A new series starring Stewart as Picard was first rumored in June 2018 and officially announced that August. It was produced byCBS Studios in association withSecret Hideout,Weed Road Pictures, andRoddenberry Entertainment. The series was designed to be slower and more character-focused than previous franchise installments, with each season exploring different aspects of Picard in his advanced age. Filming took place inCalifornia, which granted the series large tax credits, and production on the second and third seasons took placeback-to-back. Chabon served asshowrunner for the first season, Goldsman andTerry Matalas took over for the second, and Matalas was the sole showrunner for the third.
Star Trek: Picard premiered on CBS All Access on January 23, 2020, and the rest of its 10-episode first season was released weekly until March. The second season was released on Paramount+ from March to May 2022, and the third and final season was released from February to April 2023. The series was met with generally positive reviews from critics and has received numerous accolades, including onePrimetime Creative Arts Emmy Award from ten nominations and fiveSaturn Awards from eleven nominations.
Several tie-in projects have been created based on the series, including an episode of the companion seriesStar Trek: Short Treks. Cast, crew, and fans have expressed interest in the story continuing through a potential spin-off series commonly referred to asStar Trek: Legacy, while Stewart has expressed interest in a film continuation that is in development.
The series begins in 2399, 20 years afterJean-Luc Picard's last appearance inStar Trek: Nemesis (2002),[1][2] and finds the character still deeply affected by the death ofData in that film as well as the destruction of the planetRomulus in the filmStar Trek (2009).[3][4] Retired fromStarfleet and living on his family's vineyard, Picard is drawn into a new adventure when he is visited by a synthetic "daughter" of Data, one of several new synthetic beings or "synths".[5] Picard fights for their right to exist and gives his life to save them.[6]
After Picard's consciousness is transferred into a synthetic body,[6] the second season moves forward to 2401.[7] Picard and his companions are living new lives when his old adversaryQ, an extra-dimensional being, traps them in an alternate reality. They travel back in time to the 21st century to save the future of the galaxy.[8][9] In the third season, Picard learns that he has a son who is being hunted by mysterious enemies. He reunites with the former crew of theUSSEnterprise to protect his son and face a new invasion by theBorg.[10][11]
Teleplay by : Akiva Goldsman & Terry Matalas and Christopher Monfette Story by :Michael Chabon and Akiva Goldsman & Terry Matalas and Christopher Monfette
Patrick Stewart asJean-Luc Picard: A retiredStarfleet admiral who previously commanded theUSSEnterprise.[12] Picard retired from Starfleet in protest when theUnited Federation of Planets chose not to aid theRomulans when their planet was destroyed.[13] He is diagnosed with a terminal illness in the first season, as the writers wanted to discuss relatable issues that people face at the end of their lives,[5] and he dies at the end of the season. Picard's consciousness is transferred to a synthetic body, which led to widespread discussion by fans and critics regarding whether the synthetic version was still the same person. Co-creatorsMichael Chabon andAkiva Goldsman both felt he was the same character, but other commentators disagreed. More than a week of debates on theStar Trekwiki encyclopaediaMemory Alpha regarding whether or not a new wiki page should be created for the synthetic version of Picard ended with the information being kept on the same page.[14] Picard is appointed Chancellor of Starfleet Academy by the second season,[7] which explores the character's trauma from his mother's death by suicide when he was a child. This was inspired by Stewart's own experience of childhood domestic violence.[15] In the third season, Picard is reunited with the former command crew of theEnterprise.[16]
Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati (seasons 1–2): A former Starfleet doctor and expert on synthetic life who joins Picard.[17] During the second season, Agnes is assimilated into theBorg Collective and becomes the new Borg Queen.[18]
Isa Briones as Dahj and Soji Asha, Sutra, and Kore Soong (seasons 1–2): Dahj and Soji are twin androids with organic bodies that were created to be the daughters ofData.[19] Sutra is an earlier android model,[20] and Kore is the daughter of Dr. Adam Soong from 2024.[21] This helps explain by whom Data was inspired for the appearance of Dahj and Soji.[21]
