Release OrderRecommended
0 / 13 watchedThe order each series first aired. This is the recommended way in: Deep Space Nine and Voyager were written against what The Next Generation had just done, and the recent shows assume you know the 1990s era.
Broadcast era
- 1 Star Trek: The Original Series 79 episodes across three seasons, 1966 to 1969.
- 2 Star Trek: The Animated Series 22 episodes, 1973 to 1974, with most of the original cast back.
- 3 Star Trek: The Next Generation 178 episodes, 1987 to 1994, a century after the original series.
- 4 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 176 episodes, 1993 to 1999. Overlaps The Next Generation's final two seasons.
- 5 Star Trek: Voyager 172 episodes, 1995 to 2001, airing alongside Deep Space Nine.
- 6 Star Trek: Enterprise 98 episodes, 2001 to 2005. A prequel, so it is last here and first chronologically.
Streaming era
- 7 Star Trek: Discovery 5 seasons, 2017 to 2024. Seasons 3 to 5 jump a thousand years into the future.
- 8 Star Trek: Short Treks Short standalone episodes, 2018 and 2019, between Discovery seasons.
- 9 Star Trek: Picard 3 seasons, 2020 to 2023, closing the Next Generation story.
- 10 Star Trek: Lower Decks 5 seasons, 2020 to 2024. Animated comedy set in the Voyager era.
- 11 Star Trek: Prodigy 2 seasons, 2021 to 2024. Animated, aimed at younger viewers.
- 12 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 4 seasons released through 24 September 2026; a six-episode final season follows in 2027.
- 13 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 aired 15 January to 12 March 2026; season 2 is the final season.
Chronological Order (In-Universe)
0 / 14 watchedOrdered by when each series is set rather than when it aired. The awkward parts: Enterprise is a prequel, Deep Space Nine starts during The Next Generation, and Discovery needs splitting across two places in the timeline.
22nd and 23rd centuries
- 1 Star Trek: Enterprise Set 2151 to 2161, before everything else.
- 2 Star Trek: Discovery, seasons 1 and 2 Set 2256 to 2258, shortly before The Original Series.
- 3 Star Trek: Short Treks Anthology shorts set around the Discovery era. Placement here is loose.
- 4 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Set from 2259, the decade before The Original Series.
- 5 Star Trek: The Original Series Set 2265 to 2269.
- 6 Star Trek: The Animated Series Continues the same five-year mission with the same crew.
24th century
- 7 Star Trek: The Next Generation Set 2364 to 2370, a century after the original series.
- 8 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Starts in 2369, during The Next Generation's sixth season. Interleaving the two is optional.
- 9 Star Trek: Voyager Set 2371 to 2378, alongside Deep Space Nine's later seasons.
Late 24th and 25th centuries
- 10 Star Trek: Lower Decks Set 2380 to 2382, a couple of years after Voyager.
- 11 Star Trek: Prodigy Set 2383 to 2385.
- 12 Star Trek: Picard Set 2399 to 2402, about twenty years after Voyager.
32nd century
- 13 Star Trek: Discovery, seasons 3 to 5 Set 3188 to 3191 after the time jump at the end of season 2.
- 14 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Set in 3195, the furthest point in the franchise timeline.
About Star Trek
Star Trek has produced thirteen television series, 52 seasons and 963 episodes. Release order starts with The Original Series in 1966 and ends with Starfleet Academy, which premiered in January 2026.
In-universe order is a different list, not a duplicate. Enterprise is set in 2151, a century before The Original Series. Deep Space Nine begins in 2369 while The Next Generation is still airing, and Voyager runs alongside it. Discovery's first two seasons sit just before The Original Series and its last three jump to the 32nd century. Both lists cover whole series rather than individual episodes.
Good to know
The films are not listed: the original-cast films run 1979 to 1991, the Next Generation films 1994 to 2002, the Kelvin reboot films 2009 to 2016, and Section 31 in 2025, so slot them by era into whichever list you are using. Two seasons are still unreleased as of September 2026: Strange New Worlds season 5 and Starfleet Academy season 2, both expected in 2027 and both confirmed as final.
