We have sad news to report from the Star Trek world this week, as Star Trek: Voyager co-creator and showrunner Jeri Taylor has passed at age 86.
A driving force in the creation of Star Trek: Voyager (along with Michael Piller and Rick Berman), the executive producer ran the writers’ room for the first four years of the series, eventually handing the reigns to Brannon Braga upon her departure. Prior to Voyager, she spent several years at The Next Generation where she rose to the position of showrunner in the final season.
(“I was responsible for Troi getting a uniform,” Taylor told fans in 2021.)
Inside the #StarTrek TNG writers room with (L-R) Ron Moore, René Echevarria, Brannon Braga, Naren Shankar, and Jeri Taylor. pic.twitter.com/QASB2i9LpW
— TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) August 28, 2018
Taylor wrote or co-wrote more than thirty episodes of Star Trek during her tenure with the franchise, including “The Wounded,” “The Drumhead,” and “The Outcast” for Star Trek: The Next Generation, the two-part “The Maquis” story for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Voyager episodes like “Caretaker,” “Alliances,” “Resolutions,” and “Day of Honor.”
Outside of the television world, Jeri Taylor also wrote two seminal novels in Pocket Books’ Star Trek: Voyager line — the semi-canonical Mosaic (1996) which tells the story of Kathryn Janeway’s life before her time in command of the USS Voyager, and Pathways (1998) which delves into the lives of other members of Voyager’s crew. (Portions of these two novels have been referenced in Star Trek: Prodigy.)
Her two final contributions for the franchise were the B’Elanna Torres-centric Voyager episode “Nothing Human” in 1998, and an audio commentary for “Unification” when that two-part Next Gen tale was released on standalone Blu-ray.
STAR TREK: VOYAGER co-creator and executive producer Jeri Taylor makes an unannounced appearance at the @voydocumentary panel, her first appearance in decades#StarTrek #STLV pic.twitter.com/tc38pApdUK
— TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) August 15, 2021
After her retirement from Voyager, Taylor remained out of the public eye for more than two decades. In 2021, she made a surprising first-time appearance at the annual Star Trek Las Vegas convention to help promote the pending Star Trek: Voyager documentary To The Journey, interacting with fans and signing autographs for attendees.
Here is how some of Taylor’s Star Trek colleagues (and other voices) remembered the writer.
The world of Star Trek lost one of its giants yesterday with the passing of writer-producer Jeri Taylor. Jeri became a supervising producer on Star Trek: TNG’s fourth season, eventually becoming co-executive producer. pic.twitter.com/OVBxpygK75
— Michael Okuda (@MikeOkuda) October 25, 2024
Very sorry to hear of the passing of the brilliant Jeri Taylor, but proud that she is a major part of the upcoming @voydocumentary. Her accomplishments will not be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/NiKHXDbQFJ
— David Zappone (@davidzappone) October 25, 2024
Jeri Taylor donated her hand-noted Star Trek scripts to Indiana University, where they were free for students to study…
… including one ambitious young fan. Me.
I learned to write studying her. I wouldn’t be here without her.
Thank you, Jeri. For everything.
Rest in peace.
— Aaron J. Waltke (@GoodAaron) October 25, 2024
So saddened to hear about the passing of EP & showrunner #JeriTaylor, When I was a fledgling journalist covering #TNG, she could not have been more warm & welcoming and thoughtful. Always considerate to everyone she met, she was also immensely talented. The perfect combination. pic.twitter.com/sYgHTNzSsE
— Mark A. Altman * (@markaaltman) October 25, 2024
Our thoughts to go out to Jeri Taylor’s family, and all who knew her.