This site is NOT a chronology - it is a viewing guide that will assist you through watching the entire franchise in in-universe story order, all the way from the 21st to the 43rd centuries, while making adjustments as needed to ensure an enjoyable viewing experience. It is not rigid - some episodes are shifted in the order to keep things as clear and fun as possible. The guide is updated regularly to stay current with new episodes.
An adaptation of an (actual) ancient African legend, told to a young girl we will meet again later as an adult, this is our first “Short Treks” episode. These mini-episodes are not tied to any specific time or place in the Star Trek franchise and will appear occasionally throughout this list.
Short Treks - Season 1, episode 8 - The Girl Who Made the Stars
When a lightning storm in space scares a young Michael Burnham, her father aims to ease her fears with a mythical story about a brave little girl who faced her own fears head on.
Original airdate - December 12, 2019
2233 - A sidenote about universes/timelines:
There are two main “universes” in the Star Trek franchise: the Kelvin timeline (consisting of three feature films) and the Prime timeline (which is everything else). This year, 2233, is when events occur which split the universe into the Kelvin and Prime timelines. For now, we will stay with the Prime timeline in this viewing order, but keep in mind the Kelvin timeline for later. Note that there is a third universe, the "Mirror" universe, and occasional alternate timelines. However, for simplicity, our visits there will not be separated from the Prime episodes.
The USS Kelvin flies through space, exploring strange new worlds.
In the Prime universe, nothing happens and all is well. This is the universe we will be staying in for now.
Short Treks - Season 1, episode 3 - The Brightest Star
Before he was the first Kelpien to join Starfleet, Saru (Doug Jones) lived a simple life on his home planet of Kaminar with his father and sister. Young Saru, full of ingenuity and a level of curiosity uncommon among his people, yearns to find out what lies beyond his village, leading him on an unexpected path.
Original airdate - December 6, 2018
After a quick Short Trek in which we meet a young ensign reporting to his new ship, we reach the very first Star Trek episode produced: The Cage, dating from 1964-65. Rejected by NBC for being "too cerebral," studio owner Lucille Ball convinced the network to give the show another chance at a pilot. While much of The Cage’s footage is reused in a later episode, "The Menagerie," we recommend that you don't skip either one. The character of Captain Pike becomes highly significant shortly, and both episodes offer valuable insights into the friendship between him and Spock.
Viewing notes: When referring to the original 1960s "Star Trek," this guide uses the abbreviation TOS (The Original Series). TOS is available in two versions: the classic 1960s version and a CGI- enhanced remastered version made from 2006-08. The remastered versions do not alter the stories in any way making the version you choose a matter of personal preference.
Short Treks - Season 1, episode 5 - Q&A
Ensign Spock's (Ethan Peck) first day aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise doesn't go as planned when he and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) are unexpectedly stuck together in a turbo lift.
Original airdate - October 5, 2019
Short Treks - Season 1, episode 1 - The Cage
When the Enterprise answers a distress call, Capt. Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) encounters manipulative aliens. Original series pilot.
Production date - 1965
We now begin Star Trek: Discovery, which is the seventh Star Trek series produced, but only the second series chronologically. It also is the first series to significantly revamp the visual designs, departing from the previous assumption that the 23rd century looked the same as it did in the original 1960s series. Discovery updates the designs, and we are trusted to accept that they have "always" looked this way, affecting uniforms, ships, alien makeup, and more. The Klingons, in particular, received a dramatic redesign, though it was significantly backtracked after the first season. These are not continuity issues and should not be viewed as such, though we could certainly nitpick details if we chose to.
Discovery - Season 1, episode 1 - The Vulcan Hello
While patrolling Federation space, the U.S.S. Shenzhou encounters an object of unknown origin, putting First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to her greatest test yet.
Original airdate - September 24, 2017
Discovery - Season 1, episode 2 - Battle at the Binary Stars
Face to face with Klingon vessels, the U.S.S. Shenzhou prepares for the possibility of war if negotiations fail. Amidst the turmoil, Burnham looks back to her Vulcan upbringing for guidance.
