if you prefer an all-digital experience, these movies are almost always available somewhere online.

Star Trek movies in order: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek movies in order of release date

Watching the Star Trek movies in release order is, for the most part, exactly the same as watching the Star Trek movies in chronological order. (There’s some time travel here and there, but the later films still follow “after” the earlier ones.) There are 13 films. The first came out in 1979; the last came out in 2016.

The only issue is that they're spread out across a number of different subscription services. 10 of the 13 can be found on Amazon Prime Video, and seven of those are also on Hulu. FX Now and Fubo each have one Star Trek movie a piece, each film being a streaming exclusive (you'd need to buy or rent to watch otherwise). And then CBS All Access (soon to be Paramount Plus) and Pluto also have one film.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) : On Hulu and Prime Video
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) : On Hulu and Prime Video
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) : On Hulu and Prime Video
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) : On Prime Video
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) : On Hulu and Prime Video
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) : On Hulu and Prime Video
Star Trek: Generations (1994) : On Prime Video
Star Trek: First Contact (1996) : On Prime Video
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) : On Hulu and Prime Video
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) : On CBS All Access/Paramount Plus and Pluto
Star Trek (2009): On Fubo
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) : On FX Now
Star Trek Beyond (2016) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Star Trek is just one of many great things you can watch on <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=92X1584493&xcust=hawk-custom-tracking&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hulu.com%2F&sref" data-link-merchant="SkimLinks - hulu.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Hulu . In addition to its acclaimed originals like High Fidelity and Shrill, Hulu streams next-day airings of current TV shows and library content from FX.

<a href="https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=45724&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.com%2Fdp%2FB0858YGKZ4%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-20%26ascsubtag%3Dhawk-custom-tracking-20" data-link-merchant="Amazon US"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Amazon Prime Video has a huge library beyond Star Trek movies. Not only do they have a ton of top movies and TV shows, they've got a lineup of acclaimed originals. They've got everything from Fleabag to Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to The Expanse to Jack Ryan.

<a href="https://geni.us/YkQAuWd" data-link-merchant="geni.us"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Fubo.TV : One of the streaming services you'll need to complete the Star Trek movies in order, Fubo has all of the right network channels too. Who needs cable? Not Fubo subscribers. It's got <a href="https://geni.us/YkQAuWd" data-link-merchant="geni.us"" data-link-merchant="geni.us"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front.

One year of Paramount Plus: was $99 or $59, now $49 or $29

One year of Paramount Plus: <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=92X1584493&xcust=hawk-custom-tracking&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbs.com%2Fcbs-all-access%2Finterstitial%2F1%2F&sref" data-link-merchant="SkimLinks - cbs.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> was $99 or $59, now $49 or $29 If you sign up a little under one month before Paramount Plus launches, you'll save $30 to $50 on its annual price. The higher rate is for the ad-free version. Paramount Plus will pack everything from Yellowstone to SpongeBob SquarePants, The Real Criminal MInds and more.

On top of there not being one home for all the movies, there are a few small wrinkles in this plan, however. First: The Star Trek movies aren’t completely standalone. They require some knowledge of what happened in the Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation TV shows to fully grok.

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Furthermore, the 13 movies don’t tell one continuous story. Rather, they’re based on three separate iterations of the long-running franchise.

star trek movies in order: Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek movies in order of series

Just like the Star Trek TV shows, the Star Trek movies don’t all focus on the same characters and settings. While there’s a little bit of crossover (which we’ll cover below), the films generally fall into three categories.

The first category is based on Star Trek: The Original Series. This is your daddy’s Star Trek, complete with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, the original U.S.S. Enterprise and Scotty beaming people up. If you’ve ever heard about “KHAAAAN!” or “the one with the whales,” or “Shakespeare in the original Klingon,” this is where they come from.

They're all available on Prime Video, and almost all (The Voyage Home is missing) are on Hulu as well.

Star Trek: The Original Series movies

Next up, there are the Next Generation movies. This is Gen X/Elder Millennial Star Trek, starring Picard, Data, Worf and the crew. The movies start off with the Enterprise-D, but transition to the sleeker Enterprise-E in First Contact. Generations features a crossover with some original series crewmembers, but the rest put the TNG cast front and center, with occasional Deep Space Nine and Voyager cameos.

You'll need at least two streaming services to see all of them.

Star Trek: The Next Generation movies

Star Trek: Generations (1994): On Prime Video

Finally, there are the “reboot” Star Trek films, also known as the “Kelvin timeline” films. Kirk, Spock and McCoy take center stage again, but this time in an alternate reality, where events play out differently. This is Star Trek for the cool kids, complete with fast starships, pulse-pounding action and soundtracks populated by the Beastie Boys. (It’s not quite as mindless as it sounds — except for Into Darkness, maybe.) For the most part, these films don’t require previous Star Trek knowledge. But they do pick up where Nemesis left off, more or less, before winding the clock back.

This set is the splintered across services more than any of the others.

Star Trek reboot movies

Star Trek (2009) : On Fubo

star trek movies in order — Star Trek: The Original Series: Space Seed

Star Trek episodes to watch first

TOS: The Original Series TNG: The Next Generation ENT: Enterprise

Watching the Star Trek movies is an extremely straightforward process, but they may be a little incomprehensible unless you’ve seen at least some of the TV series . (I watched the entire franchise , but that may not be practical for you.) The Motion Picture picks up after The Original Series ends; likewise with Generations and The Next Generation.

