The idyllic future of Star Trek spans centuries, from humanity’s earliest deep space missions under Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) to the 32nd century exploits of Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). Star Trek: The Original Series began the story in the 23rd century, where an idealized version of humanity explored space as part of the United Federation Of Planets. After enduring a devastating third World War on Earth in the mid-21st century, humanity wiped out hunger, disease, and poverty on Earth just a few short years after making first contact with the Vulcans.
In the wake of the successful movie franchise starring the Star Trek: The Original Series cast, Paramount decided to expand the franchise by launching a television spinoff, Star Trek: The Next Generation, set in the mid-24th century and featuring a new USS Enterprise-D led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). TNG’s massive success led to a further expansion of the franchise, one that continues to this day. Not every era of Star Trek has worked perfectly, but they’ve all offered something important to Star Trek lore.
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10 23rd Century Of Star Trek: Discovery
The first Star Trek TV series since Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled after four seasons in 2005, Star Trek: Discovery was initially a prequel taking place about a decade before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. Centered around disgraced former Starfleet officer and mutineer Michael Burnham, Discovery immediately dived into a darker, more cynical version of Star Trek. The brutal war between the Federation and the Klingons brought the worst out in virtually everyone, with Starfleet even flirting with genocide in the darkest days of the war. Both the crew of the USS Discovery and the 23rd century would go on to see better days.
9 22nd Century Of Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise was the very first Star Trek prequel, chronicling the earliest days of the organizations that would become Starfleet and the Federation. Captain Jonathan Archer not only had to deal with the technological trials and errors of deep space travel, but he also had to contend with the dismissive, arrogant Vulcans. What should have been a white-knuckle adventure into the unknown too often came across as bland and interchangeable with other, better shows. A handful of interesting characters like the Vulcan T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) and Phlox (John Billingsley) and a final season uptick in quality couldn’t save Star Trek: Enterprise from its fate as a missed opportunity.
8 32nd Century Of Star Trek: Discovery
In an effort to stop the evil artificial intelligence known as Control, the USS Discovery jumped to the far future of the 32nd century, leaving behind its prequel trappings in the process. The initial setup was promising, with the Federation and Starfleet both in disarray after a galactic event know as the Burn destroyed most of the galaxy’s dilithium, the crystals that fuel warp engines. However, the resolution of the Burn mystery was a baffling plot turn, and it largely felt like business as usual for Starfleet by the end of season 3, the first 32nd century season.
7 23rd Century Of J.J. Abrams Star Trek Movies
Director J.J. Abrams revived Star Trek on the big screen in 2009 after years of the franchise toiling in limbo after Star Trek: Enterprise‘s cancelation and Star Trek Nemesis‘ disastrous box office results. The films were set in an alternate reality 23rd century, known as the Kelvin timeline. Younger versions of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) headline the explosive, entertaining films, which often come under fire for being too action-oriented with not enough brain power. Of the three Kelvin timeline films so far, only Star Trek Into Darkness feels like a misfire, which is a pretty good batting average in the modern blockbuster era.
6 25th Century Of Star Trek: Picard
The early 25th century portrayed in seasons 2 and 3 of Star Trek: Picard is only now coming into focus. After enduring the fallout from the massive Romulan conspiracy from Picard season 1, Starfleet seems largely back on track strategically and morally by the beginning of the 25th century. If season 3’s portrayal of the USS Titan-A and her crew under Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) is any indication of where humanity and Starfleet are in 2401, then there’s still plenty of character work and nefarious plots of Federation enemies to fuel plenty of stories in this largely unexplored, potentially fruitful era of Star Trek.
5 23rd Century of Star Trek: The Original Series
The era that started it all treated space exploration like the wild west in some ways. Captain Jean-Luc Picard would notably refer to this as an era of “cowboy diplomacy,” with Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) often sidestepping rules and regulations to get the job done in the way they believed was right. This was a bright, colorful era of Star Trek, with far less oversight from Starfleet Command than would occur in later series like Star Trek: The Next Generation. The trio of Kirk, Spock, and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley) remain one of the most potent casts in television history.
4 24th Century Of Star Trek: Lower Decks & Prodigy
The animated Paramount+ series Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy are both set a few years after the failed Star Trek Nemesis. That’s more or less where the comparisons end, as Lower Decks and Prodigy are great shows that do wildly different things well. The adult, irreverent Lower Decks manages to carry on the spirit of TNG through the eyes of young officers like Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), while the family-friendly Prodigy teaches a group of ragtag aliens about the ethos of Starfleet. Both shows have proved Star Trek is capable of doing innovative things while still maintaining the basic tenets of the franchise.
3 23rd Century Of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Set on the USS Enterprise a few years before Captain Kirk takes command, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds chronicles the adventures of Kirk’s doomed predecessor, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Younger versions of franchise icons like Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck) and Cadet Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) are also on hand. The series functions as an updated re-staging of Star Trek: The Original Series, with modern effects work and the episodic, character-focused storytelling style that brought such great success to Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s later seasons. Strange New Worlds does the simple things right, which makes it a genuine Star Trek achievement.
2 23rd Century of Star Trek: TOS Movies
While the characters of Star Trek: The Original Series are largely remembered for their colorful, bombastic days in the 1960s-produced series, the TOS movie franchise that ran from 1979-1991 actually features better stories, flashier effects, and more nuanced performances from its cast. From Spock’s ultimate sacrifice in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, to Kirk’s bitter bigotry against the Klingons after the murder of his son David (Merritt Butrick) in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the TOS films feature some of the most character-defining moments for the crew. The success of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is ultimately what led to the massive expansion of the franchise.
1 24th Century Of Star Trek: TNG, DS9 & Voyager
The richest, most robust era of Star Trek ever is the mid-24th century which was initially home to just Star Trek: The Next Generation. When the exploits of Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise-D proved to be wildly popular, the TV franchise continued to grow with another spinoff, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a darker, more serialized series. When TNG ended its successful run to transition to movies, Star Trek: Voyager began production, featuring the first female lead in franchise history with Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). The TNG movies were hit or miss, but the 24th century still stands as the most fruitful era of Star Trek.