Original airdate - September 24, 2017
Discovery - Season 1, episode 3 - Context is for Kings
Burnham finds herself aboard the U.S.S. Discovery where she quickly realizes things are not as they seem, including the mysterious Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs).
Original airdate - October 1, 2017
Discovery - Season 1, episode 4 - The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry
With tensions and stakes high as Starfleet continues in their efforts to end the war with Klingons, Burnham begins to settle in to her new position aboard the U.S.S. Discovery.
Original airdate - October 8, 2017
Discovery - Season 1, episode 5 - Choose Your Pain
While on a mission, Lorca unexpectedly finds himself in the company of prisoner of war, Starfleet Lieutenant Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) and notorious intergalactic criminal, Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson).
Original airdate - October 15, 2017
Discovery - Season 1, episode 6 - Lethe
The U.S.S. Discovery crew is intrigued by new addition, Lt. Ash Tyler. Sarek seeks Burnham's help, rekindling memories from her past. Admiral Cornwell questions Lorca's tactics.
Original airdate - October 22, 2017
Discovery - Season 1, episode 7 - Magic to Make the Sanest Man go Mad
As the U.S.S. Discovery crew attempts to let loose at a party, an unwelcome visitor comes aboard bringing about a problematic and twisted sequence of events.
Original airdate - October 29, 2017
Discovery - Season 1, episode 8 - Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
The U.S.S. Discovery is tasked with a high priority mission to planet Pahvo and learn the science behind the Klingon's cloaking technology.
Original airdate - November 5, 2017
Discovery - Season 1, episode 9 - Into the Forest I Go
Bypassing Starfleet's orders, Lorca uses the U.S.S. Discovery crew's ultimate asset, the ship itself, in an effort to end the war with the Klingons once and for all.
Original airdate - November 12, 2017
Watching Trek in this order presents a quirk in episode 10, where the USS Defiant is, to avoid spoilers, somewhere it shouldn't be. The show assumes that we know the explanation, but don't worry about it. We will learn why when we reach 2268, but in the meantime, it is entirely unimportant to how the story in Discovery unfolds.
Discovery - Season 1, episode 10 - Despite Yourself
While in unfamiliar territory, the U.S.S. Discovery crew is forced to get creative in their next efforts to survive opposing and unprecedented forces and return home.
Original airdate - January 7, 2018
Discovery - Season 1, episode 11 - The Wolf Inside
As the crew continues their guise, Burnham undergoes a merciless mission in hopes of helping the U.S.S. Discovery return home. Tilly works on restoring Stamets' neurofunction.
Original airdate - January 14, 2018
Discovery - Season 1, episode 12 - Vaulting Ambition
Burnham heads to the ISS Charon with a special "gift" for the Emperor. With the help of an unexpected source, Stamets gains clarity while trapped inside the mycelial network. Saru asks for L'Rell's help.
Original airdate - January 21, 2018
Discovery - Season 1, episode 13 - What’s Past is Prologue
Lorca plans to move forward with a coup against the Emperor, propelling Burnham to make a quick decision to save not only herself, but the U.S.S. Discovery.
Original airdate - January 28, 2018
Discovery - Season 1, episode 14 - The War Without, The War Within
Back on the U.S.S. Discovery, Burnham and the crew are faced with the harsh reality of the war during their absence. In order to move forward, Starfleet must use unconventional tactics and sources to take their next action against the Klingons.
Original airdate - February 4, 2018
Discovery - Season 1, episode 15 - Will You Take My Hand?
With Georgiou at the helm of the plan to end the Klingon war once and for all, the U.S.S. Discovery crew struggles to fathom and tolerate her hostile tactics. Memories of past hardships are rekindled within Burnham.
Original airdate - February 11, 2018
Short Treks - Season 1, episode 1 - Runaway
Onboard the U.S.S. Discovery, Ensign Tilly (Mary Wiseman) encounters an unexpected visitor in need of help. However, this unlikely pair may have more in common than meets the eye.
Original airdate - October 4, 2018
Short Treks - Season 1, episode 4 - Escape Artist
Harry Mudd (Rainn Wilson), back to his old tricks of stealing and double-dealing, finds himself in a precarious position aboard a hostile ship - just in time to try out his latest con.
