We’re just a week away from the arrival of Star Trek: Picard, and today a first clip from the new series has beamed down, right from Chateau Picard in France.
Released today by TV Insider, this new clip features retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) at home at his family’s vineyard, checking in on the latest prize captured by his dog, Number One (played by a rescue pit pull named Dinero).
We also get a brief introduction to Picard’s hired staff, Romulan civilians Laris (Orla Brady) and Zhaban (Jamie McShane), who live on the property with the former Enterprise captain — both characters seen in the tie-in Star Trek: Picard — Countdown comic prequel.
Set early in the premiere episode, there’s no spoiler to the Star Trek: Picard storyline in this clip — but it will give you a taste of life on the Chateau Picard, along with some of composer Jeff Russo’s score from the upcoming series.
Star Trek: Picard debuts on CBS All Access January 23, and on Amazon Prime Video internationally on January 24.
It’s just a week to go until Star Trek: Picard launches on CBS All Access in the United States, and as the week of premiere events made its way from Los Angeles to London, we took the opportunity to find out how the new series, set past the events of the 2009 Star Trek film, connected to the wider Trek universe.
Spock (Leonard Nimoy) pilots his ship in an attempt to save Romulus from destruction.
A year ago, Star Trek: Picard executive producer Alex Kurtzman first revealed that the new series would be heavily influenced by the destruction of Romulus, seen on-screen in the 2009 Star Trek film, which was the launching point of Spock and Nero’s journey into a black hole that dropped them into a whole new universe.
We talked to series executive producer Kurtzman in London yesterday and asked if Spock’s disappearance from the ‘prime timeline’ into the world of Chris Pine’s version of Captain Kirk — known as the Kelvin Timeline — might tie into the Star Trek: Picard storyline.
TREKCORE: So ‘Picard’ is the first follow-up in the prime ‘Star Trek’ universe that’s set after the 2009 film. Will Spock’s attempt to save Romulus be revisited?
ALEX KURTZMAN: Well, if you’re looking at the timeline linearly, he’s already jumped to [the Kelvin Timeline].
TREKCORE: And what does the universe he left behind think of his disappearance?
KURTZMAN: That doesn’t play a part in our story, but that’s a very excellent question. Whether [the Federation] even knows that he’s gone — that’s a question.
Michael Burnham encounters a much-changed Federation flag in the far future.
Earlier in the week, we asked Kurtzman at the Los Angeles premiere if the story of Star Trek: Discovery might be influenced by the events of Picard, now that the Discovery crew has traveled to the far future — past all previous Star Trek events in the timeline.
TREKCORE: Will the events of ‘Picard’ Season 1 tie in to the ‘Discovery’ Season 3 story at all?
KURTZMAN: No, not right now. We’re talking almost 1,000 years between shows, so no. What I’ll say about ‘Discovery’ is that a lot of things that were planted in previous shows will play out there.
Fellow executive producer Heather Kadin also countered recent commentary framing the expanding Star Trek universe as being similar to the frequent crossover events of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.
NEW: We ask #StarTrek executive producer Heather Kadin how long we'll have to wait for #StarTrekDiscovery Season 3 and #LowerDecks…. and is the STAR TREK UNIVERSE really going to be as connected as the MCU?
Kadin also shared that while production on Discovery Season 3 — and the forthcoming animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks — may be completed by May, both shows are still unscheduled for public release.
Scott Bakula in ‘NCIS: New Orleans’; a pair of Trills in ‘Discovery’ Season 3.
One-time Enterprise captain Scott Bakula is still working in the CBS television world, having been solving crimes on NCIS: New Orleans for the past six years, so we had to ask Kurtzman if we might get an opportunity to see Jonathan Archer once more… or any characters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, now that Jeri Ryan’s return in Star Trek: Picard is tying the Voyager story into modern production.
KURTZMAN: We don’t have any immediate plans [for Archer], but I would say that all characters in the ‘Star Trek’ universe, if we find a reason to bring them back, we would do it.
