Star Trek is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2026, but 30 years ago was the gold standard and set a high bar for Star Trek anniversaries. Star Trek: The Original Series premiered on NBC on September 8, 1966. No one could have guessed that Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi creation would evolve into an eternal franchise counting 12 TV series, 14 feature films, and countless books, comics, video games, and ancillary media.

Star Trek‘s 25th anniversary in 1991 was marked by the premiere of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the final film starring the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, who signed their names in cement outside TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Star Trek: The Next Generation was riding high at the peak of its powers, ending season 4 and launching season 5 in 1991.

5 years later, Star Trek’s 30th anniversary in 1996 saw the franchise at an all-time high. Under executive producer Rick Berman, Star Trek had two TV series on the air, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in syndication, and Star Trek: Voyager as the flagship show of the United Paramount Network (UPN). In 1994, Star Trek Generations also successfully transitioned Star Trek: The Next Generation into feature films.

Star Trek’s 30th Anniversary In 1996 Was The Gold Standard

Star Trek turned 30 in grand style in 1996. The first half of the year saw the latter episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4, which successfully brought in Worf (Michael Dorn) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Star Trek: Voyager season 2 saw no sophomore slump as Captain Kathryn Janeway’s (Kate Mulgrew) series found itself as the USS Voyager soared through the Delta Quadrant.

Star Trek‘s 30th anniversary formally kicked off with a special Star Trek: Voyager event, “Flashback.” Star Trek: Voyager season 4, episode 2 brought Captain Janeway and Tuvok back nearly a century to meet George Takei as Captain Hikaru Sulu and Grace Lee Whitney as Commander Janice Rand. Premiering on September 11, 1996, “Flashback” took place during the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and gave Voyager ‘the rub’ from Star Trek: The Original Series.

On November 4, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine topped Voyager‘s “Flashback.” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 6, “Trials and Tribble-ations” sent Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and DS9’s crew to the events of Star Trek: The Original Series‘ “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Cutting edge visual effects not only recreated the look of classic Star Trek but inserted DS9‘s cast into the 1960s Starship Enterprise, allowing Captain Sisko to meet Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).

Star Trek‘s 30th anniversary was capped off by Star Trek: First Contact, which premiered on November 22nd. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, Star Trek: First Contact was the most successful movie starring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation among critics, fans, and at the box office. Introducing the USS Enterprise-E, a new style of Starfleet uniform, and bringing the ever-popular Borg to the big screen, Star Trek: First Contact was the pinnacle of the TNG movie franchise.

In addition, a television special called Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond aired on UPN on October 6. Actors from the existing Star Trek series joined celebrity fans like Ben Stiller, Joan Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Dr. Mae Jemison, and Kenny G to honor Star Trek with a black tie gala in Hollywood. The cast of Frasier even performed a skit as Star Trek: Voyager‘s crew on stage with Kate Mulgrew.

How Star Trek Is Celebrating Its 60th Anniversary In 2026

Perhaps not quite at the same level as 1996, but Star Trek‘s 60th anniversary in 2026 is also going all-out. Star Trek on Paramount+’s franchise is down to only two television series, but both Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiere full 10-episode seasons in 2026. Star Trek Year 60 even kicked off with a special Star Trek float at the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day.

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Starfleet Academy’s Acting Firepower Made Star Trek TV History

Star Trek’s caliber of award-winning actors is on another level in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy with 3 Emmy winners on-screen at the same time.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 just wrapped on Paramount+ after scoring an 88% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Although not the Nielsen streaming top 10 hit that Star Trek: Picard season 3 and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds were, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy‘s young cast, led by Oscar-caliber actors Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti, connected with its young adult target audience, who celebrate the show with artwork, memes, TikToks, and cosplay on social media.

Likely premiering in summer 2026, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 continues the high concept ‘big swings’ of previous seasons, setting the stage for Strange New Worlds‘ 6-episode final season in 2027. The details of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 are top secret, except for a puppet episode that was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2025.

Star Trek‘s 60th anniversary also has multiple fan celebrations, like the Star Trek Cruise in February, and Creation Entertainment’s STLV: Trek to Vegas convention in August that will also mark the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: Enterprise. A partnership with LEGO, action figures from The Nacelle Company, exciting new Star Trek comics from IDW, and sponsorships with Do Something make 60 years of Star Trek a multimedia event.

Although there is no new Star Trek movie in 2026, Year 60 could be defined by Paramount Skydance deciding the future of Star Trek. New TV series, potential Star Trek TV spinoffs, and an update on the previously announced Star Trek reboot movie developed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are expected in 2026.

Star Trek’s 60th anniversary not only honors the past and present of Gene Roddenberry’s legendary franchise, but 2026 should also give fans a vision of what’s to come next in the final frontier. Whereas, Star Trek‘s 30th anniversary allowed the franchise to bask in its greatness and stellar achievements at the peak of its 1990s golden age.

Watch Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond below:

Created by

Gene Roddenberry

First Film

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

First TV Show

Star Trek: The Original Series

First Episode Air Date

September 8, 1966

Cast

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh

TV Show(s)

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Star Trek is one of pop culture’s biggest multimedia franchises, spanning multiple movies, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and various other media. The franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and started with the 1960s TV series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Over the decades, several equally popular series have come out since as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery.