Release Order (Recommended)Recommended
0 / 12 watchedEvery series and film in release order. The continuities stay separate, so no timeline juggling is needed.
Classic era
- 1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) 10 seasons, 1987 to 1996. The lighthearted original.
- 2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trilogy (1990 to 1993) Three live action films: 1990, Secret of the Ooze (1991), III (1993). Loosely tied to the 1987 era.
- 3 Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation 1 season, 1997 to 1998. Live action oddity; safe to skip.
2000s
- 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) 7 seasons, 2003 to 2009, ending with the Turtles Forever crossover film (2009). Closer to the Mirage comics.
- 5 TMNT (2007) CG film released during the 2003 run; standalone.
Nickelodeon era
- 6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) 5 seasons, 2012 to 2017. CG series; season 5 carries the Tales subtitle.
- 7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) and Out of the Shadows (2016) Two part live action reboot duology.
- 8 Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 seasons, 2018 to 2020. Reimagined 2D series.
- 9 Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie Netflix finale to the Rise series.
Mutant Mayhem era
- 10 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Animated reboot; start of the current continuity.
- 11 Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 seasons, 2024 to 2025. Bridge between Mutant Mayhem and its sequel; final season.
- 12 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2 Dated August 13, 2027. Unreleased at time of writing.
About Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Most TMNT series are separate continuities, so release order is the safest path. The 1987 cartoon ran ten seasons, the 2003 series ran seven, the 2012 series ran five, Rise ran two, and Tales of the TMNT bridges Mutant Mayhem and its sequel.
The films slot between the shows in release order. Turtles Forever (2009) closes the 2003 series with a crossover against the 1987 turtles, and the Rise movie (2022) closes Rise. The 2014 reboot and its 2016 sequel form their own short branch.
Good to know
Season counts: 1987 series (10, 1987 to 1996), 2003 series (7, 2003 to 2009), 2012 series (5, 2012 to 2017; season 5 used the Tales subtitle, years before the 2024 series of the same name), Rise (2, 2018 to 2020), Tales (2, 2024 to 2025, ended by cancellation during the Paramount Skydance merger). Turtles Forever (2009) is the finale of the 2003 series. Batman vs. TMNT (2019, direct to video) fits nowhere in continuity and can be watched any time after the 2012 series. Mutant Mayhem 2 is dated August 13, 2027; treat that date as movable, since it already moved once from September 17, 2027.
