TAGGED AS: CBS, CBS All Access, Sci-Fi, science fiction
(Photo by Paramount+/CBS)
Updated: September 8, 2023
The Star Trek universe kicked off in 1966 with the original series, created by science fiction visionary Gene Roddenberry, and later exploded into a massive film and TV juggernaut.
While the original series, which starred William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, saw only three seasons, it made an indelible impression on the sci-fi genre. Live-action TV follow-up Star Trek: The Next Generation, with Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard leading an ensemble cast, captivated viewers from 1987–1994 and inspired three more series that would air within the next decade: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Starting with 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Paramount Pictures has been regularly cranking out Trek films with the original series and Next Generation casts, as well as a rebooted version in 2009 with Chris Pine as Starfleet Academy cadet James Kirk and Zachary Quinto as young Spock. (See the Star Trek films ranked here.)
In 2017, Trek returned to small screens with season 1 of CBS All Access streaming title Star Trek: Discovery, set during a tumultuous wartime era about a decade before the original and starring Sonequa Martin-Green. The new series marked a TV franchise reboot by Alex Kurtzman, writer on the 2009 Star Trek film and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness.
RELATED: All Star Trek Movies Ranked by Tomatometer
The year 2020 gave fans a celebration of one of its most iconic characters with the premiere of Star Trek: Picard and Stewart reprising his role in the new streaming series that launched its second season in 2022. New live-action series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was also released in 2022, and its first season was quickly Certified Fresh with a 100% Tomatometer score (it has since dropped to 99% on one review). The show’s second season, released in 2023, was nearly as well received and is Certified Fresh at 97% on the Tomatometer.
The TV franchise has since introduced two animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, about the misfit support crew on one of Starfleet’s least-important ships, and kid-friendly Star Trek: Prodigy, which tells the story of a diverse group of teens who inadvertently become the crew of a prize starship and learn important lessons in their subsequent adventures. The latter series — No. 3 on our list below — has since been canceled by Paramount+, but a petition to save the show has gathered over 33,000 signatures.
Have a look below to find out which series score highest with critics in our Trek TV by Tomatometer list.
Disagree with the results? Tell us in the comments which series you think should have been ranked higher (or lower).
98%
94%
97%
91%
92%
91%
89%
84%
80%
76%
56%