[Regarding ‘Deep Space Nine,’] sure, it’s possible. Characters from ‘DS9’ could show up… in a lot of different ways.
Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) watches the Klingon trial in ‘Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.’
Finally, while we’ve all now heard the story about how much convincing it took to bring Patrick Stewart back into the Star Trek fold after two decades away, we wanted to hear the creative team talk about the original genesis of the Star Trek: Picard story — and their answer was one completely unexpected.
Speaking first to series co-creator Kirsten Beyer, the Trek novelist-turned-producer told us how the new series was actually borne out of an idea which would have brought classic Star Trek star Nichelle Nichols back to reprise her role as Uhura — last seen in 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
KIRSTEN BEYER: So, at the very, very beginning, we were talking about ‘Short Treks’ for the first time, and what kind of stories you could tell — and we were actually beginning with an Uhura story, and the idea was that we very much wanted to see we could bring Nichelle [Nichols] back in at this point in time, and then see what kind of stories [Uhura] might tie in to.
And then Patrick’s name came into the mix, and could we get him, would he be interested… so the very first idea was a meeting between Uhura and Picard — a very, very young Picard.
Alex Kurtzman elaborated, briefly, on the story concept they were exploring for Nichols’ return.
KURTZMAN: The original idea was that a young Picard had been called to a hospital where Uhura had a mission for him, and it was related to the Borg.
I’m not going to give any more away, because maybe one day we’ll actually do it! [Laughs]
Uhura is the only member of the Original Series crew to have not been seen after the events of final classic Star Trek film, as all of her TOS co-stars either made guest appearances in later films (Shatner, Nimoy, Doohan, Koenig) or television episodes (Takei, Whitney). DeForest Kelley appeared in the pilot of Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was filmed years earlier, but was set chronologically later in the Trek timeline.
And though it may seem odd that Uhura could even know about the Borg, the flashbacks in “Dark Frontier” — set nearly eight years before The Next Generation — do establish that the Federation Council was aware of rumors about the cybernetic species, as Seven of Nine’s father notes in that episode… and of course, the rescue of Guinan and the El-Aurians in Star Trek Generations brings their carried knowledge of the Borg to the Federation as well.
While it certainly would have been a delight to see Nichols revisit the role after nearly 30 years away, her impeding retirement from public life likely spells the end of this particular storytelling attempt — but who knows, maybe Kurtzman’s team will find a way to open hailing frequencies one last time before the actor hangs up her communicator.
Star Trek: Picard debuts on CBS All Access on January 23 and will follow internally on Amazon Prime Video starting January 24.
We’re continuing our week-long windup to the launch of Star Trek: Picard with another extensive interview with a pair of returning franchise favorites: memorable Next Generation guest star Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh), and beloved blonde Borg Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), reprising her role from Star Trek: Voyager.
Speaking with the pair of Collective cast-offs at this past weekend’s CBS All Access press tour in California, we got to hear a bit about the actors’ reaction to being asked back to the franchise after decades away, the efforts taken to protect the secret of their casting, fan speculation to their characters’ involvement in Star Trek: Picard… and just what the two former Borg drones have been up to for the last 20 years.
Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine; Jonathan Del Arco as Hugh.
When the pair’s return was announced in a shocking moment at San Diego Comic Con last July, it was through enormous efforts by the Star Trek: Picard production and publicity teams that the surprise held until Seven of Nine appeared on the Hall H presentation screen — much to even the actress’ disbelief.
JERI RYAN:
I cannot honestly believe they actually pulled [the San Diego Comic Con surprise reveal] off. Because we were shooting on location… at Universal Studios on CityWalk!
Our base camp was on the backlot, where the [tourist] tram goes through. We had these – we called them ‘the invisibility cloak,’ ‘the cloak of silence’ — I looked like a Dementor from ‘Harry Potter.’
