Star Trek

Gene Roddenberry conceived the series in 1964, placing its explorers aboard a starship in the 23rd century. In pitching it to television executives, he used the Western Wagon Train as an analogy for a succession of encounters during a journey.⁠[1][2]

The first pilot, The Cage, did not secure an NBC series order. The network asked Gene Roddenberry and Desilu Studios for another pilot with changes to the story and cast. Samuel A. Peeples wrote the selected second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before; its acceptance led to the series going into production.⁠[3]

The original series premiered on NBC, following the Enterprise and officers including James T. Kirk, Spock and Leonard McCoy. William ShatnerWilliam ShatnerWilliam Shatner is a Canadian actor, author, director and television host best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek. His performance as Denny Crane earned two Emmys and a Golden Globe. He also writes fiction and essays, records music and performs on stage. He founded the Hollywood Charity Horse Show in 1990 and flew on Blue Origin’s NS-18 mission at age 90 in 2021. In 2026, he launched the podcast No Time But Now with his daughter and released Love & Other Mysteries.Open the full entry played Kirk and Leonard Nimoy played Spock. The crew also included communications officer Uhura, helmsman Sulu, chief engineer Scott and Chekov.⁠[1][4][2]

The original series ran for three seasons and 79 episodes, ending on June 3, 1969. Syndicated reruns subsequently expanded its audience, while fans continued organizing activities around the show.⁠[1][4]

The fan group known as The Committee held a major Star Trek convention at New York’s Statler Hilton Hotel, with appearances by Gene Roddenberry and Isaac Asimov. The official retrospective and participants’ recollections put attendance at roughly 3,000, well above expectations. A dealers’ room, screenings and guest discussions made it an important early gathering for the fandom.⁠[5]

Filmation’s animated series continued the adventures of Kirk’s crew. Its 22 episodes aired in 1973–1974, with many original actors returning as voice performers. Walter Koenig did not return as Chekov but wrote The Infinite Vulcan. This became the first Star Trek series to win an Emmy.⁠[6]

NASA’s space shuttle Enterprise rolled out at Palmdale, California, in 1976, bearing the name of Star Trek’s starship. Gene Roddenberry and several original cast members attended the ceremony, a public connection between the franchise and the space program.⁠[7]

Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, filmed a NASA recruitment video encouraging women and minorities to apply. NASA’s 1978 astronaut class was its first to include women and minorities.⁠[1]

Star Trek: The Motion Picture brought the franchise to feature films. In the story, a mysterious force threatens Earth, prompting Kirk and the crew of a refitted Enterprise to respond.⁠[8]

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan centers on Khan’s revenge against Kirk. Khan is a genetically enhanced figure from Kirk’s past; the film continues their earlier conflict rather than introducing a wholly new antagonist.⁠[9]

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock continued the story after Spock’s death, following the effort to find and restore him. Leonard Nimoy made his feature directing debut while reprising Spock, and Harve Bennett received sole screenplay credit.⁠[10]

In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Enterprise crew travels aboard a Klingon ship to 1980s Earth to retrieve two whales needed to avert a crisis in their own era. Time travel and the survival of a species drive the story.⁠[11]

The Next Generation moves the setting roughly a century beyond Kirk’s era, with Jean-Luc Picard commanding a new Enterprise. Patrick Stewart plays Picard; major characters include Data, Worf, Geordi La Forge and Deanna Troi. The series ran for seven seasons, with 178 episodes listed in the official catalog.⁠[12][2]

In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Spock’s half-brother Sybok takes control of the Enterprise to cross a barrier at the galaxy’s center in search of a being he believes may be God.⁠[13]

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country begins with a disaster at a Klingon energy facility. The resulting crisis pushes the empire toward peace with the Federation. Kirk’s crew escorts the Klingon chancellor while confronting opponents of peace on both sides.⁠[14]

Deep Space Nine shifts the main setting to a frontier space station overseen by Benjamin Sisko and fellow Starfleet officers. Its position near a strategically important wormhole brings politics and conflict into the story. The official catalog lists seven seasons and 176 episodes.⁠[15][2]

Star Trek Generations brings Kirk and Picard into the same film. They meet through the time-defying Nexus and cooperate to prevent a planet’s destruction.⁠[16]

Voyager follows Kathryn Janeway and her crew’s effort to return home from a remote region of the galaxy. Their initial predicament implies a 70-year journey, a fictional distance estimate rather than the series’ broadcast duration. The official catalog lists seven seasons and 172 episodes.⁠[17]