Harry Treadaway as Narek (season 1): A Romulan agent sent to seduce and spy on Soji Asha.[17]
Santiago Cabrera as Cristobal "Chris" Rios (seasons 1–2): A former Starfleet officer and the pilot ofLa Sirena.[17] Cabrera also portrays the emergency holograms aboardLa Sirena.[23] During the second season, Rios falls in love with a 21st century woman and opts not to return to the future.[24]
Evan Evagora as Elnor (seasons 1–2): A Romulan refugee whom Picard abandoned as a boy and was raised by the Qowat Milat, a sect of all-female warrior nuns.[17][13][25]
Brent Spiner asData,Altan Inigo Soong, Adam Soong, andLore: Data is Picard's android former second officer, created by cyberneticist Dr. Noonian Soong.[17] Altan Inigo Soong is the latter's descendent[30] and Dr. Adam Soong his ancestor from 2024,[21] continuing the franchise's tradition of having Spiner play every male member of the Soong family.[31] The android Lore is Data's evil older brother.[32]
In June 2018, after becoming soleshowrunner of the seriesStar Trek: Discovery,Alex Kurtzman signed a five-year overall deal withCBS Television Studios to expand theStar Trek franchise beyondDiscovery to several new series, miniseries, and animated series.[33] One of these new series was reported to starPatrick Stewart, reprising his role ofJean-Luc Picard from the seriesStar Trek: The Next Generation.[34][35] Kurtzman andAkiva Goldsman (who worked on the first season ofDiscovery) were attached to the project.[35] When CBS had first approached him about making moreStar Trek series, Kurtzman included a series featuring Picard on his wish list as he believed the character was the greatestStar Trek captain.[3] This was despite Stewart having previously said that he did not want to return to the franchise.[12]
While developing ideas for the short form companion seriesStar Trek: Short Treks, Kurtzman and his team developed a story that would have featuredNichelle Nichols reprising her role fromStar Trek: The Original Series asUhura. The short would have seen a young Picard visit Uhura in hospital and receive a mission related to theBorg. The short did not move forward, but it led to discussions of a short starring Stewart as an older version of Picard.[36][37] The team soon decided that they had enough material to pitch to Stewart a full series focused on Picard.[37] Kurtzman and Goldsman contacted the actor before January 2018 to discuss this idea, and met with him along withDiscovery writerKirsten Beyer at theBeverly Wilshire Hotel.[3][37] Stewart took the meeting with the intention of turning the project down, but after Beyer convinced him to reconsider he agreed to read a four-page document outlining their ideas.[3][37] At that time, Goldsman invited novelistMichael Chabon, a friend, to work on the project as well and the four ultimately produced a 35-page document that they sent to Stewart.[3][37] Stewart asked to meet with the group again in March 2018, where he expressed his approval of their pitch.[3] Stewart said the pitch felt like "something very unusual, and I was intrigued".[38] While deciding whether to join the project, Stewart asked Kurtzman that the series be "so different" from previousStar Trek stories, "both what people remember but also not what they're expecting at all, otherwise why do it?"[3]
On August 4, 2018, Stewart made a surprise appearance at the annual Las VegasStar Trek Convention to officially announce the series and confirm that he would star in it. He explained that after last portraying the character in the 2002 filmStar Trek: Nemesis, he felt his role in the franchise "had run its natural course", but in the years since he was humbled by stories of the impact the character had on the lives of fans. He was now happy to bring back Picard's "comforting and reforming light [to] shine on these often very dark times". In addition to starring, Stewart was also set to executive produce the series alongside Kurtzman, Goldsman, Chabon,Discovery'sJames Duff,Heather Kadin of Kurtzman's production companySecret Hideout, andRod Roddenberry (the son ofStar Trek creatorGene Roddenberry) and Trevor Roth ofRoddenberry Entertainment, with Beyer as supervising producer.[12]
"It is a show with a nearly 80-year-old actor playing a 94-year-old man who is if not in the final stages of his career, in the latter stages of his career, who has a period of great dismay and disillusionment in his immediate rear view, who has allowed himself to let ties that were formerly very important to him slip or fade away, and who has now re-engaged with the greatly changed world in which he finds himself... It was not ever going to beThe Next Generation Part Two."