I had to be completely covered as soon as I stepped out of my trailer, just to go between trailers, to get in the car to drive me to set. At one point, I’m in this cape, and we’re going really, really, REALLY slow going to the set. I wondered what was going on… and we were stuck behind the tram tour.
I thought, “Are they doing this on purpose because they WANT it to leak? Shooting at, like, THE movie capital of the world?” It was crazy. And they actually pulled it off.
Jeri Ryan and Jonathan Del Arco on stage at San Diego Comic Con in July 2019.
While Ryan had her spoiler-prone days on location, Del Arco was cooped up on remote sets elsewhere in California, facing his own set of secret-keeping challenges.
JONATHAN DEL ARCO:
We were [on set] out in the middle of nowhere. I mean, there are no buildings around, but [the producers] were worried because there were hills on the other side of the parking lot, and they warned me, “You’d be surprised, the paparazzi could be there with their lenses.”
So I was sequestered in my trailer, which I hated, because I like to chat and graze. I called [Jeri] up and told her, “They lock you in your trailer, they bring you your food, they don’t bother you at all.” And she goes, “I’m gonna love that!”
One the word was out, however, fans began to wonder how this new injection of Star Trek: Voyager casting would impact the assumed Next Generation sequel series that had been expected.
Ryan told us how she took the news that the Star Trek: Picard team wanted to bring Seven of Nine back to television, and about her concerns from past experiences.
JERI RYAN:
One of my biggest hesitations in bringing [Seven of Nine] back, when it was first mentioned, was that there has to be a reason to bring her back. Right after I finished ‘Voyager,’ they wanted to stick her in whatever movie they were doing then. ‘Nemesis.’
I was like, “Why? She’s never interacted with any of these [‘Next Generation’] people,” and Seven would never be there…. There’s no reason for her to suddenly be in this crew. It just made no sense, story-wise or character-wise.
The way they’ve done [‘Picard’] makes absolute sense, the way she’s introduced. I can’t tell you what it is – you’ll have to wait! – but I love why she’s introduced, and it makes perfect sense for her and [Picard’s] paths to cross and interact, because they have a shared Borg history.
As, of course, does [Hugh]. It is quite seamless, and it makes sense.
A Romulan-controlled Borg cube, seen in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’
The return of Seven and Hugh also sent fans into wild speculation about the Borg itself might play into the series, after the Collective was thought to have been destroyed — or at least severely cropped — after the events of “Endgame” in 2001.
JERI RYAN: [We can’t give details, but it affects our characters] in a huge way.
JONATHAN DEL ARCO: A huge way. I’m trying to think of how I can skirt the issue and answer it without getting my head chopped off when I see Alex [Kurtzman]!
The Borg have changed before, right? The last time you saw the Borg that were with me we had disconnected from the Collective; when you saw Jeri’s character, she was in Starfleet. So it’s kind of an obvious progress: if you disconnect them from the Collective, what then becomes of them, right?
Now, I’m not going to answer what happened to the Collective – whether it’s still there or not, is it still a threat… that’s to be revealed. But in terms of our characters, we’re already on the path to change, because we had already disconnected.
For us, it’s been a furthering of that, but what I will say is that one of the amazing things about the story to me is the marginalization of these people. How these enemies –
A ‘Picard’-era Borg drone, seen in a recent trailer.
Ryan quickly jumped in, laughingly waving Del Arco off from his line of discussion.
RYAN: Careful! Careful!
DEL ARCO: I’m really walking a tightrope! [Laughs] I’ve got nothing to lose, they can’t cut me out of it now!
Marginalization just speaks to the world that we’re in right now. There are marginalized people all around the world, in our own cities and communities, and that is an interesting turn for [Hugh] and for [Seven] as well.
It means a lot to me, actually, because I am an immigrant, and the things that are happening worldwide — certainly at our border — are really personal to me. And the show has themes in it that touch on that piece alone.
Later on in the season, when more stuff is revealed about that sort of a scenario and what’s happened to [Hugh], I’ll be able to talk about how, you know, as a gay man who lived through the AIDS epidemic and has seen a lot of hell, I was able to use a lot of my personal experiences to put into the work.
