LOWER DECKS
Beginner’s Guide: The Top Five Episodes
Starfleet's Funniest Ship
Lower Decks premiered in August 2020 and ran for five seasons, ending in December 2024. It is an animated comedy created by Mike McMahan, and it takes place in 2380 aboard the USS Cerritos, one of Starfleet's least glamorous ships, which is assigned to "second contact" missions: the dull, necessary follow-ups after the heroes of other series have made first contact. The stars are not the captain and bridge crew but the junior officers: the rebellious Beckett Mariner, the anxious Brad Boimler, the enthusiastic Orion Ensign D'Vana Tendi and the cheerful engineer Sam Rutherford.
The show is a loving, fast-paced parody that has an enormous number of jokes and references for longtime fans, but it is also one of the most heartfelt shows in the franchise. You do not need to have seen anything else to enjoy it, though you will catch more if you have seen the Next Generation era. Think of it as Star Trek for people who have always wondered what the people in the background are doing.
Crew advisory: The episodes are about twenty-five minutes long and the jokes arrive at warp speed. Pause if you must. Nobody will report you.
1. wej Duj
The title is Klingon for "three ships." The Cerritos crew has downtime on a long voyage, and Boimler goes looking for a friend among the bridge crew, but the story spreads to the lower decks of a Klingon ship and a Vulcan ship, and the three crews turn out to be tied together in surprising ways. It plays out like a lost sequel to Star Trek VI, and it was nominated for a Hugo Award. It ranks first because it is the show at its smartest and most affectionate, and it demonstrates what makes the lower-deck point of view so special.
2. Crisis Point
Mariner repurposes Boimler's holodeck program so that she can cast herself as the villain in a movie about the lower-decks crew. The result is a loving, laugh-out-loud parody of Star Trek's big-screen adventures, packed with explosions, speeches and ridiculous drama. It makes the list because it is the clearest proof that Lower Decks can celebrate Star Trek and make fun of it at the same time, and because it has a surprising amount of heart.
3. Second Contact
In the pilot, the Cerritos is tasked with making second contact with the Galardonians, and Ensign Tendi has her first day on the ship, where she meets Mariner, Boimler and Rutherford. In just twenty-five minutes or so, the episode establishes the characters, the tone and the premise. It earns its place because it is the best introduction there is to the show's humor and its cast, and a perfect place for a newcomer to begin.
4. No Small Parts
The Cerritos encounters a familiar enemy, and the lower-decks crew learns that their jobs matter more than they thought, while Tendi helps a struggling recruit find her footing. The season finale pulls together the show's themes of belonging, friendship and finding your place on a ship full of heroes. It makes the list because it shows the heart under all the jokes, and because it proves the show could land an emotional ending.
5. Terminal Provocations
Rutherford introduces Tendi to a holodeck training program he built, while the lovable but awkward Ensign Fletcher causes trouble for Mariner and Boimler. It is a small, character-driven episode that shows what the show does best: it lets its four main characters spend time together as friends. It is on the list because it is the perfect example of the show's warmth, and it demonstrates why audiences fell in love with this crew.
More of the beginner’s guide: The Original Series • The Animated Series • The Next Generation • Deep Space Nine • Voyager • Enterprise • Discovery • Picard • Prodigy • Strange New Worlds • Short Treks • Starfleet Academy.
Not sure what order to watch in? Try our chronological watch order or the Star Trek timeline. Want people to talk Trek with? Enlist and join the crew at one of our Star Trek events around Atlanta.
