THE COMPLETE STAR TREK WATCH ORDER

Prime Timeline — Every Series & Film in Chronological Order

"Experience Federation History the Way Its Citizens Lived It"

mission briefing

This is the complete Star Trek watch order for the Prime Timeline, arranged strictly by in-universe chronological date rather than the order the shows and films aired. Instead of starting with the Original Series in the 1960s and jumping around in time, you experience the story of the Federation the way its citizens lived it: from Zefram Cochrane's first warp flight in 2063 all the way to the rebuilt Federation of the 32nd century.

How to use it:

Follow the numbers. Each entry below is a numbered step. Watch them in order, top to bottom, and you'll move through Federation history one era at a time.
Some films appear twice. Star Trek: First Contact is both a 2063 historical event and a 2373 movie, so it shows up at two points in the sequence. Each entry tells you which part of the story you're there for.
Some shows run side by side. In the 24th century, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager overlap. The steps in Era 4 interleave their seasons so events line up chronologically.
New to Trek? Chronological order is a rewarding way to rewatch, but it front-loads prequels that reference later shows. If this is your very first voyage, there's no wrong door, jump in wherever a series grabs you, and come back to this list when you're ready for the grand tour.

The Kelvin Timeline reboot films are covered in a separate advisory near the bottom of the page.

era 1 • early federation era — 22nd century

2063Film

Star Trek: First Contact

Watch the main historical sequence: Zefram Cochrane's first warp flight and humanity's First Contact with the Vulcans.

Returns at step 18

2151–2156Series • S1–4

Star Trek: Enterprise

Humanity's first deep-space exploration and the founding steps of the Federation, aboard the NX-01 under Captain Jonathan Archer.

era 2 • pre-tos / strange new worlds era — 23rd century

2256–2258Series • S1–2

Star Trek: Discovery

Covers the Klingon War and the Red Angel crisis. Seasons 3–5 jump to the far future and return at the end of this list.

2259+Series • S1–3

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Follows Captain Christopher Pike aboard the USS Enterprise in the years before Kirk takes command.

era 3 • the original series era — 2260s–2290s

2265–2269Series • S1–3

Star Trek: The Original Series

Kirk, Spock, and the classic five-year mission that started it all.

2269–2270Series • S1–2

Star Trek: The Animated Series

A direct continuation of the Original Series, completing the five-year mission in animated form.

2273Film

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

2285Film

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

2285Film

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

2286Film

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

2287Film

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

2293Film

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

era 4 • tng & 24th century overlap era — 2364–2379

These shows aired concurrently, the steps below interleave their seasons so events line up chronologically.

2364–2372Series • S1–5

Star Trek: The Next Generation

2369–2371Series • S1–2

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Starts during TNG Season 6.

2369–2370Series • S6–7

Star Trek: The Next Generation

2371Film

Star Trek: Generations

The first TNG movie, the Enterprise-D crew meets Captain Kirk.

2371–2372Two Series

Deep Space Nine (S3–4) & Voyager (S1–2)

Watch these in parallel, Voyager launches from Deep Space 9 itself.

2373Film

Star Trek: First Contact

The main framing story takes place here, the Enterprise-E pursues the Borg back through time to 2063.

First seen at step 01

2373–2375Two Series

Deep Space Nine (S5–7) & Voyager (S3–5)

The Dominion War rages in the Alpha Quadrant while Voyager fights its way home through the Delta Quadrant.

2375Film

Star Trek: Insurrection

2376–2378Series • S6–7

Star Trek: Voyager

2379Film

Star Trek: Nemesis

era 5 • late 24th to early 25th century era

2380–2382Animated • S1–5

Star Trek: Lower Decks

2383–2385Animated • S1–2

Star Trek: Prodigy

2399–2401Series • S1–3

Star Trek: Picard

era 6 • the far future — 32nd century

3188+Series • S3–5

Star Trek: Discovery

The crew jumps over 900 years into the future to help rebuild the fractured Federation.

This watch order is maintained by the crew of the USS Terminus, Atlanta's Star Trek fan club and an official Starfleet Command chapter. If you're working through the list and want people to talk Trek with, join us at one of our Star Trek events around Atlanta, or enlist and become part of the crew.