As such, here are some episodes you should watch if you’re going to dive into the movies. Generally, the movies stand on their own, but it might help to know about some of the supporting characters and subplots:

Episodes for Star Trek: The Original Series movies

Space Seed (TOS, S1, E22) : On Hulu and Prime Video
Errand of Mercy (TOS: S1, E26) : On Hulu and Prime Video
Journey to Babel (TOS: S2, E10) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation movies

Q Who (TNG: S2, E16) : On Hulu and Prime Video
The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I and II (TNG: S3, E26 / S4, E1) : On Hulu and Prime Video
Family (TNG: S4, E2) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Episodes for Star Trek reboot movies

Unification, Parts I and II (TNG: S5, E7 & E8) : On Hulu and Prime Video
First Flight (ENT: S2, E24) : On Hulu and Prime Video
The Xindi (ENT: S3, E1) : On Hulu and Prime Video

Which Star Trek movies are good?

If you watch all 13 Star Trek movies, you’re signing yourself up for about 26 hours of screen time. That’s more than a casual fan may want to invest. Luckily (or unluckily?), not ever Star Trek film is created equal. For a long time, fans held that the even-numbered movies were good, while the odd-numbered ones were bad. That trend seems to have reversed with the recent reboot films, though: The odd ones are good, while the even one is, well, not.

In any case, if you want to start with the movies that are really worth your time, here they are:

I personally like some of the other ones quite a bit (Nemesis is better than you remember, and Generations has quite a few moving moments), but those should at least represent a good starting point.

And once you’re done with those, you can move onto Galaxy Quest: the best Star Trek movie that’s not actually a Star Trek movie.

Next: How to watch Harry Potter movies in order

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.

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From Ensign to Commander Ro: The Essential Ro Laren Watch List

How Ro Laren saved Starfleet by breaking the rules.

Graphic illustration of the Bajoran Ro Laren

StarTrek.com

The Bajoran Ro Laren earned the admiration of Star Trek: The Next Generation viewers by speaking candidly. Without asking for permission.

Born in the year 2340 on Cardassian-occupied Bajor, Ro Laren's earliest memories are of personal and cultural loss. At seven years old, she was forced to watch her father die by interrogation. She spent almost 10 years in and out of refugee camps. Ashamed by what she perceived as Bajoran weakness, Ro Laren grew desperate. Anything was better than watching her people suffer. So, she joined Starfleet.

Ro Laren beams aboard the Enterprise-D via transporters in 'Ensign Ro'

Ro Laren beams aboard the Enterprise-D, "Ensign Ro"

Ro rose in rank from Ensign to Commander with well-documented authority issues that include a body count and a court martial record. People lived, and died, by her decisions. But despite an open contempt for rank, and her one-time defection to the Maquis, Starfleet command was her natural path. Transformation is one of Ro's attributes.

In honor of the serially disobedient ensign, here are some of Ro Laren’s defining moments on her climb towards Commander.

" Ensign Ro ," Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 5, Episode 3)

In Picard's Ready Room, Ro Laren displays her typical demeanor - surly, arms crossed - in 'Ensign Ro'

Classic Ro Laren vibes, "Ensign Ro"

You know you’re a Star Trek legend when your debut episode is your name.

Ensign Ro reported for duty on the U.S.S. Enterprise -D under orders from a shifty Admiral Kennelly. Kennelly needed Captain Jean-Luc Picard's help with a revolutionary Bajoran named Orta who was causing trouble for the Cardassians, and now Starfleet, following a recent attack on Federation colony Solarion IV. A diplomatic approach to engage Bajor was suggested, and Kennelly had just the Bajoran for the job.

Enter disgraced ensign Ro Laren whose name instantly draws anger from Picard. In infamous Starfleet history, Ro's disastrous away mission on Garon II is the stuff of nightmares. According to Starfleet records, eight crew members of the U.S.S. Wellington died because she failed to follow orders. Still, Kennelly insists on Ro's appointment aboard the Enterprise . Guess she’s seriously reformed....

Jean-Luc Picard and Ro Laren approach Keeve on the surface of Valo II in 'Ensign Ro'

Jean-Luc Picard and Ro Laren at a refugee camp on Valo II, "Ensign Ro"

"Ensign Ro" demonstrates Ro Laren’s greatest asset. Her complete disdain for Starfleet formality means that she has no qualms telling Picard the true score of the Cardassian Occupation. She suggests, forcefully, that Starfleet's "diplomatic" efforts would be better spent in the camps on Valo II. And by episode's end, Ro's authenticity rises to the surface. She is compassionate to Bajor. And she tells the truth, even when it is against protocol or dangerous to do so.

After Kennelly's underhanded deal with Cardassia is exposed, Ensign Ro tells Picard that she’ll, actually, maybe, stick around. But only if she is allowed to break uniform code by wearing a Bajoran earring .

