The Streaming Era · 2017 –
Star Trek: Section 31
A streaming film following Philippa Georgiou and Starfleet's deniable intelligence division.
Availability changes by country and by week, so this searches JustWatch rather than guessing.
Can you skip Star Trek: Section 31?
Yes, on a first watch. It is self-contained, and nothing in the main Star Trek story depends on it. Come back to it later if you want more. Show only the Star Trek essentials.
The clearest skip on this page. It is a ninety-five minute streaming film built around a character from Discovery, it was developed for years as a series before being compressed into one feature, and it was received about as badly as anything carrying this name.
The tonal problem is fundamental. Section 31 is the franchise's deniable intelligence service, introduced in Deep Space Nine as a quiet horror at the centre of a utopia: proof that the Federation's decency is underwritten by people doing things nobody will admit to. Making that the subject of a jaunty heist comedy with a team of quipping misfits removes the only thing interesting about it.
The film itself is thin. The team are introduced by freeze-frame captions, the plot is a weapon that must not fall into the wrong hands, almost all of it happens on two sets, and the action is cut too fast to follow. Michelle Yeoh is a magnetic performer given very little, and the character's history as a genocidal emperor from a mirror universe is treated as a running joke.
Nothing references it and nothing requires it. If you want Section 31 handled seriously, the Deep Space Nine episodes that introduced it are where to go.
Star Trek guides
Where it sits in the Star Trek order
- Release order
- #25 of 26
- Chronological order
- #4 of 26
- Released
- 24 January 2025
- In-universe era
- The 23rd Century
What to watch next
In release order
In chronological order