Summary

  • Star Trek: Discovery is set in the Prime Timeline.
  • The show took a risky move with a soft reboot in season 2, leading to a new setting in the 32nd century.
  • The success of Star Trek: Discovery led to multiple new Star Trek series in the Prime Timeline era.

Star Trek: Discovery is set to end with season 5, and the question of which Star Trek timeline the Sonequa Martin-Green-led series is set in has been definitively answered. Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017 as the flagship series of the CBS All-Access streaming service, which was rebranded as Paramount+. Discovery was the first new Star Trek TV series since Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled in 2005, but immediately upon the new show's premiere, longtime Trekkers questioned if Star Trek: Discovery is set in an alternate timeline.

In the effort to bring Star Trek: Discovery on par with both the serialized hit Prestige TV series like Game of Thrones, and upgrade the Star Trek television series' visual effects to match the cinematic style of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies starring Chris Pine, Discovery sowed confusion that lasted for years. Discovery was initially a prequel starting in 2256, ten years before Star Trek: The Original Series and Discovery was accused of all manner of Star Trek canon violations. Discovery's solution at the end of season 2 was a soft reboot where Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) led the USS Discovery 930 years into the future. Star Trek: Discovery seasons 3, 4, and 5 are subsequently set in the 32nd century. However, Discovery has always been set in Star Trek's Prime Timeline.

Related
When Star Trek: Discovery Takes Place In Star Trek's Timeline (Every Season)
Star Trek: Discovery is a rare Star Trek show that takes place in two different eras of the Prime Timeline. Here's when each Disco season happens.

Star Trek's 2 Main Timelines Explained

Discovery has always been part of Star Trek's Prime Timeline

Star Trek is a Multiverse with two main timelines, as well as a third offshoot reality called the Mirror Universe. Simply put, every Star Trek television series, as well as the first 10 Star Trek movies, are set in what's known as the Prime Timeline. These include Star Trek: The Original Series, the 6 movies starring the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, all of the Star Trek series produced by Rick Berman from 1987-2005, the 4 Star Trek: The Next Generation movies, and every Star Trek on Paramount+ series starting with Star Trek: Discovery, and also including Star Trek: Prodigy on Netflix.

The Mirror Universe was introduced in the Star Trek: The Original Series season 2 episode "Mirror, Mirror" and that twisted reality has continued to exist parallel to the Prime and Kelvin Star Trek timelines.

The J.J. Abrams feature film reboot of Star Trek in 2009 introduced what became known as the Kelvin timeline, named for the USS Kelvin, the starship briefly commanded by Lt. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), the father of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine). When a Romulan time traveler named Nero (Eric Bana) destroyed the Kelvin - and killed the elder Kirk - at the start of Star Trek (2009), the event created an alternate reality where many things significantly changed. From how Jim Kirk joined Starfleet; to when Kirk became Captain of the Enterprise; to when the Starship Enterprise crew encountered the villainous Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) - all became events that happened much sooner and differently than in Star Trek's Prime timeline.

Star Trek Prime Timeline TV Shows

Star Trek Prime Timeline Movies

Star Trek Kelvin Timeline Movies

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: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Section 31, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond

Why Are There 2 Main Star Trek Timelines?

Star Trek's film and TV rights were confusing

Star Trek Into Darkness JJ Abrams Set

As for why J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company created the alternate Kelvin timeline to begin with, the answers to that can be found in the confusing real-world issue of who owned the rights to Star Trek in the 2000s. Paramount is the wholesale owner of the Star Trek property; Paramount in turn was owned by the Viacom corporation, which also owned CBS. In 2005, Viacom underwent a corporate split: a new Viacom was formed and the ownership of Paramount was transferred to it. The previous entity called Viacom was renamed the CBS Corporation. When this occurred, ownership of the Star Trek movies made before 2005 was transferred to Paramount, but the ownership of all of Star Trek's trademarks and intellectual properties now belonged to CBS Corporation.

It's worth noting Star Trek's Prime timeline is far more popular and prolific than the Kelvin Timeline.

However, in order to make any new Star Trek movies or television series, Paramount had to license the rights to Star Trek from CBS. This is what happened when J.J. Abrams embarked upon making Star Trek (2009); Paramount and Bad Robot licensed the rights to create an alternate Star Trek copyright from CBS, in part to enable Abrams' desire for his film to be about a younger version of Kirk and Spock, which would radically change established canon. Hence, Abrams created the Kelvin timeline, which allows Bad Robot to do whatever they pleased with their version of Star Trek since the results of this creative freedom would not conflict with nor infringe upon the canon of Star Trek's Prime Timeline. It's worth noting Star Trek's Prime timeline is far more popular and prolific than the Kelvin Timeline.

Although no new theatrical Star Trek movie has been made since 2016's Star Trek Beyond, the long-rumored next Star Trek movie produced by J.J. Abrams will be set in the Kelvin Timeline.

Star Trek: Discovery Is Part Of The Prime Timeline

Discovery is now the furthest point of Star Trek's Prime Timeline future

By the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 2, the series had already firmly established itself as part of the Prime Timeline. Star Trek: Discovery season 2 introduced Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) and delved into his troubled relationship with his adopted sister, Michael Burnham. Discovery season 2 also re-introduced the USS Enterprise, Number One (Rebecca Romijn), and Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), establishing that Pike, Number One, and Spock are the same characters portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter, Majel Barrett, and Leonard Nimoy in the unaired Star Trek pilot, "The Cage".

Every Star Trek TV series ever made or currently in development is set in the Prime Timeline.

Captain Pike, Spock, and Number One were so popular, that they received their own spinoff, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which is set after Star Trek: Discovery season 2 and before Star Trek: The Original Series in the Prime Timeline. Star Trek: Discovery's success sparked a bona fide Star Trek TV renaissance, with Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Prodigy season 1 all joining the Star Trek on Paramount+ lineup. Every Star Trek TV series ever made or currently in development is set in the Prime Timeline. Star Trek: Discovery's 32nd century explores the farthest point of the Prime Timeline until Captain Michael Burnham completes her last ride in season 5.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 premieres April 4 on Paramount+

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Seasons
5
Streaming Service(s)
Paramount+
Franchise(s)
Star Trek
Directors
Olatunde Osunsanmi , Jonathan Frakes
Showrunner
Alex Kurtzman