<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> External links </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Star Trek: The Next Generation at StarTrek.com </Td> </Tr> <P> Star Trek: The Next Generation (abbreviated as TNG and ST: TNG) is an American science - fiction television series in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry that ran from 1987 to 1994 . Roddenberry, Maurice Hurley, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, and Jeri Taylor served as executive producers at different times throughout its production . </P> <P> The show was very popular, reaching almost 12 million viewers in its 5th season, and the season seven finale in 1994 was watched by over 30 million viewers . The show spawned two reasonably popular spin - offs set in the same sci - fi universe time and place, and 4 theater films with the cast of the show . In the early 2000s the show Enterprise, although more oriented towards re-booting the series was also in the same fictional universe, but an earlier time . </P>

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