" Disaster ," Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 5, Episode 5)

Close-up of Ro Laren as the bridge of the Enterprise loses power in 'Disaster'

Ro Laren reacts to scenario on the disabled bridge, "Disaster"

Wherein everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. When a catastrophic phenomenon leads to a hull breach and a rapidly deteriorating containment field, only three Enterprise -D crew members are on or near the bridge — highest-ranking officer Counselor Troi, Chief Miles O'Brien, and Ensign Ro.

Cut and dry Ro recommends a full separation from the Enterprise 's saucer section. Brutal, but hear her out; since no life signs or survivors were detected in the breached area of the ship, a separation maneuver would ensure that the rest of the vessel doesn't imminently combust. Ro Laren — strategist for a disaster.

" The Next Phase ," Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 5, Episode 24)

Ensign Ro Laren and Geordi La Forge stand directly in front of each other with their hands lifted and palms touching in 'The Next Phase'

Ro Laren and Geordi La Forge touch hands, "The Next Phase"

Ro Laren inhabits the spirit of teamwork in this version of a ghost story.

After being beamed away during an explosion aboard a Romulan ship, Ensign Ro and Geordi La Forge discover that they are no longer "with the living." Instead, they’re out-of-phase transporter ghosts whose patterns are no longer detectable to the Enterprise crew. While stuck in dematerialized limbo, Ro introduces the idea of them being Borhya , the Bajoran concept for a "spirit." When La Forge offers a scientific solution for their non-state, Ro is quick to problem solve, carrying out an investigation alongside Geordi and Data on the "other side."

By episode end, a corporeally-realized Ro admits that she's been pushed into another way of thinking about life after death. Or, life after traumatic transporter accident.

" Rascals ," Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 6, Episode 7)

Guinan and Ensign Ro (both in their kid bodies) peek past a doorway in 'Rascals'

Guinan and Ensign Ro, in their kid form, peek around the corner, "Rascals"

Who knew the Ro Laren watch list includes two transporter accidents?

When Captain Picard, Ro, Guinan, and Keiko O'Brien are regressed to the adolescent ages of 10-12, the scenario is inconvenient. Or… a therapeutic exercise? With a little nudge from Guinan, Ro is able to reclaim the part of her past she described as "long" and "depressing." She even draws a portrait of her mother in crayon.

" Preemptive Strike ," Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 7, Episode 24)

With tears in her eyes, Ro Laren in Maquis attire grieves the death of Macias in 'Preemptive Strike'

Ro Laren cries over Macias' death, "Preemptive Strike"

Ro Laren, the traitor?

Ro's sympathies to the Maquis, a resistance group opposed to the Occupation, led to her defection from Starfleet in this monumental episode.

Ro's redemptive path under Starfleet had been fought and hard won, and a single, undercover mission alongside a Maquis leader named Macias led to a crisis of faith. While Picard couldn’t recognize her motivations, we understood why Ro defected. She had met a parental figure in Macias, a proud Bajoran who loved spicy hasperat like her dad and had the same appreciation for playing Klavion . Inspired by this leader, Ro reclaimed an identity worth fighting for, like her father once fought for. So, she left for that same cause.

Her only regret, Riker conveyed, was that she had let her captain down.

" Imposters ," Star Trek: Picard (Season 3, Episode 5)

In the 10 Forward holoprogram, Ro Laren and Picard are across each other at the bar in 'Imposters'

Ro Laren and Jean-Luc Picard have a frank discussion, "Imposters"

AKA, "How the hell is Ro Laren back in Starfleet?!"

Always capable of a comeback, Ro Laren wore the pips again, this time as a commander in Starfleet Intelligence.

Commander Ro's sacrifice in Star Trek: Picard "Imposters" is a full restoration of her heroic status. True to her nature, she acts boldly and with conviction, engendering trust through uncomplicated honesty. When Ro confides to Admiral Picard that a Changeling infiltration has permeated Starfleet's highest level, he has no choice but to believe her.

There is still a depth of feeling in their relationship, after all — Picard's disappointment over Ro's betrayal, Ro's anger at Picard's righteousness. It's a stalemate of spurned hope, but the important fact remains; Commander Ro’s intelligence, hidden on her signature Bajoran earring , saves Starfleet from what’s to come.

Close-up of Ro Laren on the Titan-A's viewscreen moments before the Changeling bomb is detonated in 'Imposters'

Ro moments before the Changeling bomb is detonated, "Imposters"

"Imposters" is a fittingly complicated end to the life of Ro Laren. To some, she is Starfleet's persona non grata, a habitual rule-breaker whose brashness had led to casualties. To others, her ability to stand and die for a fighting chance, either with Starfleet or the Maquis, makes her a strong contender for best in command.

And her final act is a trademark. After discovering that a Changeling bomb was planted on her shuttle, Admiral Picard orders Ro to turn her vessel around so that she can be beamed to safety.

Commander Ro refuses.

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Robyn Belt is a writer, editor, and journalist (Startrek.com, Marvel.com) who loves thinking about the real and speculative science of Star Trek. DS9, TNG, SNW super-fan. Find her on Twitter @robyn_belt or Threads @robynbelt_.

