Short Treks

Star Trek: Short Treks is the first series of Trek shorts and it premiered on CBS All Access in 2018. It is a platform for experimental pieces and companion mini-episodes for its contemporary long-form series.

All episodes are listed for each season. Each episode is indicated with either a “W” for watch or an “S” for skip. I also opted to order my viewing in “chronological order” as best determined by the initial stardate given in the episode. If there isn’t a stardate, I placed it where it made the most sense relative to the other episodes. Eventually, each title will link to a post that discusses the reasoning for seeing an episode or skipping an episode.

Lastly, episodes that are “essential” are indicated with an * in the “Ep. No.” column. Essential episodes are selected on several factors, including character development, other canon connections, and cultural impact. In other words, these are often the best of the best of each season.

Season One

For Season One, four live episodes were produced, with three episodes having a direct tie-in to episodes in Season Two of Discovery. Given that these are shorts, between ten and fifteen minutes, I suggest you watch all four, however only three are essential- “The Escape Artist” as of this publication has nothing to do with the main series, Star Trek: Discovery.

So, 100% of the episodes are worth watching, with three being essential for Season One.

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
01×01*	Runaway	Unknown (2257)	W
01×02*	Calypso	Unknown	W
01×03*	The Brightest Star	Unknown (2239)	W
01×04	The Escape Artist	Unknown (2250s)	W

Season two

Season Two premiered on October 5th, 2020. This season saw some stunning animation work, comedy, and drama connected to each of the current and upcoming shows- namely Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
02×01	Q&A	Unknown (2254)	W
02×02	The Trouble with Edward	1421.9 (2250s)	W
02×03	Ask Not	Unknown (2250s)	W
02×04	The Girl Who Made the Stars	Unknown (2230s)	W
02×05	Ephraim and Dot	Unknown (after 2285)	W
02×06	Children of Mars	Unknown (2385)	W

Season Three

Season Three premiered on Star Trek Day 2023 (8, September, 2023). Yes, I realize they are apocryphal, given the subject matter, and they may not be for everyone, but I respect the attempt to do a send-up of TAS on it’s 50th Anniversary.

Ep. No.	Title	Stardate	See/Skip
03×01	Skin a Cat	Unknown	Skip
03×02	Holiday Party	Unknown	See
03×03	Worst Contact	Unknown	Skip
03×04	Holograms, All the Way Down	Unknown	See
03×05	Walk, Don’t Run	Unknown	Skip