—Series co-creator and first season showrunner Michael Chabon on the story the writers and star Patrick Stewart wanted to tell[39]
The series was initially expected to premiere in 2019.[40] Kadin revealed in October that it was intended to be ongoing rather than a limited miniseries and said that its release dates would not overlap withDiscovery or any other newStar Trek series. Kurtzman added that the Picard series would be "its own thing",[41] later elaborating that whereDiscovery is "a bullet", the Picard series is "a very contemplative show" with its own rhythm and more of a real-world feeling.[42]CBS CCODavid Nevins confirmed in December 2018 that the series was intended to debut onCBS All Access at the end of 2019, after the full release ofDiscovery's second season and severalStar Trek: Short Treks shorts.[43] Stewart revealed a month later that the series would consist of 10 episodes, and reiterated that the intention was for it to continue for multiple seasons,[38] adding in February that "we are set up for possibly three years of this show".[44] A production listing in March gave the series' title asStar Trek: Destiny, which CBS had trademarked in 2018.[45] However, the official title was announced to beStar Trek: Picard at CBS'supfront presentation that May.[46] At that time, Kurtzman said the series was being "shepherded" by a larger creative team rather than having a traditional showrunner.[47]
Chabon was named sole showrunner in June, working on the day-to-day production with Kurtzman and Goldsman.[48] A month later, the series was scheduled to premiere in January 2020.[17] It was reported to have a budget of $8–9 million per episode.[49] In October, Kurtzman said a second season was "already in the works".[50] Chabon signed an overall deal withCBS Television Studios in early December to create several new series for the studio, which meant he would be exiting as showrunner ofPicard in 2020. He remained an executive producer and writer for the series.[51] CBS officially announced the second season a month later and revealed thatTerry Matalas had joined the series as an executive producer to fill the void that would be created by Chabon's departure.[52] Goldsman and Matalas took over as co-showrunners once Chabon left.[26] The series was also reported to have an informal green-light for a third season that would be developed at the same time as, and filmedback-to-back with, the second. This was to save costs and simplify scheduling,[52] and was officially confirmed in September 2021.[53] By then, CBS All Access had been expanded and rebranded as Paramount+.[54] Goldsman said the producers had discussed a three-season plan and a five-season plan for the series, but would ultimately keep making it as long as Stewart was happy to do so.[55] In February 2022, Goldsman confirmed that the third season would be the last.[56] Matalas served as sole showrunner for the third season.[16]
Kurtzman's mandate for the series was that it be a psychological character study about Picard in his "emeritus years". He noted that it was rare for a television series to star an actor of Stewart's age.[47] Goldsman said the series would not be a direct sequel toThe Next Generation and would be more character-focused than that series, describingPicard as "slower, more gentle, more lyrical" than previousStar Trek stories.[17] He contrastedPicard withDiscovery by describing the latter as a sci-fi action-adventure series whilePicard is a sci-fi drama series that tells dramatic stories within an otherworldly setting.[5] Stewart was assured by the creative team that the series would not be "jokey",[38] and comparedPicard to when he reprised hisX-Men role ofProfessor X in the filmLogan (2017), where he was the same character but the franchise's world and tone was "blown apart".[4]
Goldsman said each season tells a separate story, but he saw the three seasons as being "of a piece".[57] Matalas elaborated that the series was a three-part story about Picard, with each season exploring different aspects of the character. In addition to having different stories and themes, each season also has a different tone and visual approach,[58] making the series "a kind of an anthology" with each season following the respective visions of Chabon, Goldsman, and Matalas.[59] The first season finds Picard deeply affected by the death of his android colleagueData inNemesis,[4] and Kurtzman saw it as a redemption story for the character, who must face the consequences of his choice to abandon Starfleet and the Romulans following the destruction of the planetRomulus in the filmStar Trek (2009).[13] The second season continues to explore issues that come up in the last stage of a person's life, especially Picard's past relationships,[60] and other elements of his life that have been preventing him from moving forward.[58] Goldsman felt that the first season was about resurrection and the second season was about redemption,[61] while Matalas said the third season was designed to be a "send off" for Picard and the rest ofNext Generation's main cast.[59]
