The fourth series in the Star Trek media franchise, it was a production of Paramount Domestic Television, a Paramount Communications Company and a Viacom Company, and originally aired in syndication from January 3, 1993, to June 2, 1999, spanning 176 episodes over seven seasons. Set in the 24th century, when Earth is part of a United Federation of Planets, its narrative is centered on the eponymous space station Deep Space Nine, located adjacent to a wormhole leading to the Gamma Quadrant on the far side of the Milky Way galaxy.