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Finished Starfleet Academy? Brush Up On Your Star Trek Lore By Watching Every Movie and TV Show in Order

If you're looking to boldly go where no streamer has gone before, here's where to watch all the Star Trek TV shows and movies.

Jason Cohen
 & Jason Cohen Senior Editor, Help & How To

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Star Trek is a multi-generational franchise and cultural touchstone that has turned into a streaming juggernaut. By subscribing to Paramount+, you get access to every TV show and movie in the franchise. That means you get unlimited access to shows like The Original Series, The Next Generation, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds, as well as movies like The Wrath of Khan, First Contact, Star Trek Beyond, and Section 31. You'll even have access to the new Starfleet Academy series, which just finished its first season.

However, keep in mind that streaming deals are changing all the time and Star Trek has a habit of traveling to distant services before too long. There's a chance that some of this stuff will move elsewhere again before too long. Even if you don't subscribe to Paramount+, you'll be able to watch a good amount of programming on Pluto TV and MGM+.

Where to Watch Star Trek TV Shows

Star Trek has always been best on television. When you think of the adventures of Kirk and Picard, episodic storytelling is what comes to mind first. In recent years, Paramount has decided to go all in on Star Trek TV in order to recapture some of the magic from the past. If you're looking to watch some Star Trek—whether it be the classic shows or new streaming productions—you'll find everything on the Paramount+ streaming service. If you don't pay for Paramount+, you can still get a taste of Star Trek through Pluto TV, a free ad-based streamer also owned by Paramount. It has a few episodes of various shows for on-demand watching. Otherwise, you can turn to its live channels for a more casual viewing experience.

Where to Watch the Star Trek Films

Even as a television-first franchise, Star Trek has always been very cinematic in nature. That's why the show lends itself so well on the big screen. Where else can you get a real sense for the epic scale of command ships and space battles than in a feature film? Right now, you'll be able to watch everything on Paramount+, but that could change before you know it. The newer movies can also be watched on Netflix and The Roku Channel.

Star Trek Watch Order

There are two main ways to watch Star Trek—release order and chronological order. Star Trek has been very linear for much of its existence. It has only been since Paramount's new Trek shows that the series has moved around the timeline. As such, release order is the standard watch order and is recommended for anyone new to Star Trek. Advanced viewers who have gone through the series multiple times may want to change things up and stream everything in chronological order.

Release Order

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'll 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 transitioning to Deep Space Nine, though that's up to you.

  • Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

    • Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)
    • 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: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

    • Star Trek: Generations (1994)
    • Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
    • Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
    • Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
  • Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)
  • Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)
  • Star Trek (2009)
  • Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
  • Star Trek Beyond (2016)

  • Star Trek: Discovery (2017-2024)

    • Short Treks (2018-2020)
  • Star Trek: Picard (2020-2023)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-2024)
  • Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-2024)
  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)
  • Star Trek: Section 31 (2025)
  • Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (2026-Present)

Chronological Order

Now, if you are 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. Strange New Worlds will then pick up here. You then have the option to watch the reboot films, or skip them entirely and head straight for The Original Series. You can fit Section 31 in at the end here.

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 and beyond.

  • Star Trek: Enterprise (2151-2156)
  • Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 & 2 (2256-2258)
  • Short Treks (2256-2258)
  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2259)
  • Star Trek (2258) - Optional
  • Star Trek Into Darkness (2259) - Optional
  • Star Trek Beyond (2263) - Optional
  • Star Trek: The Original Series (2265-2269)
  • Star Trek: The Animated Series (2269-2270)
  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2273)
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)
  • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286)
  • Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)
  • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (2293)
  • Star Trek: Section 31 (2293-2364)
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2370)
  • Star Trek: Generations (2371)
  • Star Trek: First Contact (2373)
  • Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2369-2375)
  • Star Trek: Voyager (2371-2378)
  • Star Trek: Nemesis (2379)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks (2380)
  • Star Trek: Prodigy (2383)
  • Star Trek: Picard (2399-2401)
  • Star Trek: Discovery Season 3-5 (3188-3191)
  • Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (3194)

Note that before you get heavily invested here, remember that this is just for fun. Star Trek has a continuity, but it isn't vital to enjoying your time with Starfleet. Feel free to watch any movie or TV show that calls to you; it'll all make sense in the end.

About Our Expert

Jason Cohen

Jason Cohen

Senior Editor, Help & How To

My Experience

As PCMag's editor of how to content, I have to cover a wide variety of topics and also make our stories accessible to everyday users. Considering my history as a technical writer, copywriter, and all-around freelancer covering baseball, comics, and more at various outlets, I am used to making myself into an expert.

I believe tech corporations are bad, but you might as well know how to use technology in everyday life. Want more how to content delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the tips and tricks newsletter that I curate twice a week.

The Technology I Use

My job as how-to guru means I use just about every gadget under the sun, so I can figure out how everything works. I work from a Lenovo ThinkPad running Windows 11, but also have a very large Dell Inspiron 17 3000 and Apple silicon MacBook. I also have a Google Pixel 6a for personal use and use a Galaxy Z Flip 4 for additional Samsung-related testing. For iOS coverage, an iPhone 13 mini works like a charm, though it's already becoming a little long in the tooth.

My desktop situation includes a dual monitor setup with a modest Acer monitor. I also use a Logitech mouse (who can use these ThinkPad trackpads) and a Havit keyboard (my first mechanical keyboard; I love it but my wife hates it!). I'm a recent convert from wired headphones; I have Anker Soundcore Liberty Air wireless earbuds for personal use and have taken to the Sennheiser HD 450BT headphones for work.

Whenever I have a second to myself, I'm probably gaming on my Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, or Xbox Series S. I also still have a bunch of classic consoles lying around as well.

  • Breaking down complicated and confusing processes into simplified instructions
  • Finding new tech problems to solve
  • OS-level tips and tricks

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