Debuting in 1987, The Next Generation successfully carried Star Trek beyond the era of Kirk and Spock, introducing an equally unforgettable crew led by Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Over seven seasons, the series delivered some of the franchise's most celebrated stories, from "The Best of Both Worlds" and "The Inner Light" to "The Measure of a Man," while expanding the lore surrounding the Borg, Klingons, Romulans, Q, and countless other corners of the universe.
TNG set the bar incredibly high and established a new tone for the franchise that would go on to influence Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and pretty much every Star Trek project that came after. Nearly 40 years after its debut, The Next Generation remains a defining chapter of Star Trek history, and 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting year.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Gets Multiple New Releases This Year
Star Trek: The Next Generation fans have several huge releases to look forward to during the franchise's 60th anniversary year. Looney Labs is bringing Star Trek: TNG Fluxx back out of its vault on October 20, 2026, alongside reprints of its other classic Star Trek editions and the brand-new Lower Decks Fluxx as well. The TNG version originally debuted in 2018 and features Picard, Riker, Data, Q, the Borg, and other familiar faces from the Enterprise-D era, but is getting a re-release this year.
TNG will also be getting a new release with Wizards of the Coast's enormous Magic: The Gathering x Star Trek Universes Beyond set, which pulls characters, ships, and stories from across the entire franchise and launches November 13, including several TNG-based cards.
Meanwhile, Master Replicas released Destination Star Trek: The Next Generation earlier this year as a love-letter to the beloved series, transforming the long-running Destination taxi-style formula into a journey across TNG's seven-season run, complete with missions inspired by classic episodes. Together, these releases make 2026 an unusually packed year for fans of Picard's era, and next year promises to be even bigger as TNG officially enters its 40th anniversary.
The Next Generation Turns 40 Next Year
It may be hard to believe, but The Next Generation will officially turn 40 in 2027, marking four decades since "Encounter at Farpoint" kicked things off on September 28, 1987. While Paramount hasn't yet announced a major TNG-specific movie, series, or anniversary special for the occasion, there's plenty happening across the wider franchise. Most notably, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will return for its fifth and final season in 2027.
More importantly for TNG fans, the series' 40th anniversary is way to significant to pass without any further major news or announcements. The show's cast remains deeply connected to modern Star Trek thanks to Picard, which reunited most of the Enterprise-D crew in its final season, while characters, ships, and concepts introduced during TNG continue appearing throughout the franchise.
With an entire year still ahead, 2027 seems almost certain to bring new collectibles, books, games, retrospectives, or other surprises celebrating one of Star Trek's most important and beloved series.
Release Date
1987 - 1994-00-00
Network
Syndication
Showrunner
Gene Roddenberry
Directors
Cliff Bole, Les Landau, Winrich Kolbe, Rob Bowman, Robert Scheerer, Jonathan Frakes, Robert Wiemer, Gabrielle Beaumont, Alexander Singer, David Carson, Paul Lynch, Corey Allen, Patrick Stewart, Chip Chalmers, Joseph L. Scanlan, James L. Conway, Robert Lederman, Tom Benko, Timothy Bond, Robert Legato, Adam Nimoy, Robert Becker, David Livingston, LeVar Burton
-
-
Commander William T. Riker
English (US) ·