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Captain Kirk, Mr Spock, Dr McCoy and the USS Enterprise crew seek out new civilisations in this seminal sci-fi series.

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2:48 Star Trek: The Cage

• 1969 - Emmy - Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series - nominated
• 1968 - Emmy - Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama - nominated
• 1968 - Emmy - Outstanding Dramatic Series - nominated
• 1968 - Emmy - Special Classifications of Individual Achievements - nominated

Cast & Crew See All

William Shatner

Captain james t. kirk.

Leonard Nimoy

Majel Barrett

Nurse christine chapel, latest news see all, the funniest episodes of the entire star trek franchise of all time, ranked.

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Star Trek: The Cage

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Upcoming Star Trek TV Shows: What's Ahead For The Sci-Fi Franchise

Here's what's ahead for Star Trek.

It’s a golden era for Star Trek tv shows, as the franchise is churning out more content than ever before. Fans with a Paramount+ subscription can stream a plethora of old and new content from one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time.

There’s a ton of new Star Trek content coming in the future, including the debut of a new show as well as the return of all the ones fans already know well. For those who need a breakdown of what all to expect, look no further because here’s where and when all the new Trek will arrive in 2023 and beyond. There’s even some information on planned shows that aren’t quite ready yet, but hopefully, we’ll see them soon enough. 

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 - Premiering On April 4th 2024

Captain Michael Burnham and the crew are back, and based on what we've seen and heard about Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 so far, some changes are on the way. Season 5 will see the crew race against others in an attempt to secure an ancient power, and will apparently have a tonal shift that will skew more toward action and adventure. We also learned that this coming season will be the final adventure , as Paramount+ decided to end the series after this coming season. The final season will kick off in April and, fingers crossed, leave an avenue open for more stories with these characters in the 32nd century. 

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 - In Production

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is coming back for Season 3, and is currently filming for the upcoming season. It's likely the season will kick off with the second part of the adventure started in the Season 2 finale . Pike must decide whether or not he's going to listen to Starfleet and retreat to avoid further conflict with the Gorn or to stay and try to save the kidnapped crew members. I have a hunch I know what decision he'll make, but I'm also very invested in seeing if Scotty will remain with the crew and what other adventures will come as well. 

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 - Coming In 2024

Paramount+ originally renewed Star Trek: Prodigy for Season 2, but announced later that it had been canceled alongside other shows on the platform. While the news was a bummer to many and encouraged responses from stars like Kate Mulgrew , there is a silver lining. After some talk with other companies, Paramount managed to negotiate a deal where the series will transition over to Netflix , and Season 2 will release over there. At this time, it's unknown whether or not this will lead to more seasons of Prodigy , but fans are thankful they'll at least get to see the season that was being worked on coming up in 2024. 

Section 31 Movie - Production Complete

Section 31 was one of the first Star Trek spinoffs announced after Discovery , and yet it took the longest to get off the ground. The series was supposed to Michelle Yeoh ’s Phillipa Georgiou and her efforts in the secret ops Starfleet faction that does the jobs that others in the organization would rather not know about. Other former Discovery stars, like Shazad Latif, were involved at one point, but some believed the odds of it happening aren't great after Michelle Yeoh's Oscar win .

It turns out Yeoh was interested in making it happen, and Paramount+ decided to alter the idea to a movie . Fans are excited about the project all the same, and ready to see Michelle Yeoh back in her role. Production on the film is officially underway, and it's looking like a premiere sometime in late 2024 to 2025 is likely.

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Starfleet Academy - Production Starting In 2024

Alex Kurtzman revealed not long ago that Star Trek is actively working on another new live-action series , and it’s going to be set at Starfleet Academy. Of course, we don’t know exactly what era this series is set to take place during or who is going to star in it yet. We don’t really know much of anything, though it’s worth noting that Star Trek: Discovery did write off its character Tilly when she took an offer at Starfleet Academy. The episode where that happened seemed like it could be a backdoor pilot for the show, but again, we have no idea. We do know that the writer's room is underway, but details are scant beyond that.  

As shown above, there’s still a ton of Star Trek on the way in 2024, and beyond. The only way to watch these shows is with a Paramount+ subscription , which is totally worth picking up with the increasing amount of shows and movies available to watch. 

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Star Trek TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

Updated: September 8, 2023

The Star Trek universe kicked off in 1966 with the original series , created by science fiction visionary Gene Roddenberry , and later exploded into a massive film and TV juggernaut.

While the original series, which starred William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, saw only three seasons, it made an indelible impression on the sci-fi genre. Live-action TV follow-up Star Trek: The Next Generation , with  Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard leading an ensemble cast, captivated viewers from 1987–1994 and inspired three more series that would air within the next decade:  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ,  Star Trek: Voyager , and  Star Trek: Enterprise .

Starting with 1979’s  Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Paramount Pictures has been regularly cranking out Trek films with the original series and Next Generation casts, as well as a rebooted version in 2009 with Chris Pine as Starfleet Academy cadet James Kirk and Zachary Quinto as young Spock. ( See the Star Trek films ranked here. )

In 2017,  Trek  returned to small screens with season 1 of CBS All Access streaming title  Star Trek: Discovery , set during a tumultuous wartime era about a decade before the original and starring Sonequa Martin-Green . The new series marked a TV franchise reboot by Alex Kurtzman , writer on the 2009 Star Trek film and its sequel  Star Trek Into Darkness .

RELATED: All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

The year 2020 gave fans a celebration of one of its most iconic characters with the premiere of Star Trek: Picard and Stewart reprising his role in the new streaming series that launched its second season in 2022. New live-action series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was also released in 2022, and its first season was quickly Certified Fresh with a 100% Tomatometer score (it has since dropped to 99% on one review). The show’s second season, released in 2023, was nearly as well received and is Certified Fresh at 97% on the Tomatometer.

The TV franchise has since introduced two animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks , about the misfit support crew on one of Starfleet’s least-important ships, and kid-friendly Star Trek: Prodigy , which tells the story of a diverse group of teens who inadvertently become the crew of a prize starship and learn important lessons in their subsequent adventures. The latter series — No. 3 on our list below — has since been canceled by Paramount+, but a petition to save the show has gathered over 33,000 signatures.

Have a look below to find out which series score highest with critics in our Trek TV by Tomatometer list.

Disagree with the results? Tell us in the comments which series you think should have been ranked higher (or lower).

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) 98%

Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) 94%

Star Trek: Prodigy (2021) 94%

Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020) 92%

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) 92%

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) 91%

Star Trek: Picard (2020) 89%

Star Trek: Discovery (2017) 84%

Star Trek (1966) 80%

Star Trek: Voyager (1995) 76%

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) 56%

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Den of Geek

Star Trek Streaming Guide: Where to Watch All the TV Shows and Movies

Find out where you can stream all the voyages of sci-fi’s longest-running franchise.

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Launched on September 8, 1966 — nearly 54 years ago — the NBC-TV series Star Trek was the beginning of a new age of science fiction on television and, eventually, the big screen. The first show to echo the sophistication and vision of sci-fi literature , Star Trek was only a cult hit at the time of its initial run but refused to die even after its cancellation, with the original 79 episodes running for years in syndication.

More than five decades later, Star Trek encompasses eight TV series (a total of 764 episodes and counting) and 13 films, plus countless books, comics, games and more. It’s had its ups and downs, its high points and its misfires, but it remains one of the most beloved and durable franchises in all of pop culture.

Now, thanks to streaming, all those episodes and movies are available to watch any time (we know you diehard Trekkers have the Blu-rays and DVDs, but you don’t have to break those out anymore). Below is a handy guide to where you can stream every iteration of Trek , from The Original Series to the movies to the new Star Trek: Picard . Grab your remote and boldly go…

Star Trek TV

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

The one that started it all, the original Star Trek came along at a time when most screen sci-fi (movies and TV) was still just monster movies or kiddie fare ( Lost in Space , anyone?). Gene Roddenberry ’s vision of an intelligent, allegorical sci-fi series, which used actual genre writers for much of its first two seasons, was groundbreaking in ways that reverberate to this day. And its cast, led by William Shatner as Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock and DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy, became iconic.

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Available in the US on Amazon , Hulu , Netflix , CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK , Amazon UK * (*purchase only)

Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)

Using the voices of many of the original cast members and even employing writers from the original series, TAS had a genuine chance to extend the original show with the visual freedom animation offered. But the format turned out to be its enemy, as clunky, cheap animation and frequent reuse of shots gave the show a shoddy, amateurish reputation. Some of the stories are quite good, however.

Available in the US on Amazon , CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Set nearly a century after the original series, with Gene Roddenberry mandating that conflict between the crew members be diminished by that point, ST: TNG proved to be enormously popular even with a brand new, unfamiliar crew. It took most of three seasons for the show to find its footing, but Captain Picard (a magnificent Patrick Stewart ) and company went on many captivating and genuinely outstanding adventures of their own.

Available in the US on Amazon , Netflix , CBS All Access , Hulu

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Many fans consider DS9 the best Trek series ever , and they certainly can make a good argument for it: the first Trek show not set on a starship, but instead on a remote space station, DS9 addressed cultural divides, character conflict, religion and war in a bolder fashion that any Trek entry before it — while also utilizing the kind of serialized storytelling that is now the standard across the medium.

