is one of the most beloved franchises in TV and movie history, spanning all the way from the original series released in the mid-1960s to the new spin-off show Strange New Worlds, set to come out this May.
Over the years, viewers have been introduced to numerous beloved cast members, from as in The Next Generation to ’s interpretation of James T Kirk in the movie reboots.
Even for dedicated members of the fandom, remembering where the releases fit into the chronological timeline can be something of a minefield at times.
, which became the first Star Trek TV release in 12 years when it premiered in 2017, started off near start of the timeline, before jumping ahead to the far-off future in seasons three and four.
With other launches over the decades including Voyager, Deep Space Nine and the animated series, the beginnings of the tale can be traced to Enterprise, which aired in the early 2000s.
Here are all the Star Trek TV series and films when following the timeline in chronological order.
Star Trek TV shows and movies in chronological order
Despite coming out almost half a century after Star Trek first began, Star Trek: Enterprise dates back the earliest in the timeline.
Set 100 years before the events of the original series, the show follows the starship Enterprise in the early days of Starfleet, leading up to the formation of the Federation.
Set around a decade before the start of the original series, Star Trek: Discovery begins with Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) being reassigned to the USS Discovery after a war erupts between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire.
Michael was raised by a Vulcan family and was the adopted sister of Spock, with the show explaining in the second season why she was never previously mentoined.
Strange New Worlds is the latest Star Trek spin-off to come out, slated for a release in May this year.
The adventure series will be a prequel to the original series, with Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, and Ethan Peck reprising their respective roles as Pike, Number One, and Spock from Discovery, and Paul Wesley set to join as James T Kirk in the second season.
Before the original series premiered in 1966, a pilot called The Cage was made in 1965, but rejected by NBC.
Eventually, the pioneering sci-fi extravaganza came out the following year, introducing the world to William Shatner as James T Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock.
After the original series was cancelled in 1969, creator Gene Roddenberry realised that there was still significant demand from fans, inspiring him to launch the animated show.
Much of the original cast returned to voice their characters, and in 1975 it won the Emmy for outstanding entertainment for a children’s series.
A decade after last playing their characters in the live-action TV series, the first of the Star Trek films was released with the original cast.
Leonard ended up directing the third and fourth films released in 1984 and 1986, while William directed the fifth film, which came out in 1989.
Star Trek’s original creator Gene decided to set The Next Generation a century after the events of the original series, following the USS Enterprise as it explored the Milky Way galaxy.
The show introduced viewers to characters including Picard (Sir Patrick), Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), Q (John de Lancie), Lieutenant Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Commander William T Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and android Data (Brent Spiner).
The seventh Star Trek film, released in 1994, saw the cast of The Next Generation cross paths with a few of the original cast members – William Shatner as Kirk, James Doohan as Scott, and Walter Koenig as Chekov, despite Kirk having been long presumed dead.
Three more films followed, with the 10th overall Star Trek film, Nemesis, saw the Next Generation stars face the threat of a Picard clone called Shinzon, played by Tom Hardy.
Deep Space Nine is set in the 24th century, with its title coming from the space station of the same name.
Avery Brooks starred as Starfleet officer Benjamin Sisko, who was placed in charge of the space station, who is introduced at the start of the series as a widower and father of a young son.
Set in the same century as Deep Space Nine, Voyager followers a Starfleet ship called the USS Voyager, as the crew attempt to make their way back to the Alpha Quadrant from the Delta Quadrant.
Orange Is The New Black star Kate Mulgrew portrayed commanding officer Kathryn Janeway, a role she reprised in the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis.
Lower Decks was the first animated series to be released from the Star Trek franchise since the 1970s.
The show takes a more comedic spin than its predecessors, shining a spotlight on the ‘lower deck’ members of the crew on the starship Cerritos.
Following on from Lower Decks, Prodigy became the first Star Trek animated series to use 3D animation.
The show, which saw several actors from previous Star Trek shows reprise their roles, follows a group of young aliens who take hold of an abandoned starship and embark on an adventure.
Picard offers a fascinating insight into one of Star Trek’s most beloved characters, as fans witness new layers of Jean-Luc Picard being revealed as he becomes older.
The second season, which is currently on air, sees Picard and his crew trapped in an alternate reality by familiar face Q, resulting in them having to travel back in time to fix what’s gone wrong.
While Star Trek: Discovery began near the start of the timeline, by season three the crew have been transported into the far-off future, more than 900 years after the events of the original series in the 32nd century.
In January this year, a fifth season was confirmed.
Now, you might be wondering where JJ Abrams’ Star Trek films with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana fit into this timeline, as they’re notably absent from the chronological order.
However, those films were actually set in an alternate timeline… to make matters even more complicated.
The alternate timeline was created due to the time-travelling exploits of Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan who served as the movie’s antagonist, and the older Spock (Leonard).
Doing this allowed the creators of the film to use original elements from the world of Star Trek that fans have known and loved for decades while also having the freedom to take the story in whichever creative direction they wished.
Following the first film in the franchise, the sequel Star Trek: Into Darkness came out four years later, with Benedict Cumberbatch cast as the villainous Khan.
In 2016, Star Trek: Beyond saw Idris Elba star as Krall and marked one of the final movie appearances of the late Anton Yelchin, who played the ship’s navigator Chekov and died one month before its release.
Star Trek: Picard season two is available to watch on Prime Video with new episodes released on Fridays.
