Star Trek’s 60th should hark back to the joy of 1996’s 30th anniversary, and Strange New Worlds is the perfect show to do that in 2026.

Star Trek‘s 60th anniversary is September 8th 2026, and Paramount can’t afford to miss out on the celebrations like it did with the 40th and 50th anniversaries. 2026 will mark 60 years since Star Trek: The Original Series debuted on TV, and with two years to go, it would be prudent for Paramount to do some planning. Star Trek‘s 30th anniversary was commemorated in a big way by Star Trek shows and movies in 1996, but subsequent celebrations have been more muted.

28 years on from the big 30th anniversary celebrations, the Star Trek franchise is in robust shape with the Star Trek: Discovery finale premiering in April 2024, and two ongoing Trek shows on Paramount+, with more to come. This means that there’s a very real possibility that Paramount+ could mark Star Trek‘s 60th anniversary with special episodes of modern Star Trek TV shows in September 2026. After the disappointment of Star Trek‘s 40th and 50th anniversaries, this is a very exciting prospect for fans.

Star Trek: The Original Series Cast & Character Guide

Star Trek: The Original Series features some of the most iconic characters in all of science fiction with the crew of the original USS Enterprise.

Star Trek Missed Its 40th & 50th Anniversaries But Must Not Miss Its 60th

Star Trek‘s 40th anniversary in 2006 was marred by the cancelation of Star Trek: Enterprise a year earlier. With no new show on the air, there was some solace in the remastered versions of Star Trek: The Original Series season 1 being aired in syndication. Aside from those repeat screenings, and various merchandise items, there wasn’t much else going on during Star Trek‘s 40th anniversary. The only notable moment in 2006 was the announcement in April that J.J. Abrams was officially overseeing the eleventh Star Trek movie. It provided some comfort that, despite Star Trek being off the air, the franchise would one day come back.

A decade later, Star Trek‘s 50th anniversary had more going on, with countless books and comics being released, but it still lacked a presence on TV screens. Highlights of Star Trek‘s 50th year included Star Trek Beyond, which was as much a tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy as a commemoration of fifty years of Trek. Adam Nimoy’s heartfelt documentary about his father, For the Love of Spock, was also released later in 2016, as were two Star Trek documentaries; Building Star Trek and 50 Years of Star Trek. However, on the actual date of the anniversary, the only notable event was Star Trek Beyond being released in Argentina and Uruguay.

In 1996, Star Trek celebrated its 30th anniversary with special episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In DS9‘s “Trials and Tribble-ations”, Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and the crew of the USS Defiant had to avert a plot to kill Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Using a mixture of practical sets and green-screen, the DS9 actors were able to “interact” with the Star Trek: The Original Series cast during the events of “The Trouble with Tribbles”. It was a creative approach to marking 30 years of Star Trek, that also allowed Kirk and Sisko to meet in person.

Star Trek: Voyager also took a creative approach to Star Trek‘s 30th anniversary with the episode “Flashback”. During a mind-meld with Lt. Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ), Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) found herself aboard the USS Excelsior. Unlike DS9‘s “Trials and Tribble-ations”, Voyager brought back both Star Trek‘s Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand and George Takei as Captain Hikaru Sulu to film new scenes. The new scenes depicted a previously unseen face-off between Sulu and Kang (Michael Ansara) that took place during Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

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Star Trek: First Contact was TNG‘s contribution to Star Trek‘s 30th anniversary year, depicting the key moment that led to the eponymous meeting between Humans and Vulcans. First Contact was a thrilling sci-fi action movie that brought back the Borg, introduced Alice Krige as the Borg Queen, and depicted the earliest origins of warp flight and the Federation. James Cromwell was brilliantly cast as Zefram Cochrane, who was a lot rawer than the history books had suggested. 30 years after Kirk’s Enterprise first took flight, Starfleet and the Federation finally had their origin story.

Strange New Worlds Would Be Perfect To Celebrate 60 Years Of Star Trek

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiered in 2022, meaning that the five-year mission of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the crew of the USS Enterprise could come to an end in 2026. This would be the perfect way to celebrate Star Trek‘s 60th anniversary as Pike hands over the Enterprise to Captain James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley), bringing everything full circle. The delays to production on Strange New Worlds season 3 will likely mean that the dates don’t quite match up, but there’s a golden opportunity for the Star Trek prequel to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

While Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will be the likely focal point for the 60th anniversary celebrations, other projects will factor in. Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ love for all aspects of the Star Trek timeline makes it the perfect show to celebrate 60 years. The fact that it’s an animated series also allows Lower Decks to bring back multiple legacy characters without having to explain why they look older than they should.

The recent announcement of a Star Trek origin movie does feel like a perfect way to celebrate the franchise in theaters in 2026. However, with just over two years until Star Trek Day 2026, it feels like a tight turnaround for a Hollywood blockbuster. Whatever happens with Toby Haynes’ Star Trek origin movie between now and 2026, it’s clear that there are multiple ways to ensure that the 60th anniversary of Star Trek is a celebration that nobody will forget.