In addition to streaming on Paramount+ , Star Trek: Picard also streams on Prime Video outside of the U.S. and Canada, and in Canada can be seen on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. Star Trek: Picard is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Filtered and stylized of a Progenitor from 'The Chase'

How to Watch 'Battlestar Galactica' in Order

How the frak do you watch this show, anyway?

The Big Picture

Battlestar Galactica is a reimagined version of the 1970s sci-fi series created by Ronald D. Moore in 2003.
The series begins with a miniseries in 2003, introducing a fresh cast of characters facing extinction and searching for Earth.
Multiple prequels and webisodes add depth to the BSG universe, culminating in Blood & Chrome as the final released chapter in the franchise.

Considered one of the best television dramas of the century, Battlestar Galactica is one of those shows that you've likely been exposed to in some form, even if you haven't watched it in full. It's a philosophical take on the space opera, and one that continues to make waves long after it concluded back in 2009. But with the series' 20th anniversary upon us, there's no time like the present to dive back into the adventures of the wandering Galactica . But with so many miniseries, webseries, tie-in films, prequels, and more to digest, how exactly should one go about tackling this impressive franchise? Given the sheer bulk of material, it can seem overwhelming at first. Don't worry, we have the answers. And no, you won't have to get into a firefight with any Cylons... Probably.

Battlestar Galactica

When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.

The Original 'Battlestar Galactica' Started Back in the 1970s

If you didn't know, Battlestar Galactica is actually a reimagining of an old sci-fi series from the 1970s . Before Ronald D. Moore took the concept to new heights with the aforementioned SyFy series, prolific television director Glen A. Larson created the original BSG , which aired on ABC from September 1978 to April 1979. Beginning with a three-part pilot film, "Saga of a Star World" (which would be re-released in Canada as a feature, simply titled Battlestar Galactica ), the show dealt with a band of survivors as they escaped the villainous Cylons––robots created by a reptillian race (think V ) of the same name who were wiped out by their own creation. But after only 24 episodes, the original Battlestar Galactica kicked the can and was promptly canceled. But fans weren't happy. They began a letter-writing campaign to bring the series back , and somehow were successful––at least for a time.

The following year, Galactica 1980 aired on the network. With a lower budget, a few missing cast members, and a new time travel-themed premise, this show only ran for 10 episodes before it got the ax, this time for good. For decades, Battlestar Galactica wandered the distant domain of syndication, becoming a cult phenomenon that never took off the way other sci-fi franchises did. It wasn't as exciting as Star Wars, nor was it as innovative as Star Trek, and as a result, BSG could have easily been gone forever. While cast members reportedly attempted to revive the original series again years later, nothing ever came to fruition. The original Battlestar Galactica shows are not required viewing if you're interested in the reimagined series , "So say we all." They're clunky, dated, and while there is some cult appeal, they don't hold up terribly well against the reboot. More than that, they aren't even in the same continuity as the modern reimagining, which is where the franchise (as fans today know it) really begins.

'Battlestar Galactica's Reimagining Begins With the 2003 Miniseries

Opting to reboot the franchise instead of reviving it, Universal brought in Ronald D. Moore to helm what would become a three-hour miniseries that aired in two parts on the Sci-Fi Channel (long before it was re-branded as SyFy) on December 8 and 9, 2003. This miniseries begins at the very end of a 40-year armistice that the humans on Kobol have with the Cylons following the First Cylon War. But all of that changes when nearly all the Twelve Colonies are wiped out by a surprise Cylon attack that leaves the human race nearly extinct. This is where our heroes are introduced, and as the Galactica retreats from their homeworld, they do their best to evade the Cylons' grip.

The miniseries introduces most of the cast members we'll continue with throughout this voyage. Nearly retired Commander William Adama ( Edward James Olmos ) leads the fleet, while former Secretary of Education Laura Roslin ( Mary McDonnell ) is promoted to President almost immediately in the wake of the attack. These two, along with Colonel Saul Tigh ( Michael Hogan ), Dr. Gaius Baltar ( James Callis ), and others attempt to keep humanity alive. Fan favorites such as Katee Sackhoff 's "Starbuck" (a gender-swapped reimagining of Dirk Benedict 's character from the original show), Jamie Bamber 's "Apollo," Aaron Douglas 's Galen Tyrol, and Grace Park 's "Boomer" (another gender-swap from the original) also grace the screen. Oh, and let's not forget about Tricia Helfer 's seductive Number Six. If you want to watch the reimagined Battlestar Galactica in its entirety, then you must start with the 2003 miniseries .

'Battlestar Galactica' Continues With the 2004 Sci-Fi Series (and Some Bonus Material)

From there, the 2004 television series was launched. Premiering with the pilot episode "33" on October 18, 2004, Battlestar Galactica hit the ground running and didn't let up. The show continued to explore the survival of the human race following the events of the miniseries and developed these characters (and this fascinating world) over a longer period. Season 1 of BSG is fairly straightforward, and requires no additional material to support the narrative, but things get a little more confusing when we get to the tail-end of Season 2 . The episode "The Captain's Hand" (the 30th overall and the 17th of the second season) continues the Pegasus arc that began midway through the season, while also acting as the bridge for the television film Battlestar Galactica: Razor .