Patrick Stewart reprises the series' title role from previousStar Trek media
With the series announcement in August 2018 came confirmation that Stewart would star as Picard.[12] At the start of March 2019,Santiago Cabrera andMichelle Hurd were both set to co-star in the series, with Cabrera being one of the most sought-after actors during the 2019 television pilot season and choosing this series over other offers.[62] Later that month, newcomerEvan Evagora was cast in another series regular role.[63] In April,Alison Pill,Harry Treadaway, andIsa Briones joined the cast.[64] Characters for the new cast members were announced in July, with Pill as Agnes Jurati, Cabrera as Cristobal "Chris" Rios, Hurd as Raffi Musiker, Treadaway as Narek, and Evagora as Elnor.[17] Briones portrays several androids, including Dahj and Soji Asha.[19]
While developing the series, the creative team discussed not bringing back any other characters fromThe Next Generation to allowPicard to stand alone and not become reliant on nostalgia. Part of this was to allow newcomers who had not seen the previous series to enjoyPicard. However, the writers wanted to be respectful to longtime fans ofStar Trek and felt they were missing opportunities by not including certain characters, so they decided to add some returning guests who organically served the new story.[65] Several actors from previousStar Trek series were announced as guest stars forPicard in July 2019, includingThe Next Generation'sBrent Spiner asData,Jonathan Del Arco asHugh,Jonathan Frakes asWilliam Riker, andMarina Sirtis asDeanna Troi, as well asStar Trek: Voyager'sJeri Ryan asSeven of Nine.[17] In January 2020, Stewart said it was his hope that all of the main cast ofThe Next Generation would appear onPicard before the end of the series,[66] while Kurtzman said ifMichael Dorn reprised hisKlingon roleWorf inPicard he would appear as he did inThe Next Generation and not be changed to match the new Klingon designs inDiscovery.[67] At that time,Whoopi Goldberg agreed to appear in the second season of the series as herThe Next Generation characterGuinan.[68]
In June 2020, the main cast was confirmed to be returning for the second season, except for Treadaway.[69] In April 2021, Ryan, Spiner, and first season guest starOrla Brady were revealed to also be main cast members for the second season, withJohn de Lancie appearing as hisStar Trek characterQ.[26] That July,Voyager'sRobert Duncan McNeill said he had been in discussions to reprise his role asTom Paris for both seasons of the series, but scheduling conflicts had prevented this.[70] In April 2022, the main cast ofThe Next Generation were confirmed to be starring in the third season with Stewart:LeVar Burton asGeordi La Forge, Dorn, Frakes,Gates McFadden asBeverly Crusher, Sirtis, and Spiner.[16] AnotherNext Generation cast member,Wil Wheaton, appeared in the second-season finale, reprising his role asWesley Crusher,[71] but did not return for the third season. After the second-season finale's release in May 2022, Ryan and Hurd confirmed that they had returned for the third season, but Cabrera, Pill, Evagora, and Briones did not.[24] In January 2023,Ed Speleers was announced as a new series regular for the third season.[72] He portrays Jack Crusher, the son of Picard and Beverly Crusher.[10]
Several members of the design team fromStar Trek: Discovery returned forPicard, including production designer Todd Cherniawsky and creature designer Neville Page of Alchemy Studios.[73][5]Christine Bieselin Clark served as costume designer.[74] Acknowledging that the series would be set further in the future than any previousStar Trek film or series, Kurtzman explained that the production was aiming for a "grounded" approach rather than having things like "crazy floating skyscrapers and all the cliches of science fiction".[75] The opening title sequence was created byPrologue, the company that created theDiscovery opening sequence.[76]