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Seven of Nine meet for the first time.
As for Seven’s life for the last two decades, Ryan wouldn’t get into it much in our discussion — aside from a brief reveal that we’ll be seeing “a lot of quite emotional stuff” that ties back to her life aboard the USS Voyager — but she did speak with IGN this weekend where she revealed that her character is now operating along side a team of “freedom fighters” trying to clean up the current state in which the galaxy finds itself…
…and that Seven has never met Jean-Luc Picard, until now.
IGN INTERVIEW:
Seven, I think, holds Starfleet and the Federation, in a large part responsible for much of it. The universe is a mess, and she initially sees Picard as part of that.
She’s been working with sort of a group of freedom fighters called the Fenris Rangers, who are trying to keep some semblance of order in the mess that is the galaxy.
This is the first time that Seven and Picard actually meet. They know each other by reputation; and as I said before, Seven’s not on the, “Oh, [Picard’s] a god” bandwagon, initially, when she meets him. Because she holds him partly responsible for what Starfleet has done.
Seven and Hugh finally get some new clothes in ‘Star Trek: Picard.’
Not only has the Borg changed in Star Trek: Picard, it seems so have too Seven and Hugh gotten new looks as the 24th Century nears its close.
Picking up in 2399 — twenty years after Star Trek: Nemesis — the characters have both aged in real-time since we last saw them, and the actors were happy to see that their famous skin-tight wardrobes were left behind for this new production.
JONATHAN DEL ARCO: Thank GOD! [Laughs]
JERI RYAN: Seriously! The corset and catsuit? Yes, I’m happy!
DEL ARCO: We can eat! We can pee! We do all the things! Yeah, we’re very happy.
RYAN: It’s really good – and it’s what it should be! It makes perfect sense, too, with the character’s been through over the last 20 years, what she’s been through, what she’s been doing with her life.
When the costume designer, Cristine [Clark], showed me the idea board with what they were thinking, I was so excited. Like, “That’s perfect! That’s exactly what I wanted!”
DEL ARCO: I was thrilled. I just like to get the [acting] work done and function as a human being! I think that when you’re in your twenties you’re willing to put up with a lot more shit then when you’re in your fifties… in terms of like creature comforts, and, you know, the need to go to the bathroom more.
So, I was like, “Thank you for taking care of THAT for me.” No rubber suit!
Seven goes hunting.
While we see Hugh relatively early in the season, Jeri’s debut as Seven of Nine won’t come until the Jonathan Frakes-directed fourth episode of the year, set to air in mid-February. The pair reflected on what it felt like stepping back into the world of Star Trek after such a long absence.
JERI RYAN: I walked on set for the first time, and thank God that Jonathan Frakes – who is also a dear friend – was directing my first two episodes [104 and 105]. My first scene is the one you see a little snippet of in the trailer, with Picard.
Just seeing these two characters, who have never interacted before, and having Frakes there to direct it… he was like, “Man, this is a MOMENT, right?”
JONATHAN DEL ARCO: I did get goosebumps in one of the scenes I was working on; I went to the director and said to her, “I think you’re creating like a classic ‘Star Trek’ moment in this scene.” And she tells me, “I think so too!”
Your body just responds to it, you know, like, “This is gonna be a classic moment. Don’t fuck it up!” [Laughs]
Finally, the actors shared their joy in watching fans on social media tear up every new bit of released photography or footage of their characters, forensically inspecting each frame to try and uncover the secrets of the upcoming series.
JONATHAN DEL ARCO: What’s really fun to me, is like when a trailer drops, or photo, there will be people online that will dissect every frame of it –
JERI RYAN: Everything! “The zipper on Seven’s jacket looks like a Romulan symbol!” I’m not kidding, this is a whole thread on Twitter!
DEL ARCO: You crying [in the trailers]. “Who’s she crying over?”
RYAN: “It could be this person or this person or this person,” going through and rattling off a whole list.
