How does Star Trek Discovery season 3 fit into the Star Trek timeline?

The new episodes of the sci-fi drama jump nearly a millennia into the future – and it’s where no Star Trek series has gone before…

Sonequa Martin-Green

Published: Thursday, 15 October 2020 at 3:08 pm

Exactly where Star Trek: Discovery fits into the Star Trek timeline has always been a little confusing, with the streaming drama functioning as a prequel to the original 1966 series despite featuring far more up-to-date visuals, technology and general style.

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However, as of the season two finale Discovery has now turned from prequel to sequel, with Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham and her crew catapulted through time to the 32nd century, where no Star Trek series has gone before.

Check out our Star Trek Discovery season 2 recap here if you need a quick refresher about exactly how this all happened.

But where exactly does this new Discovery fit in with the former series? Well, it’s fairly simple. Star Trek: Enterprise (starring Scott Bakula) is the earliest, followed by Discovery season one-two, then the original 1966 series.

Following that there’s the animated series, then Patrick Stewart’s Star Trek: The Next Generation alongside Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, with the latter three shows briefly overlapping in timeline at various points.

After Voyager new animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks pops up, followed by recent series entry Star Trek: Picard – and then nearly 800 years past that, Star Trek Discovery resumes for season three. In other words, the USS Discovery is now far beyond the world of Star Trek that we know, in a whole new era that’s sure to be challenging for her crew.

For a more detailed breakdown, check out our more in-depth timeline below which also tries to include the Star Trek movies (albeit not the alternate-timeline “Kelvin” films from 2009 onwards) and some of the weirder jumps around.

The “Prime” Star Trek Timeline

Exactly how far Discovery will continue into the future remains to be seen – but at least now we’ll no longer have to worry about any inconsistencies with the original series. Canon is saved!

If you're looking for a verdict on the new episodes, you can check out our Star Trek Discovery season 3 review.

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Star Trek: Discovery season three released new episodes on Netflix UK on Fridays. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide

Authors

Radio Times commissioning editor Huw Fullerton. He sits in front of a shelving unit, looking at the camera and smiling. He wears glasses and has a moustache

Huw FullertonCommissioning editor

Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.

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