Jonathan Frakes’ Perfect 9-Year Star Trek Record Officially Ends In 2027

Image via Paramount+ Published Oct 27, 2026, 11:01 AM EDT John Orquiola is a TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises. Sign in to your ScreenRant account For the past 9 years, Jonathan Frakes has amassed a perfect Star Trek record as a director, but it sadly comes to an end in 2027. Legendary as Commander Will Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Frakes is also acclaimed behind the camera, helming a total of 31 episodes across multiple Star Trek series as well as the feature films Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection. Jonathan Frakes has also directed numerous other TV series, from Roswell to The Librarians to The Orville to HBO Max's Stuart Fails to Save the Universe. However, Frakes is synonymous with Star Trek, and his return to the franchise in Paramount+'s streaming era helped take Star Trek to new heights. Among the live-action Star Trek series' actors, "Two Takes Frakes" is considered "everyone's favorite director." Jonathan Frakes brings his pedigree as a Star Trek: The Next Generation icon who learned the ropes as a director during executive producer Rick Berman's Star Trek era. Given his deep understanding of Star Trek's themes and values, as well as his easygoing, actor-friendly style, Frakes has been a boon to Paramount+'s Star Trek shows executive produced by Alex Kurtzman. 2027 Will Be The First Time In 9 Years With No Star Trek Directed By Jonathan Frakes Image via Paramount+ Jonathan Frakes has directed 17 Star Trek on Paramount+ episodes in total, but 2027 marks the end of his perfect record. 2027 will be the first time that there will not be an episode of Star Trek directed by Jonathan Frakes since he returned to the franchise to direct the 10th episode of Star Trek: Discovery season 1 in 2018. Star Trek on Paramount+ Episodes Jonathan Frakes Directed Year Star Trek: Discovery "Despite Yourself" 2018 Star Trek: Discovery "New Eden" 2019 Star Trek: Discovery "Project Daedalus" 2019 Star Trek: Picard "Absolute Candor" 2020 Star Trek: Picard "Stardust City Rag" 2020 Star Trek: Discovery "People of Earth" 2020 Star Trek: Discovery "The Sanctuary" 2020 Star Trek: Discovery "There Is A Tide..." 2020 Star Trek: Discovery "Stormy Weather" 2021 Star Trek: Picard "Fly Me To The Moon" 2022 Star Trek: Picard "Two Of One" 2022 Star Trek: Picard "Seventeen Seconds" 2023 Star Trek: Picard "No Win Scenario" 2023 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds "Those Old Scientists" 2023 Star Trek: Discovery "Lagrange Point" 2024 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds "A Space Adventure Hour" 2025 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy "300th Night" 2026 In an interview with ScreenRant, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds producing director Chris Fisher confirmed that Frakes didn't direct in season 4 or 5 due to scheduling issues. Fisher reaches out to Jonathan at the start of every season, but Strange New Worlds couldn't get in sync with Frakes' busy schedule. 2020 was Jonathan Frakes' busiest year directing Star Trek on Paramount+ episodes. Frakes bounced from directing two episodes of Star Trek: Picard season 1 back to his "home show," Star Trek: Discovery, for three episodes in its third season. Frakes' final episode directing Star Trek (for now) was "300th Night," the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, in 2026. Frakes also helmed the penultimate episode of Star Trek: Discovery, "Lagrange Point," in 2024, setting up the series finale directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi. Frakes repeated this feat for Tunde in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1, as Osunsanmi also helmed the season 1 finale, "Rubincon." Meanwhile, fans would likely call season 3's "No Win Scenario" the best episode of Star Trek: Picard Frakes directed. Jonathan Frakes Directed The Most Beloved Star Trek Episode Of The Past Decade Image via Paramount+ Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds both premiere their final seasons in 2027, without Jonathan Frakes behind the camera. When Alex Kurtzman's Star Trek era is all said and done, however, fans will likely call a Jonathan Frakes joint the single most popular and best episode of Star Trek's last decade. Frakes directed "Those Old Scientists," Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2's comedic crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks, which brought Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid's animated Ensigns, Mariner and Boimler, to live-action. "Those Old Scientists" was a love letter to Star Trek fandom itself, while Frakes was delighted by his cast's skills at improvisation, which was forbidden during Jonathan's 1990s heyday under Rick Berman. "Those Old Scientists" is an all-time classic Star Trek episode, but Frakes' follow-up directorial effort, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3's "A Space Adventure Hour," was not as well-liked. Frakes shrugs off why fans didn't take to season 3's holodeck murder mystery, which saw Strange New Worlds' cast play fictional Hollywood players, including Anson Mount's eerie parody of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Although Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds will end in 2027 without him behind the camera, Jonathan Frakes-directed episodes are a continual highlight of Star Trek's Paramount+ era. It's hard to imagine that the next iteration of Star Trek produced by Skydance won't want to benefit from Frakes' talent, knowledge, and chemistry with actors. Jonathan Frakes co-hosts Dropping Names... And Other Things, a podcast with Brent Spiner, which can be streamed on YouTube. TV Show(s) Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Video Game(s) Star Trek Online, Star Trek: Resurgence, Star Trek: Bridge Crew First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series Cast William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh Created by Gene Roddenberry