DEL ARCO: Or they say, “Well that guy had curly hair, so it couldn’t be him!”
RYAN: All shall be revealed. [Laughs] But not now!
Seven tries exploring her human side during her days aboard Voyager.
As the interview session wrapped up, we had a spare moment to get in one last question to Jeri Ryan, who shared back in August that her updated portrayal of Seven was “a much more human” one, which makes sense after decades back in the Federation.
But does that mean she’ll still be known as Seven of Nine, or has she finally adopted her original human name, Annika Hansen?
JERI RYAN: I… can’t even tell you that. You’ll have to wait and see.
Star Trek: Picard debuts on CBS All Access on January 23, and follows on Amazon’s Prime Video service (outside of North America) on January 24.
As we continue to countdown to the launch of Star Trek: Picard, we’ve got another interview from this weekend’s press tour event where our team got to sit down for a chat with many of the new stars — and returning favorites — ahead of the series debut.
We talked with Next Generation veterans Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) and Brent Spiner (Data) about being asked to come back to the Trek fold, the structure of the new show, and what it took to find their old characters’ looks once more.
Spiner and Sirtis during ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation.’
While the pair worked together on more than 180 hours of Next Generation episodes and films, their return for Picard is their first step into today’s modern Trek production — and we asked them how the franchise in 2020 compares to their time during the 1990s… in both funding, and storytelling.
BRENT SPINER: Well, God knows they’re spending a lot more money than we used to. I mean, really, the budgets are incredible. If we’d had these budgets [during ‘The Next Generation’] we’d still be on the air!
But I love what they’re doing with the show and how it’s going to look.
MARINA SIRTIS: No, no, no. Stop. I don’t know, because really the man who invented that high definition camera — and it was a man, because a woman would have never fucking invented it, excuse my French. May he rot in hell for all eternity!
SPINER: Right. But see, in my case: CGI… so I look fine!
SIRTIS: Yeah, it’s all right for you, Mr. Android, the rest of us look like something the cat dragged in… The thing that I was most thrilled about was that I didn’t have to wear a space suit!
SPINER: [Laughs] But you know, it’s hugely different, also – we’re not at the center of the show. I mean, I always thought that ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ was the story of Data, the android and search to become human. But we’re sort of like a ‘seasoning’ [in ‘Picard‘].
SIRTIS: I haven’t seen it, so I’m just talking off the top of my head now – but I think basically because the show’s called ‘Picard’ [makes exaggerated air quotes]…. Although Patrick [Stewart] was number one on the call sheet [for ‘The Next Generation’], I think we were a real ensemble cast. I think in ‘Picard,’ it’s like Patrick… and the rest.
SPINER: Well, now at the moment, it is. I think these are really talented actors and a great ensemble; I think they’re all going to become fan favorites and they’re all gonna get their shot. It’s always going to be called ‘Picard,’ so he’s going to be the fulcrum from which everything spins… but I think it will be everyone’s show, eventually.
The announcement of their involvement in the series, made last year after many months of fan speculation and public denial by the actors (due to the usual non-disclosure agreements required by Hollywood productions), was a welcome surprise — and to Spiner and Sirtis, being asked to come back for Picard was unexpected to them, as well.
SIRTIS: Yes! I was surprised to get the call, actually. Were you surprised?
SPINER: Yeah. We had had dinner with Patrick when he told us about the show –
SIRTIS: When he apologized for doing the show without us! He [bought us dinner] – I think he really felt bad that he was doing Picard and we weren’t part of it because we were an ensemble.
SPINER: I was surprised, but pleased – and convinced, by the pedigree of the people we were going to work with. Maybe it’s a good idea to come in and add a little spice to the show.
Data development: SDCC trailer (left) vs. January 2020 (color corrected)
While more than twenty years have passed in the world of Star Trek: Picard since the last time we saw Data and Deanna, each of the characters will be seen in different ways in the new show: with the android’s death in Star Trek: Nemesis, it required a great deal of visual effects work to make the 70-year-old Spiner look like his 2002-era self.
