Star Trek aired its first episode in 1966, and since then, it has become a hugely influential sci-fi franchise. Generations of Trekkies have grown up and written their own space operas that wouldn’t have existed if it hadn’t been for the adventures of William Shatner’s Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise. Even ignoring the various Star Trek spinoffs and sequels that have happened, the number of projects that owe their existence to the beloved show is nothing short of outstanding.
Sci-fi TV shows have changed a lot in the last several decades, but the core tropes have remained largely the same. Still, many of Star Trek‘s spiritual successors have successfully reworked the original formula to create something that feels like an homage rather than a direct imitation. Of course, some Star Trek-inspired shows aren’t quite as far removed from the real thing as others, but that can often be what makes the intentional tributes so endearing.
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‘The Expanse’ (2015-2022)
At six seasons long, The Expanse is one of the more substantial Star Trek tributes that have been made in recent years. Adapted from a series of sci-fi novels by James S.A. Corey, the show ran for three seasons on Syfy before Prime Video picked it up for another three and gave it a proper ending. While it certainly has advanced technologies and extraterrestrial lore that separate the show from reality, The Expanse is otherwise quite grounded compared to Star Trek.
The lack of warp/lightspeed travel is a notable divergence. Still, the concept of a crew traversing the stars in a spacecraft, while not invented by Star Trek, was refined and popularized by it. The Expanse also adopts a darker tone than Star Trek shows typically gravitate toward. It’s aimed at a more mature audience, so it’s more likely to snag Star Trek fans who have already been fans of the franchise for years and are looking for a new spin on what they love so much.
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‘Firefly’ (2002)
Running for just one season before it was canceled, Firefly remains a cult classic that many fans are still hopeful will return one day. Although 2005’s Serenity gave Firefly what was essentially a feature-length finale, the show’s format opens up countless adventures that now may never happen on screen. Just like Star Trek, Firefly often made use of the crew’s need to explore other worlds. That said, Firefly lacks any alien life, with humanity being the only sentient lifeforms in the show’s canon. In this sense, it’s very different from Star Trek, but it’s not enough to mask where Firefly found its original inspiration.
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‘The Orville’ (2017-?)
Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is famously a huge Trekkie. His animated comedies often have scenes, and sometimes entire episodes, dedicated to Star Trek parodies. However, The Orville takes his love of the franchise to the next level. Although tinged with MacFarlane’s signature brand of comedy, The Orville otherwise feels as though it’s a like-for-like Star Trek replacement, especially for The Next Generation. The show is filled with Star Trek cameos and other fun nods to the franchise that so obviously inspired it.
Despite premiering in 2017, The Orville is still just three seasons long. Various figures associated with the show’s production seem to have differing opinions on whether Season 4 will happen, and if it does, how long it will take to materialize. Consensus is that The Orville will return eventually, although an official announcement has yet to be made. While those who have never even seen Star Trek are awaiting The Orville‘s comeback, Trekkies are especially excited to see more of MacFarlane’s love letter to the franchise’s golden age.
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‘Red Dwarf’ (1988-)
Star Trek‘s international reach is perfectly demonstrated by Red Dwarf. The British sci-fi comedy premiered the year after Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s first episode, but adopted a far more comedic approach. Essentially a sitcom set in space, Red Dwarf also makes use of surprisingly high-concept worldbuilding and storylines that just scream Star Trek. The show’s laugh track adds an oddly trippy aura to the experience, but it’s something that’s easily gotten used to. Although it’s not made as regularly as it once was, Red Dwarf does still return for the occasional special.
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‘Farscape’ (1999-2003)
Farscape doesn’t just feel like Star Trek in general, it feels like a specific Star Trek show. The adventures of Ben Browder’s John Crichton as he tries to make his way back to Earth feel like a direct parallel to Star Trek: Voyager‘s main storyline. There are, of course, differences between the two shows, but fans of one are very likely to enjoy the other. Farscape was partially produced by the Jim Henson Company, but don’t be fooled by the implied Muppets connection. It’s very dark at times.
Farscape makes full use of pretty much every sci-fi trope in existence, just like Star Trek does. There are countless alien races, various worlds to explore, and even a creative spin on warp drive engines called starburst – which essentially randomizes the next destination for the show’s main characters. It was canceled in 2003, but returned for a two-part miniseries called Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars the next year, so a massive cliffhanger could be resolved.
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‘For All Mankind’ (2019-)
Part of the joy of Star Trek is that it’s framed as a distant future that ultimately stemmed from Earth’s real history. As the franchise has progressed, there have been more and more inconsistencies in this regard, but largely because of how long Star Trek has been on the air and how its occasional visits to the present day are portrayed. For All Mankind sort of fixes this dissonance from the beginning by setting its story in an alternate reality where the Soviet Union won the Space Race instead of the US.
Star Trek gets a shoutout in For All Mankind. It’s since been revealed that The Original Series, Phase II (which was scrapped in our timeline), and The Next Generation are the only three shows that exist within For All Mankind’s universe. After that, reality probably started becoming more rewarding than Star Trek.
What then happens is a gradual, generational trip to the stars as the rest of the world tries to continually outdo one another. It feels like witnessing a specific point in the Star Trek timeline, when humanity was relying on pre-warp technology to explore outer space. It’s a very cool concept, but one that’s far smaller in scale than Star Trek has ever utilized. That said, it’s not worse off for this; it just offers something different when compared to actual Star Trek shows and their spinoffs.
Are there any great Star Trek-inspired shows that you love? Let us know in the comments down below.
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