Available in the UK on Netflix UK , Amazon UK* (*purchase only)

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Voyager found members of a Federation starship and the rebel Maquis stranded together 70,000 years from Earth in the Delta Quadrant, facing a 75-year journey home. Headed by Trek ’s first female captain , Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Voyager encountered all kinds of interesting new races as well as old enemies the Borg during the long and often compelling journey home.

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

The first series to act as a prequel, set a decade before the creation of what would become the United Federation of Planets, Enterprise followed the crew of the first ship to bear that name. Uneven in quality and struggling to find resonant stories, Enterprise was canceled after four seasons and ended an 18-year run for Trek on TV. 

Available in the US on Amazon , Netflix , Hulu , CBS All Access

Star Trek: Discovery (2017- )

Set 10 years prior to TOS , Discovery ’s troubled birth (it went through numerous delays and several showrunners) led to the most polarizing show in the franchise to date. Focusing for once on a central character other than the captain — mutinous anthropologist Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), who turns out to be the adopted sister of one Mr. Spock — it has often ignored or played fast and loose with Trek continuity while painting Starfleet in a more conspiratorial light. Season 3 will debut in 2020.

Star Trek: Picard (2020- )

Like Discovery before it, Picard has divided Star Trek fans with its depiction of a Federation in decline, marked by bigotry, deception and treachery. But there is no questioning the powerful presence of Patrick Stewart, playing an older, flawed Picard for the first time in 18 years, and the thrill of seeing old friends like Seven of Nine, Will Riker and Deanna Troi. The show has certainly had its moments ; we’ll see if more are to come in the already-announced season 2 .

Available in the UK on Amazon UK

Star Trek: 50 Best Episodes

The 15 best worst episodes of star trek: the original series, star trek movies.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

After an aborted attempt at a second TV series ( Star Trek: Phase II ), Paramount Pictures brought Trek to the big screen in a lavish, $40 million epic (the most expensive movie of its time) that reunited the original crew in a 2001 -like encounter with a massive, mysterious space probe. Slow-moving, alternately impressive and shaky visually, ST: TMP nevertheless proved that the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise could hold their own on the big screen — and strangely, the film has actually aged better than most.

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Available in the US on Amazon , Hulu

Available in the UK on NOW TV , YouTube *, Amazon UK *, Sky Store * (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Still considered the finest Trek movie of all , and rightfully so, The Wrath of Khan focused — like the original show — on character and story instead of visual effects and esoteric concepts. Bringing back a deadly enemy from the first season, the generic superman Khan (Ricardo Montalban), the movie was thrilling, dramatic and, with the death of Spock at the finale, incredibly moving.

Available in the UK on NOW TV , *YouTube , *Amazon UK , * Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Even though the end of Star Trek II strongly hinted at Spock’s return, it wasn’t a given. But Leonard Nimoy did come back for Star Trek III — as director (and yes, as Spock too in the film’s closing minutes) of this somber and often underrated entry . Captain Kirk loses almost everything — his beloved ship, his commission and his newly reconciled son — to save his friend’s life in a poignant story about friendship and loyalty. And there’s a bad-ass villain too, a Klingon captain played to the hilt by Christopher Lloyd.

Available in the UK on NOW TV , * YouTube , * Amazon UK , * Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Leonard Nimoy’s second outing as director is both a comedy and an environmentally themed adventure — and it turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the franchise. This light-hearted romp sent Kirk and the gang back to 20 th century San Francisco to rescue a pair of humpback whales, and the fish-out-of-water (pun intended) antics of the crew provide plenty of laughs and a ton of heart.

Available in the US on Amazon

Available in the UK on NOW TV , * Amazon UK , * YouTube , * Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Shatner got behind the camera for this turgid, unfunny mess , which regularly rates near the bottom of any Trekker’s list. The old “alien pretending to be God” trope, a long-lost brother we never knew Spock had and the other cast members acting by and large like buffoons make this perhaps the most embarrassing of the Enterprise ’s big screen voyages. There are a few nice moments — there always are — but this nowhere near first on our revisit list.

Available in the UK on NOW TV , * Amazon UK , *YouTube , * Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

The classic Trek cast bounced back from Star Trek V with a final adventure that was also one of their best . A suspenseful, urgent meditation on aging, grievance and the end of the Cold War, Star Trek IV was a remarkable example of how Trek could show us at our finest even while facing down our lingering demons. Plus it ends with both a great space battle and one of the greatest cast send-offs ever (which was emulated by none other than Avengers Endgame ).

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

What could have been a magnificent passing of the torch from the classic Trek cast to the TNG crew ends up looking and feeling more like a tepid extended TNG episode with weak cameos from Kirk, Scotty (James Doohan) and Chekov (Walter Koenig). Patrick Stewart and his team are all solid, as is villain Malcolm McDowell, and the crashing of the Enterprise is a genuinely gripping setpiece. But the story and motivations are undercooked — as is most of the movie.

Available in the UK on NOW TV , * Amazon UK , * Sky Store , * YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Easily the best of the TNG quartet, First Contact travels back in time to the very start of Earth’s push into space, where the Borg intends to cripple humanity once and for all. The crew of the Enterprise follow them to make sure history isn’t changed, even as Picard confronts his fear and hatred of the Borg . Jonathan Frakes does a nice first-time directing job, balancing the action and character work ably, while Alice Krige steals the show as the sensual Borg Queen.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Like Generations , the third TNG theatrical outing feels like a mediocre TV segment stretched to feature length; even Frakes’ direction seems uninspired. One difference: with Picard fighting a secret plan (engineered by F. Murray Abraham, above) to uproot the natives of a “fountain of youth” planet, the seeds were planted for later Trek entries that portrayed an increasingly corrupt Federation. Otherwise, this is a forgettable, often cheesy film.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

The final big-screen outing for the TNG cast is better than its reputation suggests , as Picard squares off against a renegade Romulan who happens to be his clone. Tom Hardy chews the scenery fabulously as the latter, and the climactic battle between his massive ship and the Enterprise is well handled by director Stuart Baird. There’s also a surprising emotional payoff for Data (Brent Spiner) that ends up being the hook for Star Trek: Picard 18 years later.

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams does what many thought couldn’t be done — he reboots Star Trek with a fresh, young cast inhabiting the original roles made iconic by Shatner, Nimoy and their crew. The new cast, led by Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, is the best thing about the film, which also uses a clever plot device to position this timeline just slightly to the side of the original one. The reliance on action over ideas is a bit of a letdown, and unfortunately would carry over to the next two movies.

Available in the UK on Netflix , NOW TV , * Amazon UK , * Sky Store , * YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

One of the worst Trek films ever , right down there with The Final Frontier . STID insults both fans and casual viewers with a brain-dead script, frantic action and massive contrivances (such as the sudden ability for someone to beam across the galaxy or the screenwriters’ well-worn “magic blood” gimmick). But its most egregious offense is turning into a half-assed remake of The Wrath of Khan that’s as dumb as it is pointless. This is what happens when people tackle Trek with no understanding of it.

Available in the UK on * Amazon UK , * Sky Store , * YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Still too reliant on action over depth, and featuring the third revenge-driven storyline in a row, Star Trek Beyond is nevertheless better than its predecessor . It mostly works as a standalone adventure, and once again the Pine/Quinto cast delivers with heart. But even though Beyond does occasionally capture the vibe of classic Trek , there’s a vague sense of desperation at work — like the franchise knows it’s run out of gas (and crashing the Enterprise for the third time in 13 films doesn’t help).

Available in the UK on * Sky Store , * Amazon UK , * YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Don Kaye | @donkaye

Don Kaye is an entertainment journalist by trade and geek by natural design. Born in New York City, currently ensconced in Los Angeles, his earliest childhood memory is…

• The Inventory

Star Trek Release Dates: When to Expect All the New and Returning Shows

There's so much star trek here's our guide to keeping up with when everything is expected to beam in..

Trying to keep track of what’s coming in the realm of Star Trek   feels like trying to stop a tribble from procreating. Before even more new series are announced, here’s our guide of when to expect all the new Star Trek shows , as well as returning familiar favorites , and what else is in the works right now. Engage!

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This post was last updated 7/14/23.

Currently Airing: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2

The Enterprise is back after a successful first season , and this time Captain Kirk will be along for the ride with another appearance by Paul Wesley after his surprise finale role in season one. Not much else is known about the season so far, other than one episode will see the show crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks in a live-action/animated hybrid directed by The Next Generation ’s Jonathan Frakes. The show has also been renewed for a third season .

Season two recaps:

• “ The Broken Circle ”
• “ Ad Astra per Aspera ”
• “ Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ”
• “ Among the Lotus Eaters ”
• “ Charades ”

Upcoming: Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4

The third season of the animated series following the misfit crew of the USS Cerritos —and in particular its cadre of ensigns, Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Tendi (Noël Wells), and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero)—once again followed our heroic ensigns and the remaining bridge officers aboard the Cerritos. Season four will be arriving in late summer . The show has also been renewed for a fifth season .

Upcoming: Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

Expected in early 2024 , Discovery ’s fifth season will be 10 episodes long, down from the 13 of prior seasons. In the wake of season four‘s climax earlier this year , Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) led her crew in a desperate attempt to save the galaxy from a mysterious anomaly created by an extra-galactic race, ensuring peace and stability for the Federation once more... for now. As her romantic partner Book (David Ajala) pays time for his own role in a campaign to surreptitiously destroy that anomaly, we’re not sure what awaits Burnham and Discovery ’s crew just yet, but given this show, we’re sure it’ll be very, very dramatic.