Razor may take place after "The Captain's Hand," but the events of the film precede the two-part season finale "Lay Down Your Burdens," despite being released after the third season. In short, watch all of BSG from Season 1 until Season 2's "The Captain's Hand." After that, take a break to watch the extended version of Razor (you won't be disappointed). Additionally, there are some deleted scenes dubbed Razor Flashbacks that were later released as webisodes that are worth checking out. Be sure to finish BSG 's second season after all that. Following Season 2 but before Season 3, check out Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance , another set of webisodes that follow Colonel Tigh and Chief Tyrol in between seasons. After The Resistance , Season 3 begins with no further interruptions.

When arriving at Season 4, we take a brief pause after the eleventh episode (and overall, 66th episode) of Battlestar Galactica, titled "Sometimes a Great Notion," in order to watch the Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy webseries. Like The Resistance before it, The Face of the Enemy is a 10-part break in the narrative that was released during a break, this time following Lieutenant Felix Gaeta ( Alessandro Juliani ), Cylon Number Eight, and Colonel Tigh. Resume viewing with Season 4's "A Disquiet Follows My Soul," and continue through the three-part series finale "Daybreak." With that, Battlestar Galactica officially ended on March 20, 2009 , and all the questions we had about when the show took place were finally answered. Or were they?

'The Plan' Tells 'Battlestar Galactica's Story From the Cylons' Point of View

About seven months after BSG 's series finale aired, the television film Battlestar Galactica: The Plan was released first on home video before airing on television a few months later. This feature, penned by Jane Espenson and directed by series star Edward James Olmos himself, chronicled the events of BSG from a slightly different perspective: that of the Cylons. Framed around the late Dean Stockwell 's humanoid Cylon John Cavil aka Number One, The Plan explains the gritty details of One's, well, plan to wipe out all of humanity . That means that fans get to revisit parts of BSG 's first two seasons re-told through Cavil's point of view, which is both creepy and entertaining. It's a fascinating retrospective that adds a bit of perspective to the greater mythology.

While The Plan only deals with the first two or so seasons of the 2004 Battlestar Galactica , it shouldn't be viewed until after you finish watching the series . The reasoning here is that Cavil not only spoils much of the plot of the original show in this two-hour feature, but he also spoils the Final Five reveal from Season 3 and his final monologue likewise ties into Season 4's "No Exit." Overall, The Plan gives audiences a better grasp (or at least a more well-rounded one) on the motivations behind the initial Cylon attack and the attempted human genocide that followed, but it works better as an epilogue to the reimagined series rather than a companion piece.

'Battlestar Galactica' Spawned Two Prequels––and Then Never Returned

In addition to The Plan , there is more Battlestar Galactica material set in the reimagined universe out there if you want it. Though not required viewing for the narrative, these prequels open the door for a more complete BSG experience. The first of these is the short-lived Caprica , named after the city we see blown to smithereens in the 2003 miniseries. Set nearly six decades before the events of the miniseries, Caprica explains how the Cylons first came about . The show followed Eric Stoltz as Daniel Graystone and Esai Morales as Joseph Adama, father of Edward James Olmos' William Adama from Battlestar Galactica , among a larger cast, and dealt with themes of grief, loss, resurrection, and playing God. Running two seasons and 19 episodes, Caprica wasn't received as well as the original series , but the prequel still has its merits.

But of the two prequels, Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome might be the more exciting. Following a young William "Husker" Adama (played here by Luke Pasqualino ), the webseries was the initial pitch for a proposed television series prequel for SyFy, only the network didn't take the bait . Despite that, Blood & Chrome was later re-edited and re-released as a television film , following Adama as he fights in the First Cylon War in the years between Caprica and Battlestar Galactica . Blood & Chrome is a bit underrated, even if it feels a bit clunky at times. At the very least, it's fun to see Adama as a young man in his prime, as well as a scarier, bulkier model of a Cylon in action.

To this day, Blood & Chrome ––which dropped in 2012––is the final installment of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica . The way that BSG ended with its three-part finale (don't worry, we won't spoil it here), there isn't necessarily room for a direct continuation. Prequels and parallel narratives were the best shot at pushing Battlestar Galactica further, and with both of those avenues tapped out, it doesn't look as if we'll see this iteration of the Galactica again in the near future. Of course, just like Ronald D. Moore's reimagining was a reboot of the original Glen A. Larson series, so too might a new Battlestar Galactica reboot hit screens one day . As we all well know, "All this has happened before, and it will all happen again."

Battlestar Galactica can be purchased digitally on Prime Video.

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Other Star Trek shows

Where to watch star trek: discovery free — final season is underway.

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The newest season of Star Trek: Discovery is officially underway. Season 5 marks the final season of the Star Trek spin-off, and it's shaping up to be an action-packed swang song. Whether you're looking to stream the new episodes or get caught up on the past four seasons, we've got everything you need to know about the show, including where to watch Star Trek: Discovery free via a TV channel abroad.

Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017 and follows in the decades-long tradition of Star Trek stories. The series is set about five years before the original Star Trek, which chronicled Captain Kirk's five-year journey. In Star Trek: Discovery, the U.S.S. Discovery travels through space on a mission of exploration. Season 5 sees Captain Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the U.S.S. Discovery crew on the hunt for an ancient power that others are also seeking.

