Star Trek Streaming Guide: Where to Watch All the TV Shows and Movies

Launched on September 8, 1966 — nearly 54 years ago — the NBC-TV series Star Trek was the beginning of a new age of science fiction on television and, eventually, the big screen. The first show to echo the sophistication and vision of sci-fi literature, Star Trek was only a cult hit at the time of its initial run but refused to die even after its cancellation, with the original 79 episodes running for years in syndication.

More than five decades later, Star Trek encompasses eight TV series (a total of 764 episodes and counting) and 13 films, plus countless books, comics, games and more. It’s had its ups and downs, its high points and its misfires, but it remains one of the most beloved and durable franchises in all of pop culture.

Now, thanks to streaming, all those episodes and movies are available to watch any time (we know you diehard Trekkers have the Blu-rays and DVDs, but you don’t have to break those out anymore). Below is a handy guide to where you can stream every iteration of Trek, from The Original Series to the movies to the new Star Trek: Picard. Grab your remote and boldly go…

Star Trek TV

Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

The one that started it all, the original Star Trek came along at a time when most screen sci-fi (movies and TV) was still just monster movies or kiddie fare (Lost in Space, anyone?). Gene Roddenberry’s vision of an intelligent, allegorical sci-fi series, which used actual genre writers for much of its first two seasons, was groundbreaking in ways that reverberate to this day. And its cast, led by William Shatner as Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock and DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy, became iconic.

Available in the US on Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK, Amazon UK* (*purchase only)

Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)

Using the voices of many of the original cast members and even employing writers from the original series, TAS had a genuine chance to extend the original show with the visual freedom animation offered. But the format turned out to be its enemy, as clunky, cheap animation and frequent reuse of shots gave the show a shoddy, amateurish reputation. Some of the stories are quite good, however.

Available in the US on Amazon, CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Set nearly a century after the original series, with Gene Roddenberry mandating that conflict between the crew members be diminished by that point, ST: TNG proved to be enormously popular even with a brand new, unfamiliar crew. It took most of three seasons for the show to find its footing, but Captain Picard (a magnificent Patrick Stewart) and company went on many captivating and genuinely outstanding adventures of their own.

Available in the US on Amazon, Netflix, CBS All Access, Hulu

Available in the UK on Netflix UK, Amazon UK* (*purchase only)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Many fans consider DS9 the best Trek series ever, and they certainly can make a good argument for it: the first Trek show not set on a starship, but instead on a remote space station, DS9 addressed cultural divides, character conflict, religion and war in a bolder fashion that any Trek entry before it — while also utilizing the kind of serialized storytelling that is now the standard across the medium.

Available in the US on Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK, Amazon UK* (*purchase only)

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Voyager found members of a Federation starship and the rebel Maquis stranded together 70,000 years from Earth in the Delta Quadrant, facing a 75-year journey home. Headed by Trek’s first female captain, Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Voyager encountered all kinds of interesting new races as well as old enemies the Borg during the long and often compelling journey home.

Available in the US on Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK, Amazon UK* (*purchase only)

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

The first series to act as a prequel, set a decade before the creation of what would become the United Federation of Planets, Enterprise followed the crew of the first ship to bear that name. Uneven in quality and struggling to find resonant stories, Enterprise was canceled after four seasons and ended an 18-year run for Trek on TV. 

Available in the US on Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK, Amazon UK* (*purchase only)

Star Trek: Discovery (2017- )

Set 10 years prior to TOS, Discovery’s troubled birth (it went through numerous delays and several showrunners) led to the most polarizing show in the franchise to date. Focusing for once on a central character other than the captain — mutinous anthropologist Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), who turns out to be the adopted sister of one Mr. Spock — it has often ignored or played fast and loose with Trek continuity while painting Starfleet in a more conspiratorial light. Season 3 will debut in 2020.

Available in the US on Amazon, CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Netflix UK, Amazon UK* (*purchase only)

Star Trek: Picard (2020- )

Like Discovery before it, Picard has divided Star Trek fans with its depiction of a Federation in decline, marked by bigotry, deception and treachery. But there is no questioning the powerful presence of Patrick Stewart, playing an older, flawed Picard for the first time in 18 years, and the thrill of seeing old friends like Seven of Nine, Will Riker and Deanna Troi. The show has certainly had its moments; we’ll see if more are to come in the already-announced season 2.

Available in the US on Amazon, CBS All Access

Available in the UK on Amazon UK

Star Trek Movies

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

After an aborted attempt at a second TV series (Star Trek: Phase II), Paramount Pictures brought Trek to the big screen in a lavish, $40 million epic (the most expensive movie of its time) that reunited the original crew in a 2001-like encounter with a massive, mysterious space probe. Slow-moving, alternately impressive and shaky visually, ST: TMP nevertheless proved that the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise could hold their own on the big screen — and strangely, the film has actually aged better than most.

Available in the US on Amazon, Hulu

Available in the UK on NOW TV, YouTube*, Amazon UK*, Sky Store* (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Still considered the finest Trek movie of all, and rightfully so, The Wrath of Khan focused — like the original show — on character and story instead of visual effects and esoteric concepts. Bringing back a deadly enemy from the first season, the generic superman Khan (Ricardo Montalban), the movie was thrilling, dramatic and, with the death of Spock at the finale, incredibly moving.