In Flux : Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2

The animated series aimed at younger Trek fans (and Janeway fans!) and kids at heart can be found on both Nickelodeon and Paramount+. The first season was divided into two parts, with part two wrapping up at the end of 2022; after Paramount+ announced it would not move forward with the show’s already greenlit season two , it was removed from the service . ( A home release of the complete first season is still possible ; the first 10 episodes are still available for purchase.) Fans are still waiting to hear if Prodigy season two will surface on a different outlet .

Upcoming : Starfleet Academy

It’s really happening! After a long tease, filming on this series will begin in 2024. Here’s the official announcement from co-showrunners and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau:

“Admission is now open to Starfleet Academy! Explore the galaxy! Captain your destiny! For the first time in over a century, our campus will be re-opened to admit individuals a minimum of 16 Earth years (or species equivalent) who dream of exceeding their physical, mental and spiritual limits, who value friendship, camaraderie, honor and devotion to a cause greater than themselves. The coursework will be rigorous, the instructors among the brightest lights in their respective fields, and those accepted will live and study side-by-side with the most diverse population of students ever admitted. Today we encourage all who share our dreams, goals and values to join a new generation of visionary cadets as they take their first steps toward creating a bright future for us all. Apply today!   Ex Astris, Scientia!”

Upcoming (movie) : Star Trek: Section 31

Announced as a TV series back in 2019 as a spinoff for fan-favorite Discovery guest star Michelle Yeoh, this plunge into the seediest side of Starfleet—the shadowy spy organization Section 31 first introduced in Deep Space Nine— is now planned as a Paramount+ film .

Newly minted Oscar winner Yeoh will return as former emperor of the Mirror Universe’s Terran Empire, Phillipa Georgiou, now turned into a kinder, but still kickass person by her time with Michael Burnham. “I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long,” Yeoh said in a statement. “ Section 31 has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of Star Trek launched. To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise)!”

Written by Craig Sweeny and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi, Star Trek: Section 31 will start production later this year, and eventually come to Paramount+.

Where Can I Stream Classic Star Trek Shows?

That’s all the new bits of Star Trek coming. But what about the old Star Trek ? In the U.S. at least, the vast majority of classic Star Trek shows are available exclusively to stream on Paramount+ ( albeit not without issues ), although some holdouts remain on other streaming services. Here’s a full list of classic Star Trek shows and where to stream them, as well as links to our recommended episode guides for every series!

• Star Trek: The Original Series   (Paramount+)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series (Paramount+)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (Paramount+, Netflix)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Paramount+, Netflix)
• Star Trek: Voyager   (Paramount+)
• Star Trek: Enterprise (Paramount+)

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power .

• Where to watch 'Star Trek' TV shows
• Where to watch 'Star Trek' movies
• 'Star Trek' timeline and eras explained

Where to watch every 'Star Trek' movie and TV show, from 'The Original Series' to 'Strange New Worlds'

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• There are now 12 shows and 13 movies in the "Star Trek" franchise.
• The iconic sci-fi series focuses on the lives of Starfleet members as they explore the universe.
• Most "Star Trek" titles are available to stream on Paramount Plus ($5/month).

The "Star Trek" franchise continues to boldly go where no man has gone before. From "The Original Series" in 1966 to the spin-offs, sequels, and prequels of today, "Star Trek" has been a pop culture mainstay for more than 50 years. 

The franchise focuses on the adventures of various Starfleet crew members as they travel throughout the universe. And beneath the series' fun escapism, "Star Trek" movies and shows have used science fiction to comment on issues like racism, sexism, human rights, and politics. By exploring new worlds in "The Original Series," creator Gene Roddenberry was able to tell allegorical stories with thoughtful themes that relate to our own experiences.

In many ways, "Star Trek" has always highlighted diverse storytelling. In fact, one of the first interracial kisses ever aired on TV was in an episode of "The Original Series." This mix of sci-fi entertainment and social commentary is still present in the latest "Star Trek" installments, most of which air as Paramount Plus originals. "Star Trek: Discovery" introduced multiple queer leads, including the first transgender and non-binary characters in the "Star Trek" universe. 

If you're a new fan looking to explore the world of "Star Trek" for the first time, or you're a devoted Trekkie who just wants to watch it all over again, we've compiled a list of every "Star Trek" movie and TV show, along with details on where you can stream them all right now. 

Where to watch 'Star Trek' shows

There are 12 "Star Trek" shows in total, including nine live-action series and three animated shows. All of the shows are available on Paramount Plus, and many are also available to buy or rent from video-on-demand (VOD) services. One series, "Deep Space Nine," is also streaming on Netflix.

Where to watch 'Star Trek' movies

The "Star Trek" franchise includes 13 movies from 1979 to 2016. A new movie is also set to begin production in spring 2022. You can currently watch every "Star Trek" film on Paramount Plus. The movies are also available to buy or rent without a subscription through different VOD services, and you can stream a couple for free with ads.

'Star Trek' timeline and eras explained

"Star Trek" movies and TV shows all take place in different time periods that focus on different crews and starships. These time periods are generally categorized by fans and creators into four distinct eras: Pre-TOS, TOS, TNG, and Kelvin

Pre-TOS era

Movies and TV shows set during the Pre-The Original Series (Pre-TOS) era take place at some point before James T. Kirk becomes captain of the Enterprise.

A few notable series set during this early time period include "Star Trek: Enterprise," "Star Trek: Discovery," and " Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ."

The Original Series (TOS) era of movies and TV shows follows the crew members on the starship USS Enterprise after Kirk (William Shatner) becomes captain. Other notable characters featured during this period include Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), and Hikaru Sulu (George Takei).

The Original Series era includes the first "Star Trek" TV show from the 1960s, as well as several spin-off movies that feature Captain Kirk and his crew. 

The Next Generation (TNG) era is set 100 years after Kirk's adventures during "The Original Series," and includes movies and TV shows about the new crew of the USS Enterprise with Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard.

"Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" are set during this time period as well, but focus on other crews and starships. Captain Picard's story also continues after "The Next Generation" in the Paramount Plus original series "Star Trek: Picard."

Kelvin Timeline

The Kelvin Timeline was introduced in 2009 with the release of director J.J. Abrams' first "Star Trek" movie starring Chris Pine as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock. This film features the crew from "The Original Series" but takes place in an alternate universe that's separate from the main "Star Trek" timeline. 

In this version of events, Kirk still becomes Captain of the USS Enterprise but his path to get there is brand new, which gives the writers freedom to explore different storylines with familiar characters. 

The Kelvin Timeline includes "Star Trek" (2009), "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013), and "Star Trek Beyond" (2016). An upcoming fourth movie in the Kelvin Timeline is set to begin production in spring 2022.

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

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Star Trek streaming guide: Where to watch the Star Trek movies and TV shows online

Our Star Trek streaming guide will allow you to go boldly where you've never gone before, without getting off your couch.

How to stream the Star Trek Movies in the US

How to stream the star trek tv shows in the us, how to stream the star trek movies in the uk, how to stream the star trek tv shows in the uk.

Here's our Star Trek streaming guide, so you know where to go boldly where you've never gone before... Without leaving your sofa. We've come up with this Star Trek streaming guide because since the first ever episode aired back in 1966, there's been  a huge number of additions into the franchise. 

Star Trek is currently in a bit of a purple patch for content as Paramount Plus , which is the home of all things Star Trek, is responsible for several new shows in recent years. But, it's not just new content, you'll also find where to stream the classics both movies and TV series below. 

Before, Star Trek content was scattered all around different streaming services and searching for what you wanted to watch could feel like hunting for a cloaked Bird of Prey. However, these days you're able to stream all Star Trek content out there on Paramount Plus. However, we do have round-ups of the best sci-fi movies and TV shows on Netflix , Disney Plus and Amazon if you want to check them out. 

You can also check out our take on the Star Trek movies, ranked so you know which movies to beam up onto your device. While Paramount Plus has everything Star Trek out there, you can find the odd bit of content on other platforms. So, below you'll find where you can watch what, regardless of where you're based, in our Star Trek streaming guide.  

The Star Trek movies can be divided into three tidy groups: the original cast, the Next Generation cast, and the reboot cast. All of them can be found on Paramount+. However, Paramount+ isn't the only place you can stream the movies and in some cases you can rent or buy from places such as Amazon .

Here’s how to stream the Star Trek movies in the U.S., in order of release:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Paramount+ Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — Paramount+ Star Trek III: The Search for Spock — Paramount+ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — Paramount+ Star Trek V: The Final Frontier — Paramount+ Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country — Paramount+ Star Trek: Generations — Paramount+ Star Trek: First Contact — Paramount+ Star Trek: Insurrection — Paramount+ , Spectrum Star Trek: Nemesis — Paramount+   Star Trek (2009) — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek Into Darkness — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek Beyond — Paramount+ , DIRECTV , Freevee

When it comes to Star Trek on the small screen, you can find them all in one place. Paramount+ not only has every episode of every legacy Trek show, it’s also the home of all the new Star Trek programming, such as Picard and Strange New Worlds. If you’re a Trekkie, you absolutely want to have Paramount+ to keep up with the object of your affection. A word of warning though, other streaming platforms may only have select episodes or series to stream.