The first three episodes are currently streaming. Keep reading to learn how to watch the series no matter where you are in the world.

Where to watch American Horror Story | Where to watch 9-1-1 | Where to watch Game of Thrones

Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery in the US

New Season 5 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery land on Paramount+ on Thursdays. The premiere week included two episodes, and now one new episode will drop weekly. Episodes should be available starting at about 3 a.m. ET. All four past seasons are available to stream through the service. Subscriptions start at $5.99 a month and come with a one-week free trial.

Paramount Plus' Essential tier is a steal at this price and only has limited ads. It features tons of on-demand content from Paramount, CBS, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, and MTV. And you get NFL and Champions League soccer live streaming. There's a 7-day free trial, then it's $6 a month or $60 a year. The only way to ditch the ads is by opting for the Showtime bundle.

Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery in Canada

Paramount+ is also the home to Star Trek: Discovery in Canada. Plans start at CAD$6.99 and come with a one-week free trial. All episodes are available to stream here.

Where to watch Star Trek: Discovery in New Zealand

Star Trek: Discovery is available to stream for free on TVNZ+ . You'll need to create a free account to start streaming. In addition to new season 5 episodes, Seasons 1-4 are also streaming on the site. New episodes are available on Thursdays.

How to watch Star Trek: Discovery from anywhere

If you're not in New Zealand at the moment, you can access streams with a VPN (virtual private network). VPNs alter your electronic device's location so you can use websites that might not be available in certain regions. They're also solid ways to boost your online privacy. We recommend ExpressVPN , a user-friendly option with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Check out our ExpressVPN review for additional details and see below to learn how to use a VPN.

With its consistent performance, reliable security, and expansive global streaming features, ExpressVPN is the best VPN out there, excelling in every spec and offering many advanced features that makes it exceptional. Better yet, you can save up to 49% and get an extra three months for free today.

How to watch Star Trek: Discovery with a VPN

Sign up for a VPN if you don't have one.
Install it on the device you're using to watch Star Trek: Discovery.
Turn it on and set it to New Zealand.
Go to TVNZ+ and create a log-in profile.
Watch Star Trek: Discovery.

If you're sad that this is the final season of Star: Trek Discovery and can't get enough of the franchise, there are multiple other series you can check out. Star Trek: Picard wrapped its third and final season in 2023 and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (a spin-off from Star Trek: Discovery) is slated to release a third season next year. Like Discovery, Picard and Strange New Worlds are Paramount+ originals and are available to watch on the streamer. Paramount+ is also the streaming home to several other older Star Trek series, including the original Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, and more.

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here . Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at [email protected] .

Main content

When does the final season of 'Star Trek: Discovery' come out? Release date, cast, where to watch

It's time for U.S.S. Discovery's final mission.

Paramount+'s hit TV series "Star Trek: Discovery" is returning for its fifth and final season this week and there is a lot to look forward to.

"The fifth and final season will find Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries," says Paramount+ about the upcoming season. "But there are others on the hunt as well…dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it."

"Star Trek: Discovery" debuted in 2017 and is the seventh in the Star Trek series. Here's everything you need to know about the final season of the series.

When does 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 premiere?

The finale season of "Star Trek: Discovery" is scheduled to premiere on Paramount+ on Thursday, April 4.

The first two episodes will be available to stream on the premiere date, with new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays. Paramount+ did not specify what time the episodes will be available on their platform.

'Star Trek: Discovery' on Paramount+: Subscribe

Kenneth Mitchell: 'Star Trek: Discovery' actor, dies after battle with ALS

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 episodes

Season 5 of "Star Trek: Discovery" has 10 episodes in total. The first two will be available to stream on April 4, with the remaining dropping weekly on Thursday on Paramount+.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 cast

Season 5 of "Star Trek: Discovery" brings back new and old faces along with recurring guest stars. Cast members include:

Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham
Doug Jones as Saru
Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets
Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly
Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber
David Ajala as Cleveland “Book” Booker
Blu del Barrio as Adira
Callum Keith Rennie as Rayner.
Elias Toufexis as L’ak
Eve Harlow as Moll

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 trailer

Paramount+ dropped the official trailer for Season 5 on Feb. 23.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.

Screen Rant

Star trek: voyager's “reset button” killed a great doctor story, says robert picardo.

Robert Picardo was disappointed that Star Trek: Voyager's infamous "reset button" killed an important storyline for the Doctor in season 3.

The Doctor's memory loss storyline was cut short due to Star Trek: Voyager's episodic format, disappointing Robert Picardo.
Voyager's fear of serialization hindered character development despite fans wanting more continuity.
The Doctor's memory loss had potential for in-depth exploration, but Voyager's use of the "reset button" limited storytelling.

Star Trek: Voyager killed one of the Doctor's (Robert Picardo) best storylines in season 3, causing Picardo to express his disappointment that it wasn't continued. The USS Voyager's EMH was one of the most popular characters in Star Trek: Voyager 's cast , thanks mainly to his unique origins and diverse character arc . As a hologram who gained sentience during the show's run, the Doctor filled a franchise niche previously held by other popular characters like Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Many of the Doctor's storylines on Voyager revolved around him gaining humanity. However, a season 3 episode featured the character losing some of his humanity because of a malfunction in his program. Season 3, episode 4, "The Swarm" was focused on the Doctor as Kes (Jennifer Lien) and B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) worked to save his program after it began to degrade. Ultimately, the Doctor ended up losing a large portion of his memory at the end of the episode , a consequence that should have had implications for his character over the rest of the season.