In Star Trek: First Contact, Picard takes the Enterprise back through time after the Borg. The crew seeks to prevent the destruction of Phoenix, Earth’s first warp-speed vessel in the fictional history.⁠[18]

Star Trek: Insurrection places Picard in opposition to a plan to relocate a planet’s indigenous population to exploit its natural properties. A Starfleet admiral’s involvement makes institutional authority part of the conflict.⁠[19]

Enterprise is set before the Federation’s founding and follows Jonathan Archer’s crew on an early long-term mission. It premiered after Voyager in the real-world release sequence while occupying an earlier place in the fictional chronology. It ran for four seasons and 96 episodes.⁠[20][2]

Star Trek Nemesis continues Picard’s film story with a threat from a clone of him created by the Romulans. The clone seeks revenge and threatens the Federation with a powerful weapon.⁠[21]

The 2009 Star Trek film revisits Kirk’s path toward starship command. A Romulan arriving from the future seeks revenge against the Federation, making time travel central to this screen version.⁠[22]

Star Trek Into Darkness follows an attack on the Federation. Kirk and his crew enter hostile territory in pursuit of an adversary with extraordinary abilities.⁠[23]

Star Trek Beyond places the Enterprise deep in unfamiliar space during its five-year mission. A new adversary tests both the crew and the principles associated with the Federation.⁠[24]

Discovery began in 2017, centering on Michael Burnham and the Discovery crew. It initially takes place before the original series and moves to the 32nd century in its third season. The official description identifies the fifth season as the last, built around a search for an ancient hidden power.⁠[2][25]

Picard debuted in 2020 with Patrick Stewart returning to Jean-Luc Picard’s later life. The animated comedy Lower Decks, launched the same year, focuses on junior personnel aboard the Cerritos, including Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi, and their working and social lives.⁠[2][26][27]

The animated children’s series Prodigy premiered on Paramount+ in the United States. It was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and CBS Studios’ Eye Animation Production. Kate Mulgrew voiced a holographic Kathryn Janeway, and a second season was announced that November.⁠[28]

Strange New Worlds returns to the Enterprise before Kirk’s command, following Christopher Pike, Spock and Number One. Launched in 2022, it places these established characters at the center of the ship’s earlier missions.⁠[2][29]

The film Star Trek: Section 31 brings back Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou from Discovery. The character joins a secret Starfleet division and confronts her past while undertaking a mission to protect the Federation.⁠[30]

Starfleet Academy opened with two episodes in a ten-episode first season set in the 32nd century. Its cadets navigate training, friendships, rivalries and threats. Holly Hunter plays Nahla Ake, the academy chancellor and captain of the Athena. Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau serve as co-showrunners and executive producers.⁠[31][2]

The official season-four guide records a July 23, 2026 premiere and a ten-episode weekly schedule, with the finale scheduled for September 24. Anson Mount returns as Pike, alongside Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Spock.⁠[32]

The official sixtieth-anniversary program promotes a hopeful, exploratory and inclusive future. Announced initiatives encompass the Rose Parade, digital comics with WEBTOON, a LEGO collaboration and an environmental campaign with DoSomething, extending the commemoration into public events, publishing and participation.⁠[33]

The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World held its world premiere. Written and directed by Mark A. Altman, with William Shatner among its executive producers, it draws on participants from multiple generations to examine the franchise. Shatner and Peter Diamandis held a conversation after the screening.⁠[34]

Peter Diamandis recalled a conversation with William Shatner in a public post. When discussing an alternative to a dystopian future, Diamandis proposed hopefulness; Shatner preferred “Glorious.” This is Diamandis’s account of the exchange and an example of Star Trek’s place in discussions of the future.⁠[35]

The official Star Trek channel published the Star Trek Universe program from New York Comic Con. Its description identifies participants including Holly Hunter, Robert Picardo, Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, a preview of Starfleet Academy’s second season and a sixtieth-anniversary conversation with William Shatner. A preview does not indicate that the second season has aired.⁠[36]

Star Trek: Official website: https://www.startrek.com/ (opens in a new window). Official X account: https://x.com/StarTrek (opens in a new window); official YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel: https://www.youtube.com/@StarTrekOfficial (opens in a new window). The website also links to Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startrek/ (opens in a new window), Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTrek (opens in a new window) and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@startrek (opens in a new window).⁠[37]