Star Trek is a multi-generational franchise and cultural touchstone that has turned into a streaming juggernaut. Long ago, you could stream the classic shows and movies on Netflix or Amazon, but it’s not that simple anymore. There are more services in the game these days, which means more streaming rights to divvy up across the internet.
Now that you can watch your favorites across a multitude of services, where should you be subscribed if you want to watch everything in one place? If you’re looking forward to season four of Star Trek: Discovery, which debuts on Nov. 18, you’ll need Paramount+. That’s also where you’ll find the Star Trek: Prodigy animated series, which premiered on Oct. 28.
While Paramount+ has all the new streaming shows, it’s actually Hulu that has the most Star Trek content at the moment. In the end, you may need several streaming services before you can watch every episode and film in the Star Trek universe. If you’re going for a full watch-through, what order should you watch all this content? The choice is between release order and chronological order.
Release Order
This is the standard watch order and is recommended for anyone new to Star Trek. By watching in release order, you get to see William Shatner as James T. Kirk in The Original Series before transitioning to Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard on The Next Generation. From there, you will watch Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise before moving on to Discovery, Picard, and the other streaming shows.
Since the original films were released after the conclusion of their associated TV shows, it’s easy to slip them in to the watch order. TNG and DS9 overlap to some degree, but you may want to finish the first series and its films before fully transitioning to Deep Space Nine, though that’s up to you. Here is our recommended watch order:
The Original Series
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Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)
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Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
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Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
The Next Generation
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Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
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Star Trek: Generations (1994)
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Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
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Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
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Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
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Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)
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Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)
Reboot Films
Star Trek Universe
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Star Trek: Discovery (2017-Present)
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Short Treks (2018-2020)
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Star Trek: Picard (2020-Present)
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Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-Present)
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Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-Present)
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)
Chronological Order
Now, if you’re a seasoned veteran and want to view things a little differently, try watching everything in chronological order based on when events take place in-universe. Watching things this way would have you start out with Enterprise, then the first two seasons of Discovery. The new show Strange New Worlds would likely pick up here. You then have the option to watch the reboot films, or skip them entirely and head straight for The Original Series.
Once you get to The Next Generation, things get a little complicated. You can either watch all of TNG or switch off with DS9 starting with season six. By season three of DS9, you can then start switching off with Voyager before finishing with Nemesis. Considering the complexity, though, it’s perfectly fine to silo each show before moving on. You would then pick up with Lower Decks, Prodigy, and Picard before returning to Discovery for season three. Here’s what this looks like:
Star Trek Origins
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Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2156)
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 & 2 (2256-2258)
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Short Treks (2256-2258)
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Star Trek (2258) – Optional
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Star Trek Into Darkness (2259) – Optional
The 23rd Century
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Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)
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Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2273)
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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)
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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)
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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286)
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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)
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Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)
The 24th Century
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Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)
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Star Trek: Generations (2371)
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Star Trek: First Contact (2373)
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Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)
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Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)
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Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)
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Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380)
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Star Trek: Prodigy (2383)
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Star Trek: Picard (2399)
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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 (3188)
