Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard is an American science fiction television series created by Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, and Alex Kurtzman for the streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded as Paramount+). It is the eighth Star Trek series and was released from 2020 to 2023 as part of Kurtzman's expanded Star Trek Universe. The series focuses on retired Starfleet Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. It begins at the end of the 24th century, 20 years after the character's last appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

Patrick Stewart stars as Picard, reprising his role from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as other Star Trek media. Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Harry Treadaway, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, and Evan Evagora also star in the first season, with Jeri Ryan, Orla Brady, and Brent Spiner joining for the second. The third season stars Stewart, Ryan, Hurd, and Ed Speleers, with Next Generation cast members LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and Spiner as special guest stars.

A new series starring Stewart as Picard was first rumored in June 2018 and officially announced that August. It was produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout, Weed Road Pictures, and Roddenberry 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 in California, which granted the series large tax credits, and production on the second and third seasons took place back-to-back. Chabon served as showrunner for the first season, Goldsman and Terry 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 one Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award from ten nominations and five Saturn Awards from eleven nominations.

Several tie-in projects have been created based on the series, including an episode of the companion series Star Trek: Short Treks. Cast, crew, and fans have expressed interest in the story continuing through a potential spin-off series commonly referred to as Star Trek: Legacy, while Stewart has expressed interest in a film continuation that is in development.

Premise

The series begins in 2399, 20 years after Jean-Luc Picard's last appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), and finds the character still deeply affected by the death of Data in that film as well as the destruction of the planet Romulus in the film Star Trek (2009). Retired from Starfleet 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". Picard fights for their right to exist and gives his life to save them.

After Picard's consciousness is transferred into a synthetic body, the second season moves forward to 2401. Picard and his companions are living new lives when his old adversary Q, 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. 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 the USS Enterprise to protect his son and face a new invasion by the Borg.

Episodes

Season 1 (2020)

Season 2 (2022)

Season 3 (2023)

Cast and characters

• Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard:
  A retired Starfleet admiral who previously commanded the USS Enterprise. Picard retired from Starfleet in protest when the United Federation of Planets chose not to aid the Romulans when their planet was destroyed. 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, 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-creators Michael Chabon and Akiva Goldsman both felt he was the same character, but other commentators disagreed. More than a week of debates on the Star Trek wiki encyclopaedia Memory 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. Picard is appointed Chancellor of Starfleet Academy by the second season, 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. In the third season, Picard is reunited with the former command crew of the Enterprise.
• Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati (seasons 1–2):
  A former Starfleet doctor and expert on synthetic life who joins Picard. During the second season, Agnes is assimilated into the Borg Collective and becomes the new Borg Queen.
• 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 of Data. Sutra is an earlier android model, and Kore is the daughter of Dr. Adam Soong from 2024. This helps explain by whom Data was inspired for the appearance of Dahj and Soji.
• Harry Treadaway as Narek (season 1):
  A Romulan agent sent to seduce and spy on Soji Asha.
• Michelle Hurd as Rafaella "Raffi" Musiker:
  Picard's former Starfleet first officer who struggles with substance abuse.
• Santiago Cabrera as Cristobal "Chris" Rios (seasons 1–2):
  A former Starfleet officer and the pilot of La Sirena. Cabrera also portrays the emergency holograms aboard La Sirena. During the second season, Rios falls in love with a 21st century woman and opts not to return to the future.
• 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.
• Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine:
  A former Borg drone and crew member aboard the USS Voyager who became a member of the Fenris Rangers vigilante group.
• Orla Brady as Laris and Tallinn:
  Laris is Picard's Romulan housekeeper who develops romantic feelings for him. Tallinn is a Supervisor like the Star Trek: The Original Series character Gary Seven.
• Brent Spiner as Data, Altan Inigo Soong, Adam Soong, and Lore:
  Data is Picard's android former second officer, created by cyberneticist Dr. Noonian Soong. Altan Inigo Soong is the latter's descendent and Dr. Adam Soong his ancestor from 2024, continuing the franchise's tradition of having Spiner play every male member of the Soong family. The android Lore is Data's evil older brother.
• Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher (season 3):
  The son of Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard.

Production

Development

In June 2018, after becoming sole showrunner of the series Star Trek: Discovery, Alex Kurtzman signed a five-year overall deal with CBS Television Studios to expand the Star Trek franchise beyond Discovery to several new series, miniseries, and animated series. One of these new series was reported to star Patrick Stewart, reprising his role of Jean-Luc Picard from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman (who worked on the first season of Discovery) were attached to the project. When CBS had first approached him about making more Star Trek series, Kurtzman included a series featuring Picard on his wish list as he believed the character was the greatest Star Trek captain. This was despite Stewart having previously said that he did not want to return to the franchise.