Star Trek: Discovery has been all over the place. Literally, the show jumped to an entirely different time period after the first two seasons. So, it is kind of tricky to talk about when the series is exactly set. It started in 2256-2258, which is before the original series.
The show began as a prequel of sorts to the Enterprise we know and love. By season 2, Spock (Ethan Peck) made an appearance, and the series tied Captain Pike (Anson Mount) into it to really tie the world of Star Trek all together. While Strange New Worlds follows right after the beginning of Discovery and before we get into the original series, Discovery as a whole has had a very interesting advantage: it has time jumped.
In season 3, we did a 900-year leap into the future. So, Star Trek: Discovery ends up being the furthest into the future that we’ve ever gone in Star Trek lore. Given that the first season was between 2256 and 2258, jumping 900 years into the future puts us roughly at 3158. Discovery is in the prime timeline in the Trek universe, which differs from the Kelvin-verse established in the recent Chris Pine-led films from Paramount.
Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her crew helped to establish this new era of Star Trek stories, but as we’ve seen with Discovery, they also help to color the future as well. No matter where we are in the Trek universe, the voyages of the Discovery and its crew have made their mark.
The timing of Discovery is exciting because we’ve never been this far into the future in any other property. While 2256 is still a while away from us now, Discovery gives us a chance to explore new worlds even further than before, and it is wonderful to have the show back for its final season.
(featured image: Paramount+)