But according to the man himself, that digital “de-aging” work almost didn’t happen as planned.
SPINER: Well, the powers that be, when I met with them, I said, “How am I going to play Data again?” And they said, well, that CGI has come a long way, and that they could make me look really good. [I ended up] in the same makeup [and wore the] same contacts…
So, the first day on set, I put on the makeup and everything, and think, “Oh, this is okay!” Then I get this phone call – “It’s just too expensive. We can’t do the CGI. It’s just too expensive.” And I went, “Wait a minute, you know, I was told…”
After a discussion, I said, “Well, you understand I don’t have to be CGI’d back to what I looked like on the series, it has to look like how I looked at the end of ‘Nemesis.’” And they went, “Oh, sure, that’s right! No problem! We’re gonna do it.”
And they did. It has changed a bit, though, from some trailers that came out early –
SIRTIS: You looked awful.
SPINER: Yeah, it didn’t look good. But they’ve repaired all that since. They just hadn’t finished yet.
A 1987 costuming test for Troi’s black-eyed Betazoid look.
When it comes to Deanna Troi, however, the former Enterprise counselor has aged along with the actor portraying her — but Sirtis still requires some much-needed accessories to complete her half-Betazoid look.
SIRTIS: I got the call, and then I didn’t hear anything [about Troi’s contact lenses]. So I called and said, “You do know that I wore a wig and black contact lenses?” I told them, “I think I stole them [from ‘Nemesis’], so I think I have them.” So we got the contact lenses cleaned – since they’ve been sitting in a case for like 15 years – and I have the wig, [both] that I wore in ‘Nemesis.’
And it was really good that I did, trust me! They wouldn’t have had time to make a $10,000 wig, and I was in England doing a play anyway; I wrapped [the play] on a Saturday and was at Universal [in Hollywood] on Monday, having traveled from England on Sunday.
So it was lucky that I did pilfer them!
Troi’s wig — and contacts — used in ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’ return. How’s that for continuity?
While we will see Data in a number of dream sequences — thanks to several glimpses of the android in the Star Trek: Picard trailers — we don’t expect a trip to the home of Deanna Troi until a few episodes into the year, based on comments made around filming schedules over the last few months.
But rest assured, we’re looking forward to seeing Counselor Troi once more offer her sage advise to her former Enterprise captain.
This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Now, with the return of Jean-Luc Picard comes another familiar face as The Ready Room gets remodeled for the launch of Star Trek: Picard.
Announced by CBS on Sunday afternoon,Star Trek: The Next Generation veteran (and Star Trek: Nemesis guest star) Wil Wheaton will take over the weekly behind-the-scenes series, set to air Thursdays after each new episode of Star Trek: Picard.
Wheaton took to Facebook to post more details about his involvement in the show:
The once-acting-ensign also commented on Reddit about the show’s planned availability, with expectations that the streaming program will be distributed across many different digital platforms:
Back in October, Star Trek franchise boss Alex Kurtzman told us that he was working on a five-year plan for Trek projects, and during today’s Star Trek: Picard press tour today, he told us — just barely — about what we’ll be hearing about next as the Star Trek universe continues to expand.
Speaking to an assembled group of reporters (including TrekCore.com) during CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Picard press tour in Pasadena, CA this morning Kurtzman — along with Trek executive producing partner Heather Kadin — spoke about the state of the upcoming Section 31 series, their view on the ongoing Short Treks project, and more.
Star Trek: Picard is the second live-action series that this producer team has launched, after the somewhat calamitous start of Discovery which resulted in multiple showrunner changes,premiere delays, and other behind-the-scenes issues during first two years of its run.
We had the chance to ask Kurtzman what lessons his team took from the early days of Discovery which influenced the way they’ve approached getting Star Trek: Picard off the ground — and expanding into a second season of episodes.