The series was filmed at Santa Clarita Studios,California, under the working titleDrawing Room.[45] It received large tax credits from theCalifornia Film Commission for the production to take place in California, rather than inToronto, Canada, whereStar Trek: Discovery is filmed.[77] Filming for the first season took place from April to September 2019,[78][79] with location shooting around California, including at Sunstone Winery inSanta Ynez Valley to depict Picard's French vineyard,[80] at long-timeStar Trek filming locationVasquez Rocks in theSierra Pelona Mountains inLos Angeles County for Raffi's home,[81] and in theMalibu area for the planet Coppelius.[6]
Despite reports that the second and third seasons were intended to be filmed back-to-back,[52] the producers were just planning to film the second season on its own when theCOVID-19 pandemic began to impact film and television productions in early 2020. Due to the scheduling requirements for the series, the subsequent pandemic-induced delays meant the second and third seasons did need to be filmed back-to-back.[15] Filming for the second season began in February 2021,[82] with some third-season scenes being filmed at the same time.[83] Location filming took place around Los Angeles for the second season, which is mostly set in that city during the year 2024.[84] Filming for the season ended in September, with the production then segueing fully into filming the third.[85] The two seasons had one of the largest television series crews at the time with more than 450 crewmembers.[86] Filming for the serieswrapped in March 2022;[87] Stewart stated that continually filming the series for nearly 14 months was "thrilling and exciting much of the time", but also difficult for the actor who was in his 80s.[15]
Visual effects for the series are provided byPixomondo,[88]DNEG,[89]Crafty Apes,[90] Ghost VFX,[91] Gentle Giant Studios, Technicolor VFX, and Filmworks/FX.[92] with Jason Zimmerman returning fromDiscovery as visual effects supervisor.[93] Pixomondo worked with the series' production design department to help flesh out their designs into 3D assets, and then shared those assets with the other vendors. For the first season, these digital models included the Borg Cube,La Sirena, and the Romulan ships.[91]
Star Trek: Discovery composerJeff Russo was revealed to be composing the score forPicard in July 2019.[94] Russo's relationship withStar Trek began as a fan ofThe Next Generation, and he asked Kurtzman if he could work onPicard after seeing Stewart's announcement of the series at the Las VegasStar Trek Convention. Russo wanted his music to remain truthful to previousStar Trek scores without repeating them, and especially wanted to avoid his music forDiscovery. Russo felt thatPicard was a more intimate story and wanted to take a more personalized approach by featuring more solo instrument performances than he did forDiscovery.[95]
Russo wrote several iterations of the main theme for the series before settling on a more emotional and stirring version.[95] It is bookended with a piccolo, which Russo felt sounded similar to the fictional Ressikan flute that Picard plays in theNext Generation episode "The Inner Light".[96][95] The second season features an "up-tempo rearrangement" of the main theme.[7] Additionally, Russo usedJerry Goldsmith's theme fromStar Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) to connect toThe Next Generation, as that series used Goldsmith's theme for its main title, and he also referencedAlexander Courage'soriginalStar Trek theme to "evoke the idea ofStar Trek in general".[95] A soundtrack album for the first half ofthe first season was released on February 7, 2020,[97] followed by an album for the full season on April 3.[98][99] An album forthe second season was released on April 29, 2022.[100]
Stephen Barton replaced Russo as composer for the third season, after working with Matalas on the series12 Monkeys.[101] They took inspiration from the work of Goldsmith andJames Horner for theStar Trek films.[59]Craig Huxley contributed performances on theblaster beam, an instrument that he invented and previously played on the soundtrack ofThe Motion Picture.[102]
Star Trek: Picard premiered on the streaming service CBS All Access in the United States on January 23, 2020.[17] LikeDiscovery, each episode was broadcast in Canada byBell Media on the same day as the U.S. release, on the specialty channelsCTV Sci-Fi Channel (English) andZ (French) before streaming onCrave.[103]Amazon Prime Video released each episode within 24 hours of its U.S. debut in over 200 other countries and territories around the world; this was separate fromDiscovery, which was released internationally byNetflix at that time.[104] The deals with Amazon and Bell were made by international distributor armCBS Studios International.[104][103]
