Star Trek’s Renaissance During Stranger Things’ 9-Year Run

The recent revival of Star Trek, from shows like Star Trek: Discovery and the latest season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, has largely coincided with the run of Stranger Things. Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things debuted on Netflix on July 15, 2016, and its final episodes will be released on December 31, 2025.

When Stranger Things first came out 9 years ago, it was impossible to predict that the 1980s horror series would become a worldwide hit and launch the careers of its young stars, like Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, and Sadie Sink. The show will eventually have 5 seasons, totaling 38 episodes, with many episodes being longer than a typical TV show.

In 2016, Star Trek was starting to regain popularity. Bryan Fuller, who was creating the new show Star Trek: Discovery, initially envisioned it as a series of standalone stories. When Star Trek: Discovery launched on CBS All-Access, it differed from Fuller’s original concept, but proved successful and ushered in a new era of Star Trek on TV.

Even after Stranger Things ends, Star Trek will still be available on Paramount+. Two more seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and a new series, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, are planned. Here’s a look at how much Star Trek content Paramount+ has created over the nine years Stranger Things was on the air.

Star Trek’s Modern Renaissance Happened During Stranger Things

As a sci-fi fan, I have to admit Star Trek: Discovery was a real turning point. It wasn’t just a good show – it essentially saved CBS All Access (now Paramount+) and paved the way for a whole Star Trek renaissance. While Stranger Things was captivating Netflix audiences for nearly a decade, Discovery launched a new era, leading to four additional Star Trek series and even a made-for-streaming movie. And the sheer volume of Star Trek content Paramount+ has produced since then is pretty remarkable – let’s take a look at just how much they’ve made.

From the launch of Star Trek: Discovery in September 2017 to the conclusion of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 in September 2025, Paramount+ released a substantial amount of Star Trek content. This included 125 hour-long live-action episodes, 90 half-hour animated episodes, 10 short-form Short Treks (lasting between 5 and 10 minutes each), one 90-minute streaming movie, and 9 episodes of the YouTube Shorts series Star Trek: Scouts.

Dedicated Star Trek fans often wish there was more new content, remembering when seasons had 22 to 26 episodes. However, the amount of Star Trek currently available on Paramount+ is still much larger than the 38 episodes of Stranger Things. Both Star Trek and Stranger Things were also affected by the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, which delayed production of Stranger Things’ fifth season.

As a longtime Trek fan, I have to say 2023 and 2024 were tough years for the franchise on Paramount+. We saw the cancellations of both Star Trek: Discovery and, surprisingly, Lower Decks. It felt like a shift was happening, and it was – in August 2025, Skydance Media bought the studio. Before all that, though, Star Trek: Picard wrapped up its run after three seasons in 2023, which was bittersweet for many of us.

The animated series Star Trek: Prodigy was initially canceled by Paramount+ in 2023, but a strong fan response led Netflix to pick it up. Unfortunately, Netflix didn’t renew the show for a third season. However, a different Star Trek series was added to Netflix in the US for two years, coinciding with Prodigy‘s license which ends on January 1, 2026 – just after the final episode of Stranger Things airs.

Why Stranger Things Doesn’t Mention Star Trek

Set in the early to mid-1980s, Stranger Things is full of references to the popular movies, games, and trends of that time. The main characters – Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max – are big fans of things like Ghostbusters, Dungeons & Dragons, and Mad Max.

As a sci-fi fan, I was a little surprised not to see direct references to Star Trek or Star Wars in Stranger Things. It turns out it’s not a creative choice, but a legal one! Apparently, copyright issues between Paramount (who owns Star Trek) and Disney (who owns Star Wars) prevented the Duffer brothers from including them directly. But don’t worry, those iconic franchises definitely inspired the show – they’re a huge spiritual influence on the creators and the whole vibe of Stranger Things.

The first three seasons of Star Trek: Discovery were shown on Netflix around the world. You can also find older Star Trek shows on Netflix internationally. Before Paramount+ became the only place to stream Star Trek, it was available on Netflix in the United States as well.

Star Trek benefited from early streaming success thanks to Netflix. Before new Star Trek TV shows were being made, series like Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise gained popularity when they were available on Netflix in the United States.

Netflix introduced Star Trek to a new generation of viewers, many of whom found that Deep Space Nine remains compelling even now, and that Enterprise is actually a stronger series than people generally remember from its initial run in the early 2000s.

Although you won’t see Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise in Hawkins, Indiana, Star Trek and Stranger Things actually have a lot in common.

As a huge sci-fi fan, it’s amazing to think that while I was binging all four seasons of Stranger Things on Netflix over the last nine years, Paramount+ was quietly building up a massive Star Trek universe! Between Discovery and the fantastic third season of Strange New Worlds, they actually put out 115 episodes of Star Trek – and they’re still making more! It really puts things in perspective, seeing how much Trek content has been released alongside Stranger Things.

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2025-12-27 14:00