Star Trek: The Original Series — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek: The Next Generation — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  — Paramount+ , Sling , Spectrum Star Trek: Voyager — Paramount+ , Pluto TV Star Trek: Enterprise — Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery — Paramount+ , DIRECTV Star Trek: Picard — Paramount+ Star Trek: Short Treks — Paramount+ Star Trek: Lower Decks — Paramount+ Star Trek: Prodigy — Paramount+ ,   DIRECTV , FuboTV , Spectrum Star Trek: The Animated Series — Paramount+ Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Paramount+

Now that Paramount+ has arrived in the U.K, streaming Star Trek is a lot easier. You can view most of the movies on the streaming platform. Star Trek Beyond is the exception but that can be found on Amazon Prime. If you're not prepared to subscribe to Paramount+, the movies are available to rent or buy from a number of different platforms. 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Paramount+ Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — Paramount+ Star Trek III: The Search for Spock — Paramount+ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — Paramount+ Star Trek V: The Final Frontier — Paramount+ Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country — Paramount+ Star Trek: Generations — Paramount+ Star Trek: First Contact — Paramount+ Star Trek: Insurrection — Paramount+ Star Trek: Nemesis — Paramount+ Star Trek (2009) — Paramount+ , Amazon Prime Star Trek Into Darkness — Paramount+ , Amazon Prime Star Trek Beyond — Amazon Prime

Now that Paramount+ has reached those across the pond, the U.K. can enjoy streaming Star Trek shows as well. Netflix is also another great option to fulfil your Trekkie viewing needs, especially if you're interested in checking out Star Trek: The Animated Series, which is exclusive to Netflix. 

However, for the likes of Picard and Lower Decks, you’ll have to hop on over to Amazon Prime. It's worth noting that platforms such as SkyGo may only have a select number of episodes or series to stream.

Star Trek: The Original Series —   Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: The Next Generation — Netflix , Paramount+ , SkyGo Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: Voyager — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: Enterprise — Netflix , Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery — Paramount+ Star Trek: Picard — Amazon Prime Video , Paramount+ Star Trek: Short Treks — N/A Star Trek: Lower Decks — Amazon Prime Video Star Trek: Prodigy — Paramount+ , SkyGo Star Trek: The Animated Series — Netflix Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — Paramount+

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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Star Trek Is Spread Out Across 3 Streaming Services Now - Where To Watch

Star trek's multiverse: 3 timelines updated with every tv show & movie (so far), star trek fleet command codes (june 2024).

• Star Trek on Paramount+'s Discovery and Lower Decks are both ending in 2024 with each show's season 5.
• Paramount+ is rethinking its Star Trek strategy, focusing on made-for-streaming movies and only two live-action series.
• The future still looks bright for Star Trek despite these changes, with new Star Trek theatrical movies in development.

Star Trek 's upcoming TV and movie slate will have fewer series but new theatrical and made-for-streaming movies. 2022 was a remarkable year that saw a new episode from 5 new Star Trek series streaming on Paramount+ nearly every Thursday of the year. 2023 saw the critically acclaimed ending of Star Trek: Picard, the lauded Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, and Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, perhaps the best run of the animated comedy yet.

Star Trek is in a transitional period in 2024. Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Lower Decks are both ending with season 5 , while Star Trek: Prodigy moved to Netflix. Reflecting industry-wide changes in streaming content, Paramount+ is rethinking its Star Trek strategy , starting with an expansion into made-for-streaming movies that are designed to feel like blockbuster events. Paramount Pictures' Star Trek movies are also showing signs of life, at last. While another moment of change seems imminent for the franchise, the future still looks bright for Star Trek .

A made-for-streaming on Paramount+ movie for Star Trek: Picard 's proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy , is reportedly under consideration.

The Star Trek franchise is split across three different streaming services in 2024. Here's where to watch your favorite Star Trek movies and shows.

8 Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

The final season of the star trek series that began a new paramount+ era..

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is the show's final season . Star Trek: Discovery has a devoted fan base and should always be remembered as the show that saved Star Trek to ignite the franchise's renaissance . However, Discovery is also now an older series - five seasons for a streaming show is a minor miracle in our current TV era - which means it's getting more expensive to produce at a time where streamers are looking to cut costs. This is likely a contributing factor to Paramount+ closing the curtain on Star Trek: Discovery.

Initially not designed to be the final season, Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is a reset to a more adventurous tone as Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the USS Discovery go on an intergalactic treasure hunt, running afoul of various new aliens adversaries. Reshoots conducted in spring 2023 added a poignant epilogue that brings closure to Star Trek; Discovery . Following its March world premiere at SXSW, Star Trek: Discovery 's final 10 episodes are streaming on Paramount+ in April and May 2024.

The two-part series finale of Star Trek: Discovery is directed by Jonathan Frakes and Olatunde Osunsanmi.

7 Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5

The final season premieres fall 2024 on paramount+..

Star Trek: Lower Decks is the only other Star Trek series on Paramount+'s 2024 schedule, and it's also delivering its fifth and final season. Mike McMahan's animated comedy was creatively firing full phaser banks in Lower Decks season 4, promoting the Lower Deckers of the USS Cerritos to junior grade Lieutenants, homaging Star Trek: Voyager' s "Tuvix," visiting Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's new Ferengi Grand Nagus, and tying Lt. Beckett Mariner's (Tawny Newsome) backstory to the animated show's namesake, the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lower Decks". Star Trek: Lower Decks has won over fans as a definitive and very appreciated part of the Star Trek franchise.

Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid played Ensigns Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler in live-action in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ' comedic crossover episode.

Unfortunately, Paramount+ has opted to end Star Trek: Lower Decks with season 5 , which premieres in fall 2024. This comes as a huge disappointment, especially considering how relatively inexpensive Lower Decks is to produce compared to Paramount+'s live-action Star Trek series. While a fan campaign has begun to save Star Trek: Lower Deck s, and there is preliminary talk of finding the animated comedy a new steaming home, the best way to boost Star Trek: Lower Decks' profile is to stream the previous four seasons and season 5 when it premieres in great numbers.

6 Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2

Premiering on netflix in 2024.

Star Trek: Prodigy rallied ardent fan support to secure Netflix as its new streaming home after Paramount+ unexpectedly canceled the beloved all-ages CGI animated series. Netflix released all 20 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 on Christmas Day 2023, and it quickly charted in the Top 10 Kids shows, which bodes well for the yet unspecified 2024 release of Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 .

The next 20 episodes of Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 launch Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the heroic alien teenage crew of the USS Protostar, now Starfleet warrant officers, on a new time travel rescue mission aboard the USS Voyager-A. Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 promises to be even more epic and will tap into every other iteration of Star Trek in the franchise.

The Doctor (Robert Picardo) from Star Trek: Voyager joins Star Trek: Prodigy season 2, and he's just one of many surprise guest stars and callbacks.

5 Star Trek: Section 31

The first made-for-streaming on paramount+ star trek movie.

Long discussed as the premise for an ongoing series, Star Trek: Section 31 is now the first Star Trek original movie for Paramount+ . Star Trek : Section 31 is said to delve into the origin and secrets of Starfleet's insidious black ops agency. Star Trek: Section 31 will star Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh reprising her anti-heroine Emperor Philippa Georgiou, the former ruler of the Mirror Universe. Once a ruthless despot, Georgiou's time in Star Trek' s Prime universe with Michael Burnham taught her compassion, although Georgiou remains crafty and dangerous.

Star Trek: Section 31 wrapped filming in March 2024, and what's revealed about the film indicates it will be set in Star Trek 's "lost era" of the 24th century before Star Trek: The Next Generation . Excitingly, Section 31 's characters include a young version of Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl), the future Captain of the USS Enterprise-C. Star Trek: Section 31 is directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi from a screenplay by Craig Sweeny, and is expected to release in late 2024 or 2025 on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Section 31 is hopefully the first of a new wave of made-for-Paramount+ Star Trek movies to be released every 2 years.

Star Trek's Multiverse includes 3 timelines spanning from Enterprise's 22nd century to Discovery's 32nd century - now updated for 2024.

4 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

The next star trek tv series is in development at paramount+.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was officially announced in early 2023. While details about the YA-aimed series, developed by Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman and Nancy Drew writer Noga Landau, are under wraps, it's confirmed that Starfleet Academy will be set in the post- Star Trek: Discovery 32nd century and will spotlight a diverse assortment of alien and human teenage Cadets, with possible guest starring roles from familiar Discovery faces .

Starfleet Academy will film on the largest set ever built for Star Trek , and will return the school to its original Earth location of San Francisco after the Academy reopened in outer space in Star Trek: Discovery season 3. Kurtzman has also hinted at Starfleet Academy 's young characters questioning the decisions and even fixing the mistakes of past Starfleet Officers. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will begin filming in late summer 2024, although the series may not premiere on Paramount+ until 2026.

Star Trek: Lower Decks ' Tawny Newsome, a self-described Star Trek "continuity cop," is part of Starfleet Academy's writer's room.

3 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 & 4

Strange new worlds is getting two more seasons..

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 finally began production in December 2023 after being delayed 7 months by the combined WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The next 10 episodes of Strange New Worlds are slated to film until May 2024. While Strange New Worlds season 3's premiere will pick up and resolve the Gorn cliffhanger of Strange New Worlds season 2 finale , season 3's episodes will see the return of directors Chris Fisher, Valerie Weiss, Dan Liu, Jordan Canning, and Jonathan Frakes, who is directing a Hollywood noir episode.