Available in the US on Amazon, Hulu

Available in the UK on NOW TV, *YouTube, *Amazon UK, *Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Even though the end of Star Trek II strongly hinted at Spock’s return, it wasn’t a given. But Leonard Nimoy did come back for Star Trek III — as director (and yes, as Spock too in the film’s closing minutes) of this somber and often underrated entry. Captain Kirk loses almost everything — his beloved ship, his commission and his newly reconciled son — to save his friend’s life in a poignant story about friendship and loyalty. And there’s a bad-ass villain too, a Klingon captain played to the hilt by Christopher Lloyd.

Available in the US on Amazon, Hulu

Available in the UK on NOW TV, *YouTube, *Amazon UK, *Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Leonard Nimoy’s second outing as director is both a comedy and an environmentally themed adventure — and it turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the franchise. This light-hearted romp sent Kirk and the gang back to 20^th century San Francisco to rescue a pair of humpback whales, and the fish-out-of-water (pun intended) antics of the crew provide plenty of laughs and a ton of heart.

Available in the US on Amazon

Available in the UK on NOW TV, *Amazon UK, *YouTube, *Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Shatner got behind the camera for this turgid, unfunny mess, which regularly rates near the bottom of any Trekker’s list. The old “alien pretending to be God” trope, a long-lost brother we never knew Spock had and the other cast members acting by and large like buffoons make this perhaps the most embarrassing of the Enterprise’s big screen voyages. There are a few nice moments — there always are — but this nowhere near first on our revisit list.

Available in the US on Amazon, Hulu

Available in the UK on NOW TV, *Amazon UK, *YouTube, *Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

The classic Trek cast bounced back from Star Trek V with a final adventure that was also one of their best. A suspenseful, urgent meditation on aging, grievance and the end of the Cold War, Star Trek IV was a remarkable example of how Trek could show us at our finest even while facing down our lingering demons. Plus it ends with both a great space battle and one of the greatest cast send-offs ever (which was emulated by none other than Avengers Endgame).

Available in the US on Amazon, Hulu

Available in the UK on NOW TV, *Amazon UK, *YouTube, *Sky Store (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

What could have been a magnificent passing of the torch from the classic Trek cast to the TNG crew ends up looking and feeling more like a tepid extended TNG episode with weak cameos from Kirk, Scotty (James Doohan) and Chekov (Walter Koenig). Patrick Stewart and his team are all solid, as is villain Malcolm McDowell, and the crashing of the Enterprise is a genuinely gripping setpiece. But the story and motivations are undercooked — as is most of the movie.

Available in the US on Amazon

Available in the UK on NOW TV, *Amazon UK, *Sky Store, *YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Easily the best of the TNG quartet, First Contact travels back in time to the very start of Earth’s push into space, where the Borg intends to cripple humanity once and for all. The crew of the Enterprise follow them to make sure history isn’t changed, even as Picard confronts his fear and hatred of the Borg. Jonathan Frakes does a nice first-time directing job, balancing the action and character work ably, while Alice Krige steals the show as the sensual Borg Queen.

Available in the US on Amazon

Available in the UK on NOW TV, *Amazon UK, *Sky Store, *YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Like Generations, the third TNG theatrical outing feels like a mediocre TV segment stretched to feature length; even Frakes’ direction seems uninspired. One difference: with Picard fighting a secret plan (engineered by F. Murray Abraham, above) to uproot the natives of a “fountain of youth” planet, the seeds were planted for later Trek entries that portrayed an increasingly corrupt Federation. Otherwise, this is a forgettable, often cheesy film.

Available in the US on Amazon, Hulu

Available in the UK on NOW TV, *Amazon UK, *Sky Store, *YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

The final big-screen outing for the TNG cast is better than its reputation suggests, as Picard squares off against a renegade Romulan who happens to be his clone. Tom Hardy chews the scenery fabulously as the latter, and the climactic battle between his massive ship and the Enterprise is well handled by director Stuart Baird. There’s also a surprising emotional payoff for Data (Brent Spiner) that ends up being the hook for Star Trek: Picard 18 years later.

Available in the US on Amazon, CBS All Access

Available in the UK on NOW TV, *Amazon UK, *Sky Store, *YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams does what many thought couldn’t be done — he reboots Star Trek with a fresh, young cast inhabiting the original roles made iconic by Shatner, Nimoy and their crew. The new cast, led by Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, is the best thing about the film, which also uses a clever plot device to position this timeline just slightly to the side of the original one. The reliance on action over ideas is a bit of a letdown, and unfortunately would carry over to the next two movies.

Available in the US on Amazon

Available in the UK on Netflix, NOW TV, *Amazon UK, *Sky Store, *YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

One of the worst Trek films ever, right down there with The Final Frontier. STID insults both fans and casual viewers with a brain-dead script, frantic action and massive contrivances (such as the sudden ability for someone to beam across the galaxy or the screenwriters’ well-worn “magic blood” gimmick). But its most egregious offense is turning into a half-assed remake of The Wrath of Khan that’s as dumb as it is pointless. This is what happens when people tackle Trek with no understanding of it.

Available in the US on Amazon

Available in the UK on *Amazon UK, *Sky Store, *YouTube (*purchase/rent only)

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Still too reliant on action over depth, and featuring the third revenge-driven storyline in a row, Star Trek Beyond is nevertheless better than its predecessor. It mostly works as a standalone adventure, and once again the Pine/Quinto cast delivers with heart. But even though Beyond does occasionally capture the vibe of classic Trek, there’s a vague sense of desperation at work — like the franchise knows it’s run out of gas (and crashing the Enterprise for the third time in 13 films doesn’t help).

Available in the US on Amazon

Available in the UK on *Sky Store, *Amazon UK, *YouTube (*purchase/rent only)