After CBS All Access was rebranded as Paramount+, the first season remained on the service and the other two seasons were confirmed to be released on it as well.[105] In February 2023, Paramount made a new deal with Prime Video for the series' international streaming rights. This allowed the third season to be streamed on Paramount+ in some other countries, within 24 hours of each episode's U.S. debut, alongside its Prime Video release. The first two seasons were also added to Paramount+ internationally in addition to remaining on Prime Video.[106] The series finale was released on Paramount+ in the U.S. on April 20, 2023.[107] In August 2023,Star Trek content was removed from Crave and all three seasons ofPicard began streaming in Canada on Paramount+ instead. The series would continue to be broadcast on CTV Sci-Fi and be available on CTV.ca and the CTV app.[108][109]
Each season received an individual release on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Limited Edition Steelbook formats, featuring all of the seasons' episodes and relevant special features.[110][113][116] On September 5, 2023, the same day that the third season was released on home media, a box set collecting all three seasons and more than seven hours of special features was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the U.S. This was followed by the "Picard Legacy Collection" on November 7, a 54-Disc Blu-ray box set that includes all three seasons ofPicard, all seven seasons ofThe Next Generation, the fourNext Generation films, theWisdom of Picard novel, and other merchandise.[116]
A week after the series premiere, CBS said thatPicard had set a new record for the total streams of a CBS All Access original series by its subscribers, with 115 percent more total streams than the previous record set byStar Trek: Discovery. CBS also partly attributed the premiere of the series for the month of January 2020 breaking the service's record for the most new subscribers in a month, helped by the week ofPicard's premiere being the second-most new subscribers in a single week for the service.[117]
Star Trek: Picard has an 89% approval rating on thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes,[124] whileMetacritic, which uses a weighted average, has assigned a score of 77 out of 100 based on reviews from 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[125]
For the first season, Rotten Tomatoes reported 86% approval with an average rating of 7.55/10 based on 254 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Anchored by the incomparable Patrick Stewart,Picard departs from standard Starfleet protocol with a slower, serialized story, but like all greatStar Trek it tackles timely themes with grace and makes for an exciting push further into the final frontier."[118] Metacritic assigned a score of 76 out of 100 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[119]
Rotten Tomatoes reported 85% approval for the second season, with an average rating of 7.95/10 based on 95 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Picard gets some backup from franchise fan favorites in a sophomore season that charts a course towards recapturing more of the classicalStar Trek spirit and makes it so."[120] Metacritic assigned a score of 69 out of 100 based on reviews from 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[121]
For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reported 98% approval with an average rating of 8.60/10 based on 100 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Finally getting the band back together,Picard's final season boldly goes where the previous generation had gone before—and is all the better for it."[122] Metacritic assigned a score of 83 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[123]
Matthew E. Taylor, Tim Farrell, Henry Cohen, Michael Schapiro, Sean Heissinger, Clay Weber, Moira Marquis, Stan Jones, Alyson Dee Moore, and Chris Moriana (for "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
Matthew E. Taylor, Tim Farrell, Harry Cohen, Michael Schapiro, Clay Weber, Darrin Mann, Alyson Dee Moore and Chris Moriana (for "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2")