Jonathan Frakes calls his Strange New Worlds season 3 hour "the best episode of television I've ever done."

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 will debut a new Science Lab set on the USS Enterprise , and Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) wears a new hazmat suit in a photo released to promote season 3. Excitingly, Paramount+ gave Star Trek: Strange New Worlds an early season 4 renewal , which essentially makes the series the new flagship of Star Trek on Paramount+ after Star Trek: Discovery bows out. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 is expected to premiere on Paramount+ in 2025, although fans want to see the new episodes as soon as possible.

2 Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie

Premiering in theaters in 2025.

Paramount Pictures officially announced an Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie for a targeted 2025 premiere in theaters. Directed by Toby Haynes, who directed Star Wars: Andor and the "USS Callister" episode of Black Mirror, the Star Trek Origin movie is written by Seth Grahame-Smith ( Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) . The Star Trek Origin Movie is produced by J.J. Abrams and is set "decades before" Abrams' Star Trek (2009) . When, exactly, in the Star Trek timeline the origin movie is set, and what characters or starship it will be about, is all under wraps.

1 Star Trek 4

The final chapter of chris pine's starship enterprise crew is in development..

Nearly a decade after Star Trek Beyond was released in 2016, Star Trek 4 is seeing progress toward becoming a reality . Billed as the "final chapter" of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek , the fourth film about the USS Enterprise led by Chris Pine's Captain James T. Kirk has a new screenwriter in Steve Yockey ( The Flight Attendant) . No director for Star Trek 4 has been named, but fingers are crossed that the Starship Enterprise of the alternate Kelvin Timeline will finally make its big-screen return. Star Trek 4 possibly releasing in 2026 would be an ideal way to mark Star Trek 's 60th anniversary.

Every Star Trek series except Star Trek: Prodigy is streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Prodigy is streaming on Netflix

When is the 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 finale? Release date, cast, where to watch

Warning: May contain spoilers .

U.S.S. Discovery's final mission is almost at its end, with the last episode of "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 5 scheduled to release this Thursday.

The fifth and final season of the hit TV series had followed Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncover a mystery that sent them on "an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries," according to Paramount+.

"Star Trek: Discovery" debuted in 2017 and is the seventh in the Star Trek series. Here's what to know about Season 5 of "Star Trek: Discovery," and when the final episode will be dropping.

When is 'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 finale?

The final episode of "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 5 will release on Paramount+ on Thursday, May 30. Paramount+ did not specify what time the episode will be available on its platform.

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Nine episodes of Season 5, and Seasons 1 to 4 are available to stream on Paramount+.

'Star Trek: Discovery' on Paramount+: Subscribe

Will 'Star Trek: Discovery' have another season?

No. Paramount+ had earlier announced that Season 5 will be the last in the "Star Trek: Discovery" series.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 cast

Season 5 of "Star Trek: Discovery" brings back new and old faces along with recurring guest stars. Cast members include:

• Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham
• Doug Jones as Saru
• Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets
• Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly
• Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber
• David Ajala as Cleveland “Book” Booker
• Blu del Barrio as Adira
• Callum Keith Rennie as Rayner
• Elias Toufexis as L’ak
• Eve Harlow as Moll

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 trailer

Paramount+ dropped the official trailer for Season 5 on Feb. 23.

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Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.

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In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

• Gene Roddenberry
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• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 277 User reviews
• 99 Critic reviews
• 16 wins & 31 nominations total

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• Mister Spock …

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• Trivia In the hallways of the Enterprise there are tubes marked "GNDN." These initials stand for "goes nowhere does nothing."
• Goofs The deck locations for Kirk's Quarters, Sickbay and Transporter Room vary (usually between decks 4-7) throughout the series.

Dr. McCoy : "He's dead, Jim."

• Crazy credits On some episodes, the closing credits show a still that is actually from the Star Trek blooper reel. It is a close-up of stunt man Bill Blackburn who played an android in Return to Tomorrow (1968) , removing his latex make up. In the reel, He is shown taking it off, while an off-screen voice says "You wanted show business, you got it!"
• Alternate versions In 2006, CBS went back to the archives and created HD prints of every episode of the show. In addition to the new video transfer, they re-did all of the model shots and some matte paintings using CGI effects, and re-recorded the original theme song to clean it up. These "Enhanced" versions of the episodes aired on syndication and have been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
• Connections Edited into Ben 10: Secrets (2006)
• Soundtracks Star Trek Music by Alexander Courage

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Inside the ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Series Finale: The Last-Minute Coda, the Surprise Easter Eggs, and What Season 6 Would Have Been About (EXCLUSIVE)

SPOILER WARNING: This story includes descriptions of major plot developments on the series finale of “ Star Trek : Discovery,” currently streaming on Paramount+.

Watching the fifth and final season of “ Star Trek: Discovery ” has been an exercise in the uncanny. Paramount+ didn’t announce that the show was ending until after the Season 5 finale had wrapped filming — no one involved with the show knew it would be its concluding voyage when they were making it. And yet, the season has unfolded with a pervasive feeling of culmination. 

Popular on Variety

“I think there’s more to it than just, ‘Oh, it was a coinkydink!’” the actor says with a laugh, before explaining that she’s thinking more about subtext than direct intent. “I’ve gotta give Michelle her flowers. She has always asked the deeper questions of this story and these characters. Those questions of meaning and purpose led to questions of origin and legacy, and, yes, that is quite culminating.”

Martin-Green and Paradise spoke exclusively with Variety about filming the finale and the coda, including the surprising revelation about the origins of one of “Discovery’s” most memorable characters and what Paradise’s plans for Season 6 would have been.

“It’s the Most Complicated Thing I’ve Ever Seen”

Once the “Discovery” writers’ room decided the season would be organized around a search for the Progenitor’s technology, they also knew that, eventually, Burnham would find it. So then they had to figure out what it would be.

“That was a discussion that evolved over the course of weeks and months,” Paradise says. Rather than focus on communicating the intricate details of how the technology works, they turned their attention to delivering a visual experience commensurate with the enormity and complexity of something that could seed life across the entire galaxy.

“We wanted a sense of a smaller exterior and an infinite interior to help with that sense of power greater than us,” Paradise says. Inspired in part by a drawing by MC Escher, the production created an environment surrounded by towering windows into a seemingly endless procession of alien planets, in which it’s just as easy to walk on the walls as on the floor. That made for a daunting challenge for the show’s producing director, Olatunde “Tunde” Osunsanmi: As Burnham battles with the season’s main antagonist, Mol (Eve Harlow), inside this volume, they fall through different windows into another world, and the laws of gravity keep shifting between their feet.

“It’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever seen, directorially,” Paradise says. “Tunde had a map, in terms of: What did the background look like? And when the cameras this way, what’s over there? It was it was incredibly complex to design and shoot.”

Two of those planets — one in perpetual darkness and rainstorms, another consumed by constant fire — were shot on different parking areas on the Pinewood Toronto studio lot.

“The fire planet was so bright that the fire department got called from someone who had seen the fire,” Paradise says. “It should not be possible to pull those kinds of things off in a television show, even on a bigger budget show, with the time limitations that you have. And yet, every episode of every season, we’re still coming in on time and on budget. The rain planet and the fire planet we shot, I believe, one day after the other.”

Martin-Green jumps in: “Michelle, I think that was actually the same day!”

“It Felt Lifted”

The last time a “Star Trek” captain talked to a being that could be (erroneously) considered God, it was William Shatner’s James T. Kirk in 1989’s “Star Trek: The Final Frontier.” The encounter did not go well.

“I had my own journey with the central storyline of Season 5, just as a believer,” Martin-Green says. “I felt a similar way that Burnham did. They’re in this sort of liminal mind space, and it almost felt that way to me. It felt lifted. It really did feel like she and I were the only two people in this moment.”

It’s in this conversation that Burnham learns that while the Progenitors did create all “humanoid” alien species in the galaxy in their image, they did not create the technology that allowed them to do so. They found it, fully formed, created by beings utterly unknown to them. The revelation was something that Martin-Green discussed with Paradise early on in the planning of Season 5, allowing “Discovery” to leave perhaps the most profound question one could ask — what, or who, came first in the cosmos? — unanswered.

“The progenitor is not be the be all end all of it,” Paradise says. “We’re not saying this is God with a capital ‘G.’”

“There’s Just This Air of Mystery About Him”

Starting on Season 3 of “Discovery,” renowned filmmaker David Cronenberg began moonlighting in a recurring role as Dr. Kovich, a shadowy Federation operative whose backstory has been heretofore undisclosed on the show.

“I love the way he plays Kovich,” Paradise says of Cronenberg. “There’s just this air of mystery about him. We’ve always wanted to know more.” When planning Season 5, one of the writers pitched revealing Kovich’s true identity in the (then-season) finale by harkening back to the “Star Trek” show that preceded “Discovery”: “Enterprise,” which ran on UPN from 2001 to 2005.

In the final episode, when Burnham debriefs her experiences with Kovich, she presses him to tell her who he really is. He reintroduces himself as Agent Daniels, a character first introduced on “Enterprise” as a young man (played by Matt Winston) and a Federation operative in the temporal cold war. 