How To Watch All Star Trek TV Shows In Timeline Order

Robert picardo says voyager’s “reset button” killed one of the doctor’s best season 3 storylines, the doctor missed out thanks to the reset button.

Unfortunately, aside from a brief reference to the Doctor's memory loss in a future episode, the events of "The Swarm" were never mentioned again , cutting off the possibility of Voyager exploring how the Doctor recovered from his severe memory loss. This was largely thanks to Voyager 's use of episodic storytelling and contained arcs, something that the show was infamous for during its run. Robert Picardo was particularly disappointed that the Doctor's ordeal during "The Swarm" wasn't explored further though, expressing his frustration to The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine sometime after the episode's release. Read Picardo's full quote below:

"There's a tremendous desire among the makers of our show to keep things self-contained. They don't like to serialize that much and, if they do, it's only as a two-parter. They tend not to carry arcs through a number of episodes. So, we really had to throw out the whole notion of The Doctor losing all of his memory, being rebooted and having to redevelop his personality. We couldn't really follow through with that in a way that I would have hoped we would. It was still a strong episode and an acting challenge for me, but I do regret somewhat that we couldn't have carried the aftermath of that experience through a number of episodes."

Given how large the scope of the Doctor's memory loss was, it's surprising that Voyager didn't carry on with the story despite their aversion to serialization. Having the Doctor lose so much of his emerging humanity just as he was starting to become sentient was devastating , but was also a huge piece of character development to drop the thread of. "The Swarm" was also a poignant allegory for sufferers of Alzheimer's Disease, providing the " acting challenge " Picardo mentioned. Such an important episode should have caused Voyager to disregard their fear of serialized storytelling and carry the story throughout the season.

Why Star Trek: Voyager Was So Afraid Of Serialized Storytelling

Voyager avoided serialization to its detriment.

Despite this, Voyager stuck to its fear of serialization, likely because another Star Trek series was having mixed results with it. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Voyager 's sister show , is often credited as the first Star Trek series to truly incorporate serialized storytelling. While this has made the show more popular in hindsight, DS9 's ratings at the time were not as high as Star Trek: TNG , a show that had mainly found success in episodic storytelling. Voyager 's creative team may have felt that the show needed to return to the traditional model to succeed.

However, examples like what happened with the Doctor's story in "The Swarm" show that Voyager was wrong about how serialization would have been received by audiences. While the show did incorporate more serialized character arcs later on, it's often derided for its use of the "reset button" and the way that hurt certain episodes , including "The Swarm." If Star Trek: Voyager had found a way to strike a balance between episodic and serialized television, it might have achieved something only now being pulled off by a show like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .

Source: The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine , issue 18

Star Trek: Voyager is available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Voyager

*Availability in US

Not available

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before.

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Star Trek Complete List in Chronological Order. How to watch it in
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The Definitive Chronological Viewing Order For The Star Trek Cinematic
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COMMENTS

