I wanna start watching Start Trek

unironically watch the Orville, once it gets past a bit of its early obligatory Seth MacFarlane sneaking star trek past fox's radar via family guy humor it gets really good and is the best modern version of star trek

then if you like that and want more start watching The Trek

watch the first episode of TNG, then skip to season 2 and watch as much as you want

then watch DS9 it's p good, it takes place after season 3 of TNG

then if for some reason you want more star trek, watch the original series and then skip season 3 lmao

At this point you've gotten pretty much to the point where you can get the full enjoyment of watching lower decks, which is a pretty good Rick and Morty-like that does constant callbacks to star trek

then watch the star trek movies if you want some silly ups and downs, in general the rule of thumb is that every even numbered movie is decent, but honestly they're all enjoyable watches even if they aren't all good

then if you're getting a bit silly watch voyager, and then watch prodigy (imo it's better than voyager and p much acts as a sequel), and then you watch enterprise, and if you're feeling absolutely wacky wacked out jokerfied you start watching brave new world, and if you're getting clowntacular you start watching discovery and if you're six feet under the big circus tent you start watching picard

Hot take: Just start with DS9. TNG and TOS are great but Trekkies have trouble seeing past their rose coloured glasses and both shows can be wildly uneven. DS9 is consistently great, and it's worst episodes are still worth watching. If you enjoy it, move on to TNG or Voyager, then the TOS and Enterprise.

Alternatively, just start at discovery or Strange New Worlds and stay in NuTrek for as long as you want.

All three starting points will give you a consistently good first experience with the brand.

TNG recommendations

Begin with Star Trek: The Next Generation, but skip the first season and start at Season 2, episode 9 (The Measure of a Man). There isn't much setup you need, the basic gist is covered in the title sequence.

Start Trek

Accidental :kelly:?

As others have said, Next Generation is probably where to start. The first season is a bit rough, but I'd give it a go. You can skip stuff if it's not vibing with you. The whole series is very episodic, although it is rewarding to watch in order as the characters and lore develop further. The series gets better as it goes on and there are very few true stinkers. If you really don't like TNG, Star Trek may not have much more to offer.

If you do like TNG, you will probably like Deep Space 9, and maybe even more than TNG. It's got a more coherent story arc to it. Again, first season is a bit spotty, but it ramps up quickly and stays very good throughout. A few duds here and there (the Ferengi episodes can be a little much), but excellent on the whole.

If you enjoy those then give the original series a try. It's an older show, with all that comes with that, but it'll give you some insight into characters and events that pop up in later Trek series. The original Trek movies, six in total, are more fun to watch with context from the original series. They are a mixed bag, but worth watching if you're having fun with the franchise. The joke is that even-numbered Trek films are generally better than odd-numbered ones.

You can also move onto Voyager from TNG/DS9, but keep in mind that it's much more of a mixed bag. It maintains a lot of the Star Trek formula, and has largely the same production style as TNG/DS9, but it's often viewed as a weaker effort, and most agree that some of the worst episodes in the franchise are Voyager episodes.

The TNG-era movies are, imo, skippable unless you just want to see more of those characters. If you wanted to pick one, First Contact is great. Generations is a tough watch. Insurrection and Nemesis are alright if you like the franchise.

After the TNG era is Enterprise, which is hard to recommend. The series has some great elements, but it doesn't always come together. Very awkward time in television, as well. It was made after the golden age of network TV ended, but before prestige TV really took off, and it feels like an inbetween show.

The new Trek movies aka NuTrek are worth watching, especially if you liked the original series. There's a lot of fan-service and are more like action/adventure movies with a Trek veneer, but they're decent movies on their own.

Of the newer stuff, Discovery had, imo, a very strong start with Brian Fuller at the helm, but after he left it lost a lot of its uniqueness. The first season is worth trying, but you can honestly skip it if it doesn't vibe, and don't be afraid to give up on it in later seasons.

Strange New Worlds is a spinoff of Discovery, and is actually pretty great. It leans pretty heavily on the Star Trek formula, but it's a great effort as a return to form and will be enjoyable if you've gotten this far into the series.

Lower Decks is a love letter to the TNG era, and I think it's one of the best series in the franchise. It's adult animation, and it's got lots of fan service, but where the NuTrek films hit fans over the head with the obvious and most well-known references and tropes, Lower Decks is both self-aware and digs into the deep cuts. Very rewarding to recognize a quick reference to some one-off character or event from a previous series.

This got longer than I intended. TL;DR: Start with TNG, skip the first season if it sucks. It gets really good and is a jumping off point for the rest of it.