This is, to be sure, a deep cut even for “Star Trek” fans. (Neither Cronenberg nor Martin-Green, for example, understood the reference.) But Paradise says they were laying the groundwork for the reveal from the beginning of the season. “If you watch Season 5 with that in mind, you can see the a little things that we’ve played with along the way,” she says, including Kovich/Daniels’ penchant for anachonistic throwbacks like real paper and neckties.

“I didn’t know that that was going be there,” Martin-Green says. “My whole childhood came back to me.”

“We Always Knew That We Wanted to Somehow Tie That Back Up”

Originally, Season 5 of “Discovery” ends with Burnham and Book talking on the beach outside the wedding of Saru (Doug Jones) and T’Rina (Tara Rosling) before transporting away to their next adventure. But Paradise understood that the episode needed something more conclusive once it became the series finale. The question was what.

There were some significant guardrails around what they could accomplish. The production team had only eight weeks from when Paramout+ and CBS Studios signed off on the epilogue to when they had to shoot it. Fortunately, the bridge set hadn’t been struck yet (though several standing sets already had been). And the budget allowed only for three days of production.

Then there was “Calypso.” 

To fill up the long stretches between the first three seasons of “Discovery,” CBS Studios and Paramount+ greenlit a series of 10 stand-alone episodes, dubbed “Short Treks,” that covered a wide variety of storylines and topics. The second “Short Trek” — titled “Calypso” and co-written by novelist Michael Chabon — first streamed between Season 1 and 2 in November 2018. It focuses on a single character named Craft (Aldis Hodge), who is rescued by the USS Discovery after the starship — and its now-sentient computer system, Zora (Annabelle Wallis) — has sat totally vacant for 1,000 years in the same fixed point in space. How the Discovery got there, and why it was empty for so long, were left to the viewer’s imagination. 

Still, for a show that had only just started its run, “Calypso” had already made a bold promise for “Discovery’s” endgame — one the producers had every intention of keeping.

“We always knew that we wanted to somehow tie that back up,” says Paradise, who joined the writers’ room in Season 2, and became showrunner starting with Season 3. “We never wanted ‘Calypso’ to be the dangling Chad.”

So much so, in fact, that, as the show began winding down production on Season 5, Paradise had started planning to make “Calypso” the central narrative engine for Season 6. 

“The story, nascent as it was, was eventually going to be tying that thread up and connecting ‘Discovery’ back with ‘Calypso,’” she says.

Once having a sixth season was no longer an option, Paradise knew that resolving the “Calypso” question was non-negotiable. “OK, well, we’re not going to have a season to do that,” she says. “So how do we do that elegantly in this very short period of time?”

“I Feel Like It Ends the Way It Needed to End”

Resolving “Calypso” provided the storytelling foundation for the epilogue, but everything else was about giving its characters one final goodbye.

“We want to know what’s happening to Burnham, first and foremost,” Paradise says. “And we knew we wanted to see the cast again.”

For the latter, Paradise and Jarrow devised a conceit that an older Burnham, seated in the captain’s chair on Discovery, imagines herself surrounded by her crew 30 years prior, so she (and the audience) could connect with them one final time. For the former, the makeup team designed prosthetics to age up Martin-Green and Ajala by 30 years — “I think they were tested as they were running on to the set,” Paradise says with a laugh — to illustrate Burnham and Book’s long and happy marriage together.

Most crucially, Paradise cut a few lines of Burnham’s dialogue with Book from the original Season 5 finale and moved it to a conversation she has with her son in the coda. The scene — which evokes the episode’s title, “Life Itself” — serves as both a culminating statement of purpose for “Discovery” and the overarching compassion and humanity of “Star Trek” as a whole.

To reassure her son about his first command of a starship, Burnham recalls when the ancient Progenitor asked what was most meaningful to her. “Do you know how you would answer that question now?” he asks.

“Yeah, just being here,” Burnham replies. “You know, sometimes life itself is meaning enough, how we choose to spend the time that we have, who we spend it with: You, Book, and the family I found in Starfleet, on Discovery.”

Martin-Green relished the opportunity to revisit the character she’s played for seven years when she’s reached the pinnacle of her life and career. “You just get to see this manifestation of legacy in this beautiful way,” she says. “I will also say that I look a lot like my mom, and that was that was also a gift, to be able to see her.”

Shooting the goodbye with the rest of her cast was emotional, unsurprisingly, but it led Martin-Green to an unexpected understanding. “It actually was so charged that it was probably easier that it was only those three days that we knew it was the end, and not the entirety of season,” she says.

Similarly, Paradise says she’s “not sure” what more she would’ve done had there been more time to shoot the coda. “I truly don’t feel like we missed out on something by not having one more day,” she says. “I feel like it ends the way it needed to end.”

Still, getting everything done in just three days was no small feat, either. “I mean, we worked ’round the clock,” Martin-Green says with a deep laugh. “We were delirious by the end — but man, what a way to end it.”

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‘Star Trek: Discovery’ is over. Now Alex Kurtzman readies for ‘Starfleet Academy’ and ‘Section 31’

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In “Star Trek” terms, and in the real world of “Star Trek” television, Alex Kurtzman, who oversees the 21st century franchise, might be described as the Federation president, from whose offices various series depart on their individual missions. Indeed, to hear him speak of it, the whole enterprise — honestly, no pun intended — seems to run very much on the series’ ethos of individual initiative and group consensus.

The first series to be launched, “ Star Trek: Discovery, ” has come to an end as of Thursday after five seasons on Paramount+. Others in the fleet include the concluded “ Picard, ” which brought “The Next Generation” into a new generation; the ongoing “ Strange New Worlds, ” which precedes the action of what’s now called “The Original Series,” from which it takes its spirit and several characters; “Lower Decks,” a comedy set among Starfleet service workers; and “Prodigy,” in which a collection of teenage aliens go joyriding in a starship. On the horizon are “Starfleet Academy,” with Holly Hunter set to star, and a TV feature, “ Section 31, ” with Michelle Yeoh back as Philippa Georgiou.

I spoke with Kurtzman, whose “Trek” trek began as a writer on the quantum-canonical reboot movies “ Star Trek ” (2009) and “ Star Trek: Into Darkness ” (2013), at Secret Hideout, his appropriately unmarked Santa Monica headquarters. Metro trains glide by his front door unaware. We began the conversation, edited for length and clarity here, with a discussion of his “Trek” universe.

Alex Kurtzman: I liken them to different colors in the rainbow. It makes no sense to me to make one show that’s for everybody; it makes a lot of sense to make a lot of shows individually tailored to a sect of the “Star Trek” audience. It’s a misnomer that there’s a one-size-fits-all Trekkie. And rather than make one show that’s going to please everybody — and will almost certainly please nobody — let’s make an adult drama, an animated comedy, a kids’ comedy, an adventure show and on and on. There’s something quite beautiful about that; it allows each of the stories to bloom in its own unique way.

Do you get pushback from the fans?

Absolutely. In some ways that’s the point. One of the things I learned early on is that to be in love with “Star Trek” is to engage in healthy debate. There is no more vocal fan base. Some people tell you that their favorite is “The Original Series,” some say their favorite is “Voyager” and some say their favorite is “Discovery.” Yet they all come together and talk about what makes something singularly “Trek” — [creator] Gene Roddenberry‘s extraordinarily optimistic vision of the future when all that divides us [gets placed] in the rearview mirror and we get to move on and discover things. Like all great science fiction, you get to pick your allegory to the real world and come up with the science fiction equivalent. And everybody who watches understands what we’re talking about — racism or the Middle East or whatever.

What specific objections did you find to “Discovery”?

I think people felt it was too dark. We really listen to our fans in the writers’ room — everybody will have read a different article or review over the weekend, and we talk about what feels relevant and what feels less relevant. And then we engage in a healthy democratic debate about why and begin to apply that; it seeps into the decisions we make. Season 1 of “Discovery” was always intended to be a journey from darkness into light, and ultimately reinforce Roddenberry’s vision. I think people were just stunned by something that felt darker than any “Trek” had before. But doing a dark “Star Trek” really wasn’t our goal. The show is a mirror that holds itself up to the times, and we were in 2017 — we saw the nation fracture hugely right after the election, and it’s only gotten worse since then. We were interpreting that through science fiction. There were people who appreciated that and others for whom it was just not “Star Trek.” And the result, in Season 2, Capt. [Christopher] Pike showed up, Number One showed up, Spock showed up, and we began to bring in what felt to people more like the “Star Trek” they understood.

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You’re ending the series after five seasons. Was that always a plan?

You know, we were surprised we didn’t continue, and yet it feels now that it was right. One of the things that happened very quickly as streaming took off was that it radically changed watch patterns for viewers. Shows that used to go 10, 12 seasons, people would tap out after two — like, “I got what I want” — so for any show to go five seasons, it’s a miracle. In ways I don’t think we could have predicted, the season from the beginning feels like it’s the last; it just has a sense of finality. The studio was wonderful in that they recognized we needed to put a button on it, we needed a period on the end of the sentence, and so they allowed us to go back, which we did right before the strike, and [film] the coda that wraps up the series.

“Discovery” is a riot of love stories, among both heroes and villains.

There’s certainly a history of that in “Star Trek.” Whether or not characters were engaged in direct relationships, there was always a subtext of the love between them. I believe that’s why we love the bridge crew, because it’s really a love story, everyone’s in a love story, and they all care for each other and fight like family members. But ultimately they’re there to help each other and explore the universe together. If there’s some weird problem, and the answer’s not immediately apparent, each of them brings a different skill set and therefore a different perspective; they clash in their debate on how to proceed and then find some miraculous solution that none of them would have thought of at the outset.