Original airdate - January 3, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 1 - Brother
The U.S.S. Discovery welcomes aboard Capt. Pike and begins a mission to investigate the red signals.
Original airdate - January 17, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 2 - New Eden
A signal leads the Discovery to a planet inhabited by descendants of survivors of a war on Earth.
Original airdate - January 24, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 3 - Point of Light
A surprise visitor brings shocking news about Spock and dredges up past regrets for Burnham.
Original airdate - January 31, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 4 - An Obol For Charon
A mysterious sphere threatens the U.S.S. Discovery; Pike receives new intel on Spock.
Original airdate - February 7, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 5 - Saints of Imperfection
The Discovery crew attempts to rescue Tilly from the mycelial network.
Original airdate - February 14, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 6 - The Sound of Thunder
Burnham, Saru and the crew embark on a perilous mission that puts Saru in danger.
Original airdate - February 21, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 7 - Light and Shadows
Burnham goes to Vulcan in search of Spock, where she unearths surprising family secrets.
Original airdate - February 28, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 8 - If Memory Serves
Spock and Burnham head to Talos IV, where they are forced to confront their troubled past.
Original airdate - March 7, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 9 - Project Daedalus
Suspicions arise that the crew may have a traitor in their midst; Burnham tries to help Spock.
Original airdate - March 14, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 10 - The Red Angel
Burnham is stunned when she learns her ties to Section 31 run deeper than she ever fathomed.
Original airdate - March 21, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 11 - Perpetual Infinity
Burnham receives the reunion she's been longing for, but it doesn't go quite as she imagined.
Original airdate - March 28, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 12 - Through the Valley of Shadows
A fourth signal leads the Discovery to a world where Pike is forced to make a life-changing choice.
Original airdate - April 4, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 13 - Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 1
When Discovery's crucial mission does not go according to plan, Burnham realizes what must be done.
Original airdate - April 11, 2019
Discovery - Season 2, episode 14 - Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2
The crew of the USS Discovery explores new worlds and civilizations.
Original airdate - April 18, 2019
I will avoid spoilers, but after watching the episode listed just above, it should be clear why we are pausing our viewing of Discovery, even though there are more episodes left to watch. We will come back to Discovery at the appropriate time to complete the series.
Short Treks - Season 1, episode 6 - The Trouble with Edward
Newly minted Captain Lynne Lucero is excited to take command of the U.S.S. Cabot, until she meets Edward Larkin, an ornery scientist who believes he has found a revolutionary new use for tribbles.
Original airdate - October 9, 2019
Short Treks - Season 1, episode 7 - Ask Not
When an attack on Starbase 28 leaves a surprise prisoner under Cadet Thira Sidhu's watch, she is faced with making a decision that may threaten her standing in Starfleet.
Original airdate - November 13, 2019
We now move away from the Discovery crew to follow Capt. Pike, back in command of the Enterprise, for an absolutely delightful series that deliberately throws back to 1960s Trek in many ways, including the first (chronological) appearances of many characters we will continue to follow for many years to come.
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 1 - Strange New Worlds
When one of Pike's officers goes missing while on a secret mission for Starfleet, Pike has to come out of self imposed exile. He must navigate how to rescue his officer, while struggling with what to do with the vision of the future he's been given.
Original airdate - May 4, 2022
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 2 - Children of the Comet
While on a survey mission, the U.S.S. Enterprise discovers a comet is going to strike an inhabited planet. They try to re-route the comet, only to find that an ancient alien relic buried on the comet's icy surface is somehow stopping them.
Original airdate - May 11, 2022
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 3 - Ghosts of Illyria
The U.S.S. Enterprise encounters a contagion that ravages the ship. One by one, the entire crew is incapacitated except for Number One, Una Chin-Riley, who must now confront a secret she's been hiding as she races to find a cure.