Matthew E. Taylor, Michael Schapiro, Sean Hessinger, Alex Pugh, Clay Weber, John Sanacore, Ben Schorr, Katherine Harper, and Ginger Geary (for "Penance")
James Mackinnon, Hugo Villasenor, Bianca Appice, Kevin Wasner, Afton Storton, Kevin Haney, Neville Page, and Vincent Van Dyke (for "The Last Generation")
In September 2019, CBS announced a novel written by frequentStar Trek authorUna McCormack to be published bySimon & Schuster in February 2020. TitledThe Last Best Hope, the novel introduces several characters from the first season and leads directly into its events.[154] A three-issue comic book titledStar Trek: Picard – Countdown was also set to be released beginning that November byIDW Publishing. Written by Mike Johnson andPicard supervising producer Kirsten Beyer,[154] the comic is set in 2385, and depicts Admiral Picard's actions during the evacuation of Romulus.[155] A second novel,Dark Veil byJames Swallow, was published in January 2021 and follows Riker and Troi aboard the USSTitan a year after Picard retires from Starfleet.[156]Rogue Elements byJohn Jackson Miller was released in August 2021 and tells the backstory of Cristóbal Rios.[157]
Another three-issue comic by Johnson and Beyer,Star Trek: Picard – Stargazer, is set between the second and third seasons. Published by IDW beginning in August 2022, it features art by Angel Hernandez and tells a story in which Picard returns to helm the USSStargazer.[158] McCormack's secondPicard novel,Second Self, centers on Raffi Musiker between the first and second seasons.[159] It was released in September 2022.[160]
In January 2020, CBS All Access announced thatThe Next Generation actorWil Wheaton would host a new season of theStar TrekaftershowThe Ready Room, to stream after the release of eachPicard episode. Wheaton replaced Naomi Kyle, who hosted the series forits first run after episodes ofDiscovery's second season.[161] After each episode of the first season,Deadline Hollywood released an episode of a weekly aftershow podcast titledStar Trek: Picard Podcast. Hosted byDeadline's senior editor Dominic Patten and genre editor Geoff Boucher, each episode of the podcast features interviews with the series' cast and creative team.[162]
Simon & Schuster announced an audio-exclusive story, titledNo Man's Land, in January 2022. Written by Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson, the story is set after the series' first-season finale and follows the characters Raffi and Seven of Nine, with Michelle Hurd and Jeri Ryan reprising their respective roles from the series.Fred Tatasciore,John Kassir, and John Cutmore-Scott also star in the drama, which was released on February 22, 2022.[163]
When theDiscovery companion seriesStar Trek: Short Treks was being released in December 2018,CBS chief creative officerDavid Nevins said more shorts would be released beforePicard.[43] In February 2019, Kurtzman said future shorts could tie-into series other thanDiscovery.[164] At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Kurtzman announced that the second group ofShort Treks would include a teaser forPicard set 15 years before the start of the series.[165] Titled "Children of Mars", the short was released on January 9, 2020, and depicts the synthetic attack on Mars from the first season's backstory. This is told from the perspective of two school children.[166][167]
Stewart said in November 2022 that he would like to make anotherStar Trek film with the cast ofThe Next Generation.[168] He reiterated this wish in February 2023, praising the ending ofPicard but feeling there were questions left unanswered and saying "it might be a good idea to look at Jean-Luc Picard one more time in a different atmosphere, and then wrap him up with certainty."[169] That April, Paramount+ announced that the franchise was expanding into television films withStar Trek: Section 31.[170] In June, Stewart said he still thought a film would be an appropriate way to end his time as Picard, but there had been "no eager response" from the studio about the idea and he had been asked to stop talking about it.[171] In his memoirMaking It So which was released later that year, Stewart said he was "gently pushing" Paramount to make aPicard film and had discussed the idea with Frakes, Burton, and Spiner. He said they were all open to reprising their roles in the film and Frakes was his personal first choice to direct.[172] In January 2024, Stewart said he had just been told that aStar Trek film was being written for him to star in and he should expect to receive the script in the next week or so.[173] The next month, Matalas said he was open to making a television film that could serve as abackdoor pilot for his proposedStar Trek: Legacy spin-off series, as long as he could hire the cast and crew that he wanted.[174] By the end of March, Kurtzman was considering a follow-up toPicard as one of the nextStar Trek television films ifSection 31 was successful.[175]
