All 'Star Trek' Movies And TV Shows In Order (And Where To Watch Them)

The inception of Star Trek is a three-season TV series (retroactively titled The Original Series). Taking place in the 22nd century, it follows, as stated in each episode’s opening narration, “the voyages of the Starship Enterprise,” Captained by James T. Kirk, alongside principal characters like Science Officer Spock, an alien Vulcan, and Chief Medical Officer Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy.

The show establishes the naval-inspired Starfleet they serve and their peaceful mission to chart the unknown reaches and peoples of our Milky Way. Somewhat hokey in its design and storytelling now, it was groundbreaking for its inclusive representation and has become an iconic piece of ‘60s pop culture.

Knowing what Star Trek has become, it’s hard to believe that The Original Series was cancelled after only three seasons. Seemingly dead in the water—or space, rather—it earned a surprisingly enthusiastic reception in syndication (re-runs). As a result, Star Trek: The Animated Series was born as a sequel to the live-action show.

Featuring most of the original actors’ voices, and more adventurous visuals thanks to the medium change, it was very well-received at the time and continues to strike a chord with newer fans. The animation is certainly dated by modern standards, but don’t skip over it if you want a full overview of Trek canon.

The first Star Trek movie happened off the back of The Original Series’ syndication success, as well as other sci-fi box office hits, such as Trek’s main competitor, Star Wars. Reuniting TOS cast, Kirk, now an Admiral, leads the charge in the film’s story to investigate a mysterious threat to Earth in the form of an alien cloud.

While sluggish in pace and lacking in tangible obstacles, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is visually striking— even a little trippy, in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey—and conceptually thought-provoking. 

While the first Star Trek film remains the franchise’s highest earner to date, the second one is considered its most iconic. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan makes up for what its predecessor lacks: a memorable villain in the genetically-enhanced conqueror, Khan Noonien Singh. 

First encountered by the Enterprise in an episode of The Original Series, Khan returns from exile to obtain a terraforming device. The tragedy borne out of thwarting him has repercussions for the crew spanning the next two films, including a pivotal, tender moment between Kirk and Spock.     

Following directly on from Wrath of Khan, Kirk and the Enterprise crew flout Starfleet command when they learn about a Vulcan ritual that could mend the pieces of their broken ‘family.’ Along the way, they’re attacked by Klingons, one of the series’ key recurring villains (later allies), whose leader is played by Christopher Lloyd.

With its biblical themes of destiny and resurrection, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is Trek at its most melodramatic and poignant, cementing the bonds that tie the main characters as unbreakable, even in death. 

The concluding chapter of the ‘80s Star Trek film trilogy, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is much lighter in tone than the previous two chapters. In fact, it’s downright silly. As the Enterprise does what the title suggests, their return to Earth occurs right as a strange alien instrument is trying to communicate with whales.

Getting nothing back from the mammals—who are extinct—angers it, prompting the crew to go back in time to get a response. Seeing Kirk and Co. in the then-present day of San Francisco is delightfully farcical, while the obvious environmental messaging adds some much-needed weight to the levity. 

It took over two decades, but Star Trek finally returned to TV serialisation in the late ‘80s with Star Trek: The Next Generation. Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard replaces William Shatner’s Kirk as Captain of a new Enterprise in an unexplored region of the galaxy, and the show and its characters were hugely popular with viewers and critics alike.

Though still a man of action, Picard is more philosophical than the gung-ho Kirk, and TNG is characterised by writing that delves deeper into fundamental ideas of what makes us human, as well as casting a more critical lens on Starfleet’s mission.

The fifth Star Trek film returns the focus to The Original Series’ crew and the continuing story of TOS movies. With Shatner in the director’s chair—taking over from Leonard Nimoy (Spock)—Star Trek V: The Final Frontier has another religious theme, as the villain Sybok, a Vulcan, looks for the universe’s ultimate creator.

Some affectionate and fun character interactions, particularly between the principal trio of Kirk, Spock, and Bones, are high points, as well as the ambitious premise, but Frontier’s muddled pacing left Trek’s future on the big screen in doubt. 

Except for Shatner, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the swan song for The Original Series’ cast. The movie revolves around an environmental disaster finally forcing the Klingon Empire to call a truce with the Federation—the peace-seeking allied forces of humans, Vulcans, and other species that Starfleet serves.

Written to echo the end of the Cold War, the film has a conspiratorial atmosphere, apeing the politics and culture of that era and lightened by some nod-and-a-wink dialogue that proves what the original characters now lack in physical aptitude, they make up for with sharper comedic chops.  

The success of The Next Generation led to a third Star Trek TV show releasing hot on its heels, and the first without the late Gene Roddenberry’s input. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is dramatically different from any previous Trek project: It’s the first to be helmed by a Black character, Commander/Captain Benjamin Sisko, and the first to take place on a space station instead of a starship.

The static location may jar at first, and while it’s slow to get going, Deep Space Nine evolves into one of Trek’s best-plotted entries, with plenty of nuanced meditation on war, colonisation, religion, and race.