Original airdate - May 18, 2022
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 4 - Momento Mori
While on a routine supply mission to a colony planet, the U.S.S. Enterprise comes under an attack from an unknown malevolent force. Pike brings all his heart and experience to bear in facing the crisis, but the security officer warns him that the enemy cannot be dealt with by conventional Starfleet means.
Original airdate - May 25, 2022
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 5 - Spock Amok
It's a comedy of manners when Spock has a personal visit in the middle of Spock and Captain Pike's crucial negotiations with an unusual alien species.
Original airdate - June 1, 2022
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 6 - Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach
A threat to an idyllic planet reunites Captain Pike with the lost love of his life. To protect her and a scientific holy child from a conspiracy, Pike offers his help and is forced to face unresolved feelings of his past.
Original airdate - June 8, 2022
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 7 - The Serene Squall
While on a dangerous humanitarian mission, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise stumbles into a harrowing game of leverage with the quadrant's deadliest space pirate.
Original airdate - June 15, 2022
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 8 - The Elysian Kingdom
The U.S.S. Enterprise becomes stuck in a nebula that is home to an alien consciousness that traps the crew in a fairy tale.
Original airdate - June 22, 2022
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 9 - All Those Who Wander
The U.S.S. Enterprise crew comes face-to-face with their demons - and scary monsters too - when their landing party is stranded on a barren planet with a ravenous enemy
Original airdate - June 29 2022
Pay attention to the possible future laid out in this next episode; we will see how the timeline actually plays out instead later in this chronology.
Strange New Worlds - Season 1, episode 10 - A Quality of Mercy
In the season one finale, just as Captain Pike thinks he's figured out how to escape his fate, he's visited by his future self, who shows him the consequences of his actions.
Original airdate - July 6, 2022
Strange New Worlds - Season 2, episode 1 - The Broken Circle
A distress call from Lt. Noonien-Singh compels Spock to disobey orders and take the U.S.S. Enterprise and its crew into disputed space, risking renewed hostilities with the Klingons in a bid to aid their shipmate.
Original airdate - June 15, 2023
Strange New Worlds - Season 2, episode 2 - Ad Astra per Aspera
Commander Una faces court-martial along with possible imprisonment and dishonorable dismissal from Starfleet, and her defense is in the hands of a lawyer who’s also a childhood friend with whom she had a terrible falling out.
Original airdate - June 22, 2023
Strange New Worlds - Season 2, episode 3 - Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
La’An travels back in time to twenty-first-century Earth to prevent an attack which will alter humanity’s future history—and bring her face to face with her own contentious legacy.
Original airdate - June 29, 2023
Strange New Worlds - Season 2, episode 4 - Among the Lotus Eaters
Returning to a planet that dredges up tragic memories, Captain Pike and his landing party find themselves forgetting everything, including their own identities as he confronts a ghost from his past.
Original airdate - July 6, 2023
Strange New Worlds - Season 2, episode 5 - Charades
A shuttle accident leads to Spock’s Vulcan DNA being removed by aliens, making him fully human and completely unprepared to face T’Pring’s family during an important ceremonial dinner.
Original airdate - July 13, 2023
Strange New Worlds - Season 2, episode 6 - Lost in Translation
Uhura seems to be the only one who can hear a strange sound. When the noise triggers terrifying hallucinations, she enlists an unlikely assistant to help her track down the source.
Original airdate - July 20, 2023
Skipping Episode 7 until later in the guide….
Strange New Worlds - Season 2, episode 8 - Under the Cloak of War
aptain Pike and his crew welcome a Klingon defector aboard the Enterprise, but his presence triggers the revelation of some shocking secrets.
Original airdate - July 27, 2023
Strange New Worlds - Season 2, episode 9 - Subspace Rhapsody
An accident with an experimental quantum probability field causes everyone on the U.S.S. Enterprise to break uncontrollably into song, but the real danger is that the field is expanding and beginning to impact other ships—allies and enemies alike.
Original airdate - August 3, 2023
Strange New Worlds - Season 2, episode 10 - Hegemony
When the U.S.S. Enterprise investigates an attack on a colony at the edge of Federation space, Captain Pike and his crew face the return of a formidable enemy.
Original airdate - August 10, 2023
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