One of the beautiful things about the shows is that you get to spend a long time with them, as opposed to a two-hour movie where you have to get in and out quickly and then wait a couple of years before the next one comes along. To be able to be on their weekly adventures, it affords the storytelling level of depth and complexity a two-hour movie just can’t achieve in that way.

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It’s astonishing how much matter you got into these things. Some storylines that only lasted an episode I remembered as seasonal arcs.

The sheer tonnage of story and character we were able to pack into “Discovery” every episode was kind of incredible. The thing to keep in mind is that “Discovery” was made as streaming was exploding, so what I think you’re also seeing there is a lot of writers who were trained in the network world with an A, B and C story applying it suddenly to a very different kind of storytelling in a much more cinematic medium. And when you have that kind of scope it starts to become really, really big. Sometimes that works really, really well and sometimes it was too much. And we were figuring it out; it was a bunch of people with flashlights in the dark, looking for how to interpret “Star Trek” now, since it had been 12 years since it had been on a television screen.

Are you able to course-correct within a season?

Sure. You get people you really trust in the room. Aaron Baiers, who runs Secret Hideout, is one of my most important early-warning systems; he isn’t necessarily in the room when we’re breaking stories, but he’s the first person who’ll read an outline and he’s the first person who’ll read a script. What I value so much about his perspective is that he’s coming in cold, he’s just like, “I’m the viewer, and I understand this or I don’t understand it, I feel this or I don’t feel it.” The studio executives are very similar. They love “Star Trek,” they’re all die-hard fans and have very strong feelings about what is appropriate. It then goes through a series of artists in every facet, from props to visual effects to production design, and they’re bringing their interpretations and opinions to the story.

Did “Strange New Worlds” come out of the fact that everybody loved seeing Christopher Pike in “Discovery?”

I really have to credit Akiva Goldsman with this. He knew that I was going to bring Pike into the premiere of the second season of “Discovery,” and said, “You know, there’s an incredible show about Capt. Pike and the Enterprise before Kirk takes over; there’s seven years of great storytelling there” — or five years, depending on when you come into the storyline. I said, “We have to cast a successful Pike first, so let’s see if that works. Let’s figure out who’s Number One, and who Spock is,” which are wildly tall orders. I hadn’t seen Anson Mount in other things before [he was cast as Pike], and when he sent in his taped audition it was that wonderful moment where you go, “That’s exactly the person we’re looking for.” Everybody loves Pike because he’s the kind of leader you want, definitive and clear but open to everyone’s perspective and humanistic in his response. And then we had the incredibly tall order of having Ethan [Peck] step into Leonard [Nimoy’s] and [Zachary Quinto’s] shoes.

He’s great.

He’s amazing, just a delight of a human being. And Rebecca Romijn‘s energy, what she brings to Number One is such a contemporary take on a character that was kind of a cipher in “The Original Series.” But she brings a kind of joy, a comedy, a bearing, a gravitas to the character that feels very modern. Thank God the fans responded the way they did and sent that petition [calling for a “Legacy” series], because everybody at CBS got the message very quickly. Jenny Lumet and Akiva and I wrote a pilot, and we were off to the races. Typically it takes fans a minute to adjust to what you’re doing, especially with beloved legacy characters, but the response to “Strange New World” from a critical perspective and fan perspective and just a viewership perspective was so immediate, it really did help us understand what was satisfying fans.

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What can you tell me about “Starfleet Academy?” Is it going to be Earth-based or space-based?

I’m going to say, without giving anything away, both. Right now we’re in the middle of answering the question what does San Francisco, where the academy is, look like in the 32nd century. Our primary set is the biggest we’ve ever built.

So you’re setting this —

In the “Discovery” era. There’s a specific reason for that. As the father of a 17-year-old boy, I see what my son is feeling as he looks at the world and to his future. I see the uncertainty; I see all the things we took for granted as given are not certainties for him. I see him recognizing he’s inheriting an enormous mess to clean up and it’s going to be on his generation to figure out how to do that, and that’s a lot to ask of a kid. My thinking was, if we set “Starfleet Academy” in the halcyon days of the Federation where everything was fine, it’s not going to speak to what kids are going through right now.

It’ll be a nice fantasy, but it’s not really going to be authentic. What’ll be authentic is to set it in the timeline where this is the first class back after over 100 years, and they are coming into a world that is only beginning to recover from a cataclysm — which was the Burn, as established on “Star Trek: Discovery,” where the Federation was greatly diminished. So they’re the first who’ll inherit, who’ll re-inherit, the task of exploration as a primary goal, because there just wasn’t room for that during the Burn — everybody was playing defense. It’s an incredibly optimistic show, an incredibly fun show; it’s a very funny show, and it’s a very emotional show. I think these kids, in different ways, are going to represent what a lot of kids are feeling now.

And I’m very, very , very excited that Holly Hunter is the lead of the show. Honestly, when we were working on the scripts, we wrote it for Holly thinking she’d never do it. And we sent them to her, and to our absolute delight and shock she loved them and signed on right away.

And then you’ve got the “Section 31” movie.

“Section 31” is Michelle Yeoh’s return as Georgiou. A very, very different feeling for “Star Trek.” I will always be so grateful to her, because on the heels of her nomination and then her Oscar win , she just doubled down on coming back to “Star Trek.” She could have easily walked away from it; she had a lot of other opportunities. But she remained steadfast and totally committed. We just wrapped that up and are starting to edit now.

Are you looking past “Starfleet” and “Section 31” to future projects?

There’s always notions and there are a couple of surprises coming up, but I really try to live in the shows that are in front of me in the moment because they’re so all-consuming. I’m directing the first two episodes of “Starfleet Academy,” so right now my brain is just wholly inside that world. But you can tell “Star Trek” stories forever; there’s always more. There’s something in the DNA of its construction that allows you to keep opening different doors. Some of that is science fiction, some of it has to do with the combination of science fiction and the organic embracing of all these other genres that lets you explore new territories. I don’t think it’s ever going to end. I think it’s going to go on for a long, long time. The real question for “Star Trek” is how do you keep innovating, how do you deliver both what people expect and something totally fresh at the same time. Because I think that is actually what people want from “Star Trek.” They want what’s familiar delivered in a way that doesn’t feel familiar.

With all our showrunners — Terry Matalas on “Picard,” the Hagemans on “Prodigy,” Mike McMahan on “Lower Decks,” Michelle Paradise, who has been singlehandedly running “Discovery” for the last two years, and then Akiva and Henry Alonso Myers on “Strange New Worlds” — my feeling is that the best way to protect and preserve “Star Trek” is not to impose my own vision on it but [find people] who meet the criteria of loving “Star Trek,” wanting to do new things with it, understanding how incredibly hard it is to do. And then I’m going to let you do your job. I’ll come in and tell you what I think every once in a while, and I’ll help get the boat off the dock, but once I hand the show over to a creative it has to be their show. And that means you’re going to get a different take every time, and as long as those takes all feel like they can marry into the same rainbow, to get back to the metaphor, that’s the way to keep “Star Trek” fresh.

I take great comfort because “Star Trek” really only belongs to Gene Roddenberry and the fans. We don’t own it. We carry it, we try to evolve it and then we hand it off to the next people. And hopefully they will love it as much as we do.

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Jonathan Frakes on the ‘Trek' Ep He Directed 31 Years Ago That Inspired ‘Discovery' Season 5, Hopes for ‘Legacy' & More

Jonathan Frakes has been directing episodes of various "Star Trek" series for the past 34 years, from his first episode behind the camera, "Next Generation" installment "The Offspring," to the most recent episode of "Star Trek: Discovery." He is continuity for the franchise that doesn't quite exist in any other way.

And now, his "Star Trek" directing past is coming back to inform the present. An episode of "Next Gen" he directed in 1993, "The Chase," is the inspiration for this entire fifth and final season of "Discovery." A huge plot point from that episode - all of the sentient species in the galaxy (humans, Klingons, Vulcans, etc.) were "planned," billions of years ago, to spring up as they have by a highly advanced prior species called the Progenitors, who seeded the rudiments of their/our DNA on different planets - forms the basis for this 10-episode final run of the show that relaunched the "Star Trek" franchise on TV. The Progenitors had the ability to create life, right? Well, their technology has been discovered once again, and very bad forces want to acquire it. Unless the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery can get to them first.

Speaking to IndieWire about his work directing on "Discovery," Frakes takes no credit for having had a connection to the original "Next Gen" basis for this storyline.

"It's just by chance that ‘The Chase was my episode,'" he said. "In the old days on ‘Next Gen,' you were assigned episodes [to direct] based on people's availability. I'm very proud to have been a part of it, though and very excited that [‘Discovery' showrunner] Michelle Paradise chose it as sort of the tipping off point for the season. But it was clearly by happenstance that it happened to be an episode that I had directed then, and now I'm involved with the finale of, so it's thrilling."

Frakes has now directed "Lagrange Point," the second-to-last episode of "Discovery." It takes the form of a heist plot, as the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery try to retrieve the Progenitors' tech themselves. From the very opening moments, you can tell just how much the franchise's aesthetic has evolved since Frakes first started directing. "My dear friend [and ‘Star Trek: Voyager' actor] Robbie Duncan McNeil used to call it, ‘when you come and do my show, I want you to be able to shoot to thrill,'" he said.