How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline
Where to Watch: Paramount+ 20. Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD) Star Trek: Prodigy was the first fully 3D animated Star Trek series ever and told a story that began five years after the U.S.S ...
How to Watch Every Star Trek Movie and TV Show in Order
By subscribing to Paramount+, you get access to every TV show in the franchise, including new Star Trek series like Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. But while the service holds the bulk ...
Star Trek in Order: How to Watch Every Episode of Your Favorite
Especially with a science-fiction universe that has time travel, multiple universes, concurrent shows and entirely new timelines. Fear not, as we have created a handy binge-watch guide using the Stardate of each series and film. Here is our guide on how to watch every Star Trek series and movie in the right order.
Ultimate Chronological Star Trek Viewing Guide
A suggested Star Trek viewing order that will guide you on your journey from the 21st Century right through to the 32nd. The Ultimate Chronological Star Trek Viewing Guide ... Please pay attention to the episode numbers as we skip episodes 18, 19, and 22 for now and watch them later. ENT Season 4, episode 1 - Storm Front, Part 1; ENT Season 4 ...
How to watch Star Trek in order
Star Trek: Lower Decks. Star Trek: Prodigy. Star Trek (2009) - Prime timeline sequences. Star Trek: Picard. Star Trek: Discovery (season 3-) Short Treks: 'Calypso'. If you watch in the order ...
Watch Star Trek Shows In Chronological Order of Timeline
How to Watch 'Star Trek' Shows In Chronological Order. From the original series to 'Picard,' 'Discovery' and beyond, here's your guide to the 'Star Trek' TV timeline. Michael Patrick. Mar 31, 2023 ...
How To Watch Every Star Trek Series & Movie In The Right Order
In a choice between whether to watch the Star Trek TV series and movies in the order of release or watching the saga unfold throughout its in-universe continuity, here's how a Trekker can do either. When Star Trek: The Original Series premiered in 1966, no one dreamed it would launch a franchise that would last 55 years, and Star Trek is still going strong.
Star Trek in Order: How to Watch Every Episode of Your Favorite
Approaching the chronological watch of a franchise that's been on over fifty years can be daunting. Especially with a science-fiction universe that has time travel, multiple universes, concurrent shows and entirely new timelines. ... Here is our guide on how to watch every Star Trek series and movie in the right order. 1 of 49. Photo Credit ...
How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline
How to Watch Star Trek in Chronological Order 1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155) Star Trek: Enterprise is the earliest entry on our list as it takes place a hundred years before the adventures of Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series. The show aired from 2001 to 2005 and starred Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer, the captain of the Enterprise NX-01.
How to watch Star Trek in order
Short Trek: Children of Mars (Year: 2385) Star Trek: Picard seasons 1-3 (Year: 2399-2402) Star Trek: Discovery seasons 3-4 (32nd Century) Short Trek: Calypso (far future, year unknown) Note ...
Star Trek timeline
Star Trek movies and TV shows in chronological order. To watch the Star Trek timeline in chronological order, you'd start in the year 2252 with the first season of Discovery, watch a load of ...
Star Trek movies in chronological order
2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. (Image credit: Paramount Pictures) Release date: June 4, 1982. Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban. Ask a Star Trek fan what the best Star ...
This Is The Correct Order In Which To Watch The Star Trek ...
In 2018, after the successful first season of "Discovery" led to a new expansion of the "Star Trek" franchise, Kurtzman and co-creator Bryan Fuller (formerly a writer on "DS9" and "Voyager ...
How to watch the Star Trek movies and TV shows in order
The original six Star Trek movies. Star Trek: The Next Generation, seasons 1 to 5. TNG, seasons 6 to 7 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, seasons 1 to 2. DS9, season 3; Star Trek: Voyager, season 1 ...
The Best Order to Watch All of Star Trek
Star Trek: Prodigy, having recently been renewed by Netflix, pops up in a weird place in the watch order because it's just hard to place. Geared towards engaging younger viewers in Trek , it's ...
The Right Order To Watch ALL Of Star Trek
The Kelvin Timeline. In 2009, J.J. Abrams created a Star Trek reboot that explored the idea of an alternate timeline, otherwise known as the Kelvin timeline.The movies, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek: Beyond (2016), explore the world where the Romulan Nero went back in time to destroy the first Starfleet ship he met, which was the USS Kelvin.
How to Watch Star Trek in Order? Easy Complete Guide
1. What is the Recommended order to Watch the Star Trek Universe? The recommended way to watch the Star Trek Universe in order is following the Release Order. By watching in release order, you see William Shatner as James T. Kirk in The Original Series before transitioning to Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard on The Next Generation.
How To Watch All Star Trek TV Shows In Timeline Order
Watching Star Trek in timeline order allows viewers to experience the expansive and enduring universe that has spawned multiple TV series and films for over 57 years. Star Trek: Enterprise serves as a prequel to the original series, showcasing the voyages of the original crew in the 22nd century, a hundred years before Captain Kirk's command.
Star Trek Order: How to Watch the Movies and Series
Deep Space Nine Seasons 5-7/Voyager Seasons 3-5 (Year 2373-2375) As with many of these films, you will find several seasons of Deep SpaceNine and Star Trek Voyager in between. In this case you get the final two seasons of deep space nine, as well as two more seasons of Voyager.
How to Watch the Star Trek Movies in Order
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How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline

How to Watch Star Trek in Chronological Order

1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

2. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

4. Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

5. Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)

7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

11. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

12. Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

13. Star Trek Generations (2293)

14. Star Trek: First Contact (2373)

15. Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)

16. Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)

17. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)

18. Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)

19. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380-TBD)

20. Star Trek: Prodigy (2383-TBD)

21. Star Trek: Picard (2399-2402)

22. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 3 and 4 (3188-TBD)

How to Watch Star Trek by Order of Release

In This Article

IGN Recommends

The Ultimate Chronological Star Trek Viewing Guide

The 21st Century

The 24th Century

The 25th Century

Series Overview and Abbreviation Guide

April 5th, 2063:

Early 2230s

2233 - A sidenote about universes/timelines:

2233 (Prime)

2266-Notes on The Original Series

2369, Part 1

2369, Part 2

2370, Part 1

2370, Part 2

2371, Part 1

2371, Part 2

2372, Part 1

2372, Part 2

2373, Part 1

2373, Part 2

2374, Part 1

2374, Part 2

2375, Part 1

2375, Part 2

2381, Part 1

2381, Part 2

2233 - (Kelvinverse)

2258 - (Kelvinverse)

2259 - (Kelvinverse)

2263 - (Kelvinverse)

Far Future:

How to watch Star Trek in order

Star Trek TV shows and movies in chronological order

Star Trek's alternate 'Kelvin' timeline explained

Star Trek TV shows and movies in release date order

How to stream Star Trek TV shows and movies

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How to Watch Star Trek in Order: The Complete Series Timeline

How to Watch Star Trek in Chronological Order

1. Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2155)

2. Star Trek: Discovery: Seasons 1 and 2 (2256-2258)

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259-TBD)

4. Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)

5. Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)

6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2270s)

7. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)

8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)

9. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286 and 1986)

10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)

11. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)

12. Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)

13. Star Trek Generations (2293)