WHERE TO START
Star Trek (TV): Where to Start (2026)
Star Trek · Updated Sep 15, 2026
Eleven separate live-action and animated Star Trek series spanning 1966 to today, mostly organized into two clusters: the 20th-century "Prime timeline" shows (TOS through Enterprise) and the modern streaming-era shows (Discovery onward), which mix new stories with direct prequels and sequels to the originals. Unlike the films, you don't need to watch the TV shows in any particular order to follow them — each series is close to standalone, with only light shared lore.
The Prime timeline, in release order
1.
Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) — TMDB 253
2.
Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) — TMDB 1992
3.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) — TMDB 655
4.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) — TMDB 580
5.
Star Trek: Voyager (1995) — TMDB 1855
6.
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) — TMDB 314
The modern era
1.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017) — TMDB 67198
2.
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) — TMDB 85948 — animated comedy, set after Nemesis.
3.
Star Trek: Picard (2020) — TMDB 85949 — direct sequel to The Next Generation.
4.
Star Trek: Prodigy (2021) — TMDB 106393 — animated, aimed at younger/newer viewers.
5.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) — TMDB 103516 — a prequel to the Original Series, following the Enterprise under Captain Pike.
Where to start if you only have a weekend
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TMDB 103516) is the widely-recommended modern entry point — episodic, colorful, and explicitly designed to be accessible without any prior Trek knowledge. If you'd rather start with a classic, The Next Generation (TMDB 655) from Season 3 onward is the version most fans point new viewers to first (the first two seasons are famously rough).
If you get hooked
Go back to The Original Series (TMDB 253) for the 1966 show that started it all, or follow the modern-era shared arcs by watching Discovery → Picard → Lower Decks/Prodigy/Strange New Worlds in release order.