Star Trek Series Ranking - Charting the Stars
With the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds now in full swing and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy set to premiere in the coming months, I found myself reflecting on just how vast this franchise truly is. At over 800 episodes and counting, Star Trek is no longer just a series of shows. It’s a legacy, a living archive of science fiction’s most hopeful vision of humanity.
So I set myself a personal challenge: rank every main Star Trek series to date. No movies, animated tie-ins, or short film anthologies here. Just the eight core shows that have defined the final frontier across generations.
And while I ranked them from my least to most favorite, let me be clear: The Star Trek franchise has never produced a truly bad series. Even the lower-ranked entries are meaningful and worth your time. Because every Star Trek show, in its own way, carries the same vital message: that the future can be better if we dare to reach for it.
8. Enterprise (2001–2005)
Somewhere in the DNA of Enterprise is the potential for a great Star Trek series. It had the premise – a pre-Federation Earth venturing into space for the first time – and a strong cast, especially Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer. But the show spent its early seasons adrift, unsure of how boldly to go.
By the time Enterprise found its footing in its third and fourth seasons, embracing serialized storytelling and deep Star Trek lore, it was too late. The show was canceled just as it began to show real promise. And yet, there’s something charming and even essential about its earnest attempt to fill in the missing chapters of Trek history.
7. Picard (2020–2023)
If Enterprise struggled to find direction, Picard’s mistake was choosing a different one every season. Across three seasons, Picard tries to be many things: an epilogue, a character study, a nostalgia trip, and most obviously a direct continuation of The Next Generation. And depending on the season, it achieves some of those goals beautifully.
The third and final season, especially, is a revelation. It brings back the classic crew, reminds us why we fell in love with these characters, and gives Jean-Luc Picard the kind of send-off he always deserved. It’s flawed, yes – but deeply emotional. And for longtime fans, it’s impossible not to be moved.
6. Voyager (1995–2001)
When Voyager premiered, it felt like Star Trek on hard mode: take a crew, toss them 70,000 light-years from home, and see what happens. While the series didn’t always live up to the dramatic potential of its premise, it offered an invaluable new perspective – especially in the form of Captain Kathryn Janeway, played with grit and grace by Kate Mulgrew.
Voyager leaned slightly more into episodic adventure than serialization compared to its contemporary, Deep Space Nine, but its characters – Seven of Nine, The Doctor, Tuvok – developed in compelling ways. Over time, what seemed like the franchise’s most isolated show became one of its most beloved.
5. Discovery (2017–2024)
No modern Star Trek series has divided the fanbase quite like Discovery. Its tone started off a bit darker, its storytelling was more serialized right from the start, and its early seasons made bold, sometimes controversial choices – recasting Spock, redesigning the Klingons yet again, and dropping the franchise into war much like Deep Space Nine had done before it.
But Discovery evolved. When it jumped nearly a thousand years into the future in its third season, it found new life. Suddenly, it had a reason to explore again. A sense of mystery. Optimism. And Michael Burnham, played with emotional ferocity by Sonequa Martin-Green, emerged as a fitting anchor for a new generation of Star Trek storytelling.
4. Strange New Worlds (2022–2027)
If Discovery reimagined the franchise, Strange New Worlds bridged the divide back to its roots. A spiritual cousin to The Original Series, this show brought back more episodic storytelling, colorful adventures, and classic characters – with modern polish and a cast that fit like a well-worn Starfleet uniform.
Anson Mount’s Captain Pike was a revelation: wise, kind, haunted, and human. Each episode felt like a standalone fable, with the freedom to try on tones – comedy, tragedy, musical, even horror. Yet, it never lost its optimism. Strange New Worlds wasn’t just a return to form. It was a reminder that form still matters.
3. The Original Series (1966–1969)
It’s hard to imagine what television looked like before Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry’s vision was radical – multiethnic casting, philosophical allegory, and an unwavering belief that humanity could evolve beyond prejudice, war, and greed.
Sure, the sets wobbled and the aliens wore rubber masks. But the ideas? Unshakable. This is where we first met Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Where stories became morality plays, and science fiction became a mirror held up to society. The Original Series wasn’t just ahead of its time. It helped define it.
2. Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)
If The Original Series built the foundation and The Next Generation expanded it, Deep Space Nine carved out its own corner and built a cathedral on it. Serialized before serialization was cool, this was the Star Trek that dared to challenge its own ideals. It introduced complexity – political, spiritual, and personal – into a universe known for order and idealism.
At the heart of it all was Captain Benjamin Sisko, portrayed by Avery Brooks with intensity and grace. He was a father, a leader, and a prophet. His station – nestled next to a wormhole – became a crossroads for every kind of story: war, espionage, romance, faith. And over seven seasons, Deep Space Nine transformed from an experiment into a masterpiece.
1. The Next Generation (1987–1994)
If there’s one series that defines Star Trek for the most people, it’s The Next Generation. It took Roddenberry’s utopian blueprint and filled it with richer characters, deeper diplomacy, and science fiction stories that rival anything ever aired on television.
Picard, Riker, Data, Worf, Geordi, Crusher, Troi – this bridge crew became legendary. Their stories, from “The Inner Light” to “The Best of Both Worlds,” balanced emotional resonance with high-concept wonder.
The Next Generation was the cornerstone of 90s Trek. It expanded the mythology and brought the franchise to new cultural heights, and for many – including myself – it remains the beating heart of the franchise.
Final Thoughts
Ranking Star Trek series is no small task, because each has something to offer. Each was born of a time, shaped by different questions about who we are and where we’re going. And each, in its best moments, holds up a mirror and dares us to imagine something better.
Because that’s what Star Trek has always done. It hasn’t just shown us the future. It’s made us want to get there. Live long and prosper.