ALEX KURTZMAN:
We’ve started working on Season 2 [of ‘Picard’], and we have a really excellent story, I think — and a very surprising one. But I think it’s really important for us to take it piece by piece. Part of this, too, is getting reactions from people.
Before we lock things, down it’s terribly important to listen to fans, and hear what they like — and what they didn’t respond to — or what wasn’t clear, and make sure we’re tacking accordingly. I learned when I started working in the ‘Star Trek’ world that that’s a really essential part of making these shows.
You have to listen carefully and understand that sometimes when people are complaining about things, they’re actually complaining about something else; there’s a different problem [below the surface] and you have to get to the root of that problem.
So I want to give a little room to learn from people’s reactions.
The obvious on-screen reaction response in Discovery‘s second year was the return of hair to the Klingon species, radically redesigned for the show when it was still under Bryan Fuller’s purview; hopefully nothing quite rises to that level when Star Trek: Picard debuts on January 23.
The conversation then made its way from Star Trek: Picard to the overall state of the Star Trek Universe, as the brand was titled at this year’s Comic Con events; Heather Kadin took the lead in giving an update on the Georgiou-centric Section 31 show.
HEATHER KADIN:
[‘Section 31’ is] in active development. So that’s obviously a huge priority; Michelle [Yeoh’s] character [Georgiou] is so unique, and you’ve never seen that before. Again, it has to fall under the guise of, ‘is this [show] a unique space we haven’t explored yet?”
And then also, the animated shows [‘Lower Decks’ and the untitled Nickelodeon project] are also really going to provide that too. For someone like me, who gets to work on these shows — and then two nights a week, go watch a cut of ‘Lower Decks’ — it’s a blast.
So I hope we continue to find those new avenues.
ALEX KURTZMAN:
There are two more live action shows that haven’t been announced yet.
While Kurtzman declined to expand on the focus of those two newly-revealed series — which are in addition to Discovery, Picard, and Section 31 — we’re sure that this single sentence will generate a tornado of speculation as to what may fill those slots.
We’ve known for nearly 18 months that the shows we know about aren’t the only ones which have been rumored; all the way back in June 2018 we first heard reports in the Hollywood trades that a Starfleet Academy-based series was under consideration as part of Kurtzman’s overall Trek franchise deal, which could certainly still be in the mix for one of these new shows.
In addition, Kurtzman and team have been clearly acknowledging the fan demand for a Captain Pike series — with Anson Mount reprising his role from Discovery in a show of his own — which also seems to be a likely candidate for the second slot.
Until CBS All Access makes any official announcements on the Star Trek franchise’s next move, however, it’s up to us — and to you — to discuss the possibilities these additional shows may bring for Trek as Kurtzman’s “five year” plan rolls ahead.
Regarding the just-wrapped second run of Star Trek: Short Treks, Kurtzman also noted that some of the new behind-the-scenes talent fostered in those short productions are continuing on with the franchise as well.
ALEX KURTZMAN:
I’ve loved the ‘Short Treks’ because they’re a really interesting testing ground both for different kinds of stories, and also different talent. Breaking new directors, new writers, younger writers, composers, and we’ve taken one of the composers and now put them on one of the series. So it’s very interesting and it’s been educational for us.
I love making them. I think there’s something so satisfying just from a pure creative point of view of figuring out how to tell a full story in ten to fifteen minutes or sometimes even less. I go back to the Pixar shorts — the shorts make you cry in two minutes. That’s a talent. That’s a real art to doing that.
They tell very emotional, very fulsome stories in such a short period of time, so it’s just another way of telling really interesting ‘Star Trek’ stories.
We also asked him about the status of international availability for viewers outside of the US and Canada — who have not been able to see any of the 2019-2020 Short Treks as of this writing, to which Kurtzman would only comment that he expects that they will make their way to Netflix “at some point.”
Hopefully this year’s slate of Short Treks will make their way overseas sometime soon, but for now we’ll have to keep waiting, along with all of the international fans who are in the same boat.
Star Trek: Picard launches January 23 on CBS All Access and January 24 internationally.