And Frakes took that to heart: The opening shot of "Lagrange Point," lensed by DP Maya Bankovic in her first collaboration with Frakes, sees the camera turn upside down, to explore the sprawling interiors of Starfleet Headquarters. It later flies through the sprawling interiors of a Breen ship where the heist takes place with a sweep that would have been unimaginable in "Trek" just a few years ago. "Tunde [referring to Olatunde Osunsanmi, the producing director who usually helms the "Discovery" premiere and finale episodes, given their enhanced scale] encourages that kind of freedom."

Frakes is particularly revered as a director from among the various "Trek" casts he directs, for his affinity with actors. As the longtime character Will Riker on "Next Gen" and "Picard," he knows exactly where they're coming from after all. But there's something that's particularly unlocked their expressiveness: An AR wall from the virtual production company Pixomondo has been set up on the Toronto soundstage since 2021. "AR walls have changed filmmaking," Frakes said. "Instead of standing in front of a green screen and trying to tell people, well, ‘there are going to be hundreds of people coming at you from this side, and this is going to be exploding behind you,' it's actually there, and the actors can see it and feel it."

This has changed the cadence of production for many VFX heavy shows such as "Discovery." Whereas these would have an extended post-production period following the conclusion of principal photography, now much of that VFX work has to be completed in advance so it can be captured in-camera during shooting.

"It's a time suck, and it's got to mean so much planning," Frakes said. "I mean, I was told they need to know 13 weeks before we can shoot it, what sets are going to be created, because I think it's 30,000 LED lights, and the assets need to be built. So it is a long process to get that canvas, if you will, in place before you go over there and put the live action parts into it.

Pairing the best of the new with the best of the old is the challenge of "Star Trek" these days. For as cinematic and sweeping as its series today look, they have to find ways to build on the nearly 1,000 hours of "Trek" that's come before - not as fan service but as a way of acknowledging its history so that its present feels lived-in and real.

To that end, Frakes drew upon his experience with classic "Star Trek" villains the Borg in depicting the Breen (themselves carried over from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"). "The Breen are not unlike the Borg in many ways," Frakes said. "In that they were omnipotent and a lot of them looked alike. Likewise, Eve Harlow [who plays one of the villains, Moll , this season]. She had that great hair and those fabulous eyes and that passionate acting. She was so on-it. She reminded me a little bit of Alice in that, Alice Krige, who was our Borg queen [in ‘First Contact'] in that she had a full commitment to it, and is very smart. It's a great villain. Also, the same thing with Amanda Plummer [on ‘Star Trek: Picard']. The same thing was true there. This was an actor who came in and bit it off and owned it."

As for another echo from the past, there's the persistent drumbeat from fans for a continuation of the final season of "Star Trek: Picard," which brought back the entire "Next Gen" cast, as "Star Trek: Legacy" - a handoff series that could be built around the new characters from "Picard" plus strategic appearances from old "Next Gen" faves. It's probably the property "Star Trek" fans most want to see out of everything the franchise could do right now. And yet there's been no movement on this from Paramount+, and "Picard" showrunner Terry Matalas now signing with Marvel to produce a "Vision" TV series for Disney+ seems like the idea may be dead in the water.

When asked if he has hopes, thoughts, or updates about "Legacy," Frakes said, "I certainly have hopes and thoughts. Updates? I don't have, but I do know that the franchise is in great shape. I do know that this ‘Starfleet Academy' series is going to be an entirely different animal, and I think that the success of what I'm imagining, the success of ‘Section 31,' Michelle Yeoh's movie , is only going to catapult us further into the future, and my hope, obviously is that we'll find a place then to continue the ‘Legacy' story."

We can dream.

The ninth and penultimate episode of "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 5 is now streaming on Paramount+. The series finale will air this Thursday, May 30.

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Canceled TV Shows: What Would’ve Happened Next on ‘So Help Me Todd,’ ‘Quantum Leap’ & More

There are few things more frustrating as a TV viewer than your favorite show ending with not just a few loose ends but a major cliffhanger. Such was the case for more than a few canceled shows from the 2023-2024 broadcast TV season.

The good news? For some of those cliffhangers, we’ve gotten scoop on what would have come next if the show had been renewed since the creative teams behind those shows had started planning; while in some cases, they were able to craft a series vs. season finale ending, others could not. For example,  Star Trek: Discovery was able to go back to film an epilogue that revealed the future of not just the show but its main character. And  So Help Me Todd ‘s creator had the rest of the series (five more seasons!) planned out, and he shared those plans with TV Insider.

Scroll down as we take a look at what we know about what would have happened next on those and more canceled TV shows from the 2023-2024 season.

An early cut of the finale, about which TV Insider spoke with star Paula Newsome , introduced a new serial killer that presumably would have been a major arc in a fourth season of the CBS drama. Unfortunately, the series was canceled, and fans were left with only a slight cliffhanger: the future for Josh ( Matt Lauria ) and Allie ( Mandeep Dhillon ). The two seemed poised to maybe finally get together, and Newsome admitted to us that she doesn’t think Max would have necessarily been a fan of that workplace romance. “Truly, how do you do that? You know what I’m saying? They always talk about a lawyer who represents himself has a dummy for a client. So how do you separate your heart and your head? But that’s just more grease for the mill in the land of CSI: Vegas ,” she said. And if was, in fact, what we saw of Max’s reaction if the two did get together in a fourth season, could that have led to more tension between Max and Josh and Max and Allie?

Extended Family

The first (and only) season of the NBC comedy didn’t end with a cliffhanger, which executive producer Mike O’Malley told Deadline was by design. “My last show, Heels , ended on a cliffhanger. There was a possibility of maybe getting four or five additional episodes [of Extended Family ] if things after the strike didn’t get picked up. It really didn’t put us in a position to end on a cliffhanger because we didn’t know up until the last minute that [the finale] was going to be this season’s last episode,” he explained. As for not having Trey ( Donald Faison ) and Julia ( Abigail Spencer ) get married during the season, he shared, “Before the strike, we were looking to end on a rehearsal dinner the night before they got married. But we wanted to slow that down a little bit. We thought if we’re lucky enough to get a second season, leading up toward that would be a better idea.”

The Good Doctor

While the medical drama did have enough time to craft a series finale, that doesn’t mean there weren’t already plans in place if there was an eighth season. “I would’ve introduced Glassman’s [ Richard Schiff ] cancer at the end of Season 7 and then played that into [Season] 8. And then I’m not sure about Claire [ Antonia Thomas ], but I probably would want to save her return for something as substantial as this,” co-showrunner  Liz Friedman told TV Insider . (Glassman died, while Claire survived and was shown in the future after a time jump.)

Not Dead Yet

The ABC comedy ended with someone finding out Nell ( Gina Rodriguez ) sees ghosts: Duncan ( Brad Garrett ), following a near-death experience. That could’ve led to a “really yummy and delicious” plot in a third season, Rodriguez told TV Insider after the finale, “and set up a lot of obstacles for Nell, who’s still trying to keep this very close to the chest because she doesn’t really know what it is … It sets up just a lot of opportunities to open up a lot of storyline, a lot of fun.”

Quantum Leap

Sure, the drama did end with Ben ( Raymond Lee ) still jumping through time, rather than being brought home, but at least he and ex-fiancée Addison ( Caitlin Bassett ) were reunited when she joined him on the leaps. At the time of the finale, before the cancellation, co-showrunner and executive producer Dean Georgaris shared with TV Insider that a third season would have explored “a two-person leap, but I don’t think it’s always going to go the way they expect. I don’t necessarily think just because they’re together in one leap means they’re automatically together in the next leap. I think we’re all excited about, who becomes the hologram and how does the hologram work and what other discussions does having a swap code if it works or if they can get it to work again bring up for the people in Quantum Leap? If we really start to explore that you can go in and out of a leap, does Ian [ Mason Alexander Park ] want to go? Does Jenn [ Nanrisa Lee ] want to go? Is there an occasion where Magic [ Ernie Hudson ] would want to go? Or can they not get the code to work again? In which case you’ve got now two people you’re trying to bring back—or are you trying to bring them back?”

So Help Me Todd

This legal dramedy ended on quite the cliffhanger, with Margaret ( Marcia Gay Harden ) framed for the crimes of Merritt Folding—who stepped off the elevator! Creator Scott Prendergast detailed what would have come next for TV Insider—and took us through the series finale in Season 7. Among the highlights: Merritt would have been the big bad for Season 3, Margaret would have been arrested, and Todd ( Skylar Astin ) and Susan ( Inga Schlingmann ) would have gotten back together.

Star Trek: Discovery

The Paramount+ drama got something that shows very rarely do: the chance to go back and film a coda after learning about the cancellation after production had wrapped on the season. And so everything following Michael ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) and Book ( David Ajala ) on the beach at Saru’s ( Doug Jones ) wedding was added to give the captain (admiral in the future) and the ship a send-off.

When executive producer Michelle Paradise learned about the cancellation, “I was in the very early stages of looking at [Season 6],” she told TV Insider . “But one of the things we always knew since ‘Calypso’ was done is that we had always wanted to find a way to tie that up. So I was in the early stages of trying to work on a story where we would ultimately tie that up.”

Quantum Leap (2022)

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