Goldsman and Matalas stated in January 2022 that elements of the series could be explored more in a spin-off series, with Matalas describingPicard's 25th century setting as the "present day ofStar Trek... what's going on in that particular world is very important to me".[176] By that May, some fans had begun championing the idea of a spin-off series featuring Ryan as Seven of Nine and Hurd as Raffi. Matalas said he was "not just supporting, [but] spearheading" the idea, which both actresses also expressed interest in.[177] In November, Frakes saidPicard was "ripe for a continuation of some version of what we've established in the show. Not morePicard, but certainly,Next Gen is alive and well." McFadden added that theNext Generation cast were excited to continue in their roles after the third season.[178] In January 2023, Kurtzman said it was possible for the series to continue beyond its third season.[179] The next month, Matalas said the third season ofPicard would feel like "the final voyage" of theNext Generation's main cast, but a "Next, Next Generation" series could continue the story and include "legacy characters" fromThe Next Generation,Voyager, andDeep Space Nine. He said a spin-off series was not in development but he would love to be involved if it ever was, and suggested the possible titleStar Trek: Legacy.[180]
In March 2023, Ryan shared a fan petition calling for aStar Trek: Legacy series to be made, similar to an earlier fan petition that led to the development ofStar Trek: Strange New Worlds. However, the spin-off was considered unlikely to be ordered in the near future due to Paramount+'s recent cost-cutting measures and the fact that multipleStar Trek series were already in development.[181] Matalas confirmed in April that this was the situation, but he had still been discussing his ideas for the spin-off with Kurtzman who added, "We've heard the fans loud and clear. There's obviously more story to tell. So, we'll see."[182] AfterPicard ended, Matalas confirmed that he envisionedStar Trek: Legacy as following the crew of theUSSEnterprise-G who would be led by Captain Seven of Nine and include Raffi, Speleer's Jack Crusher,Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut's Sidney La Forge, andMica Burton's Alandra La Forge.[183] Stewart said he was open to making guest appearances as Picard alongside Speleers.[184] Matalas said Worf's sonAlexander Rozhenko fromThe Next Generation andDeep Space Nine would appear in the potential spin-off series,[185] and he wantedTodd Stashwick, who portrayed Captain Liam Shaw in the third season ofPicard, to return despite his character's death. He said Stashwick's return would be as "a Shaw character".[186]
Goldsman stated in June 2023 that fan appetite forStar Trek: Legacy was undeniable and he had signed the petition asking Paramount to make the series;[187] the petition was approaching 60,000 signatures at that point, nearly doubling the amount received by theStrange New Worlds petition.[188] By October, fans had started a letter-writing campaign, "Letters 4 Legacy", that called for the spin-off to be made.[189] In January 2024, Hurd expressed her hope that work could begin on the series followingSection 31 andStar Trek: Starfleet Academy.[190][191] Kurtzman said at the start of April that he would have green-lightedStar Trek: Legacy by then if he could, but the decision was "beyond [his] paygrade".[192] In August 2025, Matalas said he had written 30 pages for the pilot during a moment of inspiration, and said his plans involved theKlingon Empire. He explained that his plan to bring back Stashwick was for an Emergency Engineering Hologram aboard theEnterprise that is based on Shaw and is "pissed off" that the ship has been renamed from theTitan. By that time, the petition for the spin-off to be made had passed 65,000 signatures and the ongoing Letters 4 Legacy campaign had seen thousands of fan letters be sent to Paramount asking for the series.[193]
^abcdSchweiger, Daniel (January 24, 2020)."Interview with Jeff Russo".Film Music Magazine.Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. RetrievedMarch 28, 2020.
.jpg)
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata
