How to Watch Star Trek Movies and Shows in Order?

Star Trek is more than just a media franchise - it's a pop culture phenomenon with a massive cult following. Starting back in the '60s, the franchise keeps popping up new titles, so let's see how we can watch all of these in order. 

Star Trek debuted back in September 1966, and its most recent series kicked off just last year, in 2020, with more listed for the future already. We jump from following the original crew led by Jean-Luc Picard to newer series featuring Michael Burnham as the crew leader to movies starring Chris Pine and John Cho. 

There are so many movies and shows in this universe, that you're going to have a great time enjoying it all.

Who Plays in Star Trek?

Star Trek is a franchise that's been going on for many decades, so the cast for the movies has changed quite a bit. The movies feature the likes of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Leonard Nimoy, and Anton Yelchin.

How to Watch Star Trek Movies and Shows in Release Order?

If you want to watch Star Trek by the release order, we're going to have a massive list of things to watch, which is pretty cool and you can check them out below. 

• Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 – 1969)
• Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973 – 1974)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 – 1994)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 – 1999)
• Star Trek: Generations (1994)
• Star Trek: Voyager (1995 – 2001)
• Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
• Star Trek: Enterprise (2001 – 2005)
• Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
• Star Trek (2009) 
• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
• Star Trek Beyond (2016)
• Star Trek: Discovery (2017 – ongoing)
• Star Trek: Picard (2020 – ongoing)

How to Watch Star Trek Movies and Shows in Chronological Order?

Another way for you to enjoy the Star Trek universe is in chronological order. With such a sprawling timeline, it's a way that has both pros and cons. First of all, showrunners often made references from one show to the other that may land on deaf ears if you follow this path. However, on the pro side, you'd be starting with more recent content.

• Star Trek: Enterprise – takes place between 2151-2161
• Star Trek: Discovery – seasons 1-2 take place in 2255
• Star Trek: The Original Series – takes place between 2265 and 2269
• Star Trek: The Animated Series – takes place between 2269-2270
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2273)
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2285)
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (2285)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (2286/1986)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (2287)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - all of the above take place between 2273 and 2293
• Star Trek: The Next Generation – takes place between 2364 and 2370
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – takes place between 2369 and 2375
• Star Trek: Generations (2371)
• Star Trek: Voyager – takes place between – 2371 and 2378
• Star Trek: First Contact (2373/2063)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (2375)
• Star Trek: Nemesis - the above four take place between 2293 and 2379
• Star Trek: Picard – starts off in 2399

The Kelvin Timeline

You may have noticed that we left out three movies - Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond. They take place in an alternate universe, so they are not chronologically connected to the series. You can watch them whenever you feel like it in your Star Trek Binge. 

The Kelvin Timeline is an alternative quantum universe that was created when the Romulan Nero traveled to 2233 and destroyed the USS Kelvin. Therefore, anything that takes place in these three movies (so far) is different than what happened in the original universe. That's quite exciting for Star Trek fans who get a different story.

• Star Trek - takes place in 2233
• Star Trek Into Darkness - takes place in 2259
• Star Trek Beyond - takes place in 2263

Where to Stream Star Trek Movies and Shows?

Watching the Star Trek series and movies online is not necessarily the easiest thing to do, considering how many options there are out there and how much content is out. However, we're going to dive right in and check the streaming services for you. 

Star Trek Movies

• Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Hulu, Amazon Prime, Philo, Sling TV
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Hulu, Amazon Prime, Philo, Sling TV
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - Hulu, Philo, Sling TV
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - Paramount Plus, Pluto TV (free), Amazon Prime
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - Hulu, Sling TV, Philo
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Hulu, Sling TV, Philo
• Star Trek: Generations - Paramount Plus, Pluto TV (free), Amazon Prime, Paramount Plus
• Star Trek: First Contact - Pluto TV (free)
• Star Trek: Insurrection - Hulu, Sling TV, Philo
• Star Trek: Nemesis - Paramount Plus, Pluto TV (free), Amazon Prime
• Star Trek - only available for rent
• Star Trek Into Darkness - only available for rent
• Star Trek Beyond - Hulu, Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Philo

Star Trek Shows

• Star Trek: The Original Series – Hulu, Netflix, Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime
• Star Trek: The Animated Series – Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime
• Star Trek: The Next Generation – Paramount Plus, Netflix, Hulu, fuboTV, Amazon Prime, Philo
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Paramount Plus, Netflix, Hulu, fuboTV, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV
• Star Trek: Voyager – ​Paramount Plus, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime
• Star Trek: Enterprise – Paramount Plus, Netflix, Hulu
• Star Trek: Discovery – Paramount Plus
• Star Trek: Picard – Paramount Plus

Of course, the licensing deals may very well change over time, as licensing deals expire every so often.