The Ultimate Star Trek Viewing Guide: TV & Streaming Details For Every Single Episode And Movie

7. Star Trek: Lower Decks

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Lower Decks! Lower Decks! Mike McMahan's animated Star Trek series, set in the years after Star Trek: Nemesis, arrived in 2020 to a lot of confused fans - delighting them in the process. This was the first official Star Trek series to be fully animated since 1973, so there was a risk that it would not take off. Add to this the fact that it would be aiming for a much more comedic style than any previous series, and people were scratching their heads.

Beckett Mariner, voiced by Tawny Newsome, and Brad Boimler, voiced by Jack Quaid, were instantly lovable, if a little chaotic. The show made its mission clear in the series pilot Second Contact. This was about a ship that was as far from pomp and prestige as it was possible to get, allowing the writers to really have some fun. There are more easter eggs than you could shake a phaser at, so this one is definitely a treat for long-time Trek fans, but is highly accessible for first-time viewers as well. 

Five seasons may be too short a run, but it was five seasons of hilarity from start to finish. As the Vulcan Ensign T'Lynn might comment, it was "fascinating".