As we’ve expected for months now, word has come down from CBS All Access that the Star Trek: Picard story isn’t concluding in 2020: a second season of the series has been officially announced on the eve of the Hollywood premiere.
The studio’s official announcement, released during the Star Trek: Picard press tour today, reads as follows:
CBS ALL ACCESS RENEWS “STAR TREK: PICARD” FOR SECOND SEASON
Terry Matalas Joins Series as Executive Producer
PASADENA, Calif. –– Jan. 12, 2020 –– CBS All Access today announced the second season renewal of its upcoming original series STAR TREK: PICARD. The announcement was made by Julie McNamara, Executive Vice President of Original Content for CBS All Access, during the service’s biannual Television Critics Association presentation.
“The energy and excitement around the premiere of STAR TREK: PICARD has reached a magnitude greater than all of us at CBS All Access could have hoped for,” said Julie McNamara, Executive Vice President, Original Content, CBS All Access. “We’re thrilled to announce plans for a second season before the series’ debut, and we are confident that ‘Star Trek’ fans and new viewers alike will be captured by the stellar cast and creative team’s meticulously crafted story when it premieres on Jan. 23.”
Season one of STAR TREK: PICARD premieres on CBS All Access in the U.S. on Thursday, Jan. 23. Following the premiere, new episodes of STAR TREK: PICARD’s 10-episode first season will be available weekly on Thursdays, exclusively for CBS All Access subscribers in the U.S.
STAR TREK: PICARD features Sir Patrick Stewart reprising his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” The new series follows this iconic character into the next chapter of his life. The series is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. For season two of the series, Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Patrick Stewart, Terry Matalas (“12 Monkeys,” “MacGyver”), Heather Kadin, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers; Aaron Baiers (Secret Hideout) and Kirsten Beyer serve as co-executive producers.
In addition to the additional episode order, the studio revealed that writer/producer Terry Matalas will be joining the series to serve in an executive producer role, likely timed to balance the impending departure of current showrunner Michael Chabon.
Most recently known for his role running the SyFy adaptation of 12 Monkeys for television, Matalas is no stranger to Star Trek or science fiction in general: he served in the production team of latter seasons of Star Trek: Voyager and all four years of Enterprise, and scripted two episodes of the latter series (“Stratagem” and “Impulse”).
The Hollywood Reporter also notes that Matalas has already been working on Picard “for some time” to transition over Chabon’s departure, and that the series’ production team is already starting to think about plans for Season 3 of the show — assumed to be a lock at this point in time and likely to kick off production relatively shortly after work on Season 2 is completed.
Production on Star Trek: Picard’s second season is expected to resume sometime in 2020, but as of yet no official timetables have been announced.
Long before Captain Jean-Luc Picard took command of the legendary Starship Enterprise, he fell deeply and hopelessly in love with Doctor Beverly Crusher. Though, for one reason or another, Picard never acted on his feelings, he found a measure of contentment as Beverly’s close friend, colleague, and daily breakfast partner.
But when Doctor Crusher leaves her position on the Enterprise to become the chief medical officer of Starfleet, the brightest light in Picard’s life is taken from him. And he has hardly resigned himself to his loss when he learns that Beverly has been declared missing in action on a distant planet—and presumed dead.
On the Romulan homeworld, meanwhile, the political vacuum created by the demise of Praetor Shinzon has been filled by his staunchest supporter, Senator Tal’aura. But there are those who oppose her, including Commander Donatra and the warbird fleets under her command, because of the way Tal’aura has mishandled rebellions on the Empire’s subject worlds.
And one rebellion in particular; the movement for self-determination on frigid Kevratas. So begins a desperate struggle—not only for the freedom of the long-oppressed Kevrata but also for the soul of the Romulan Empire. Before it’s over, destinies will be forged and shattered, the Empire will be shaken to its ancient foundations, and Jean-Luc Picard’s life will be changed… forever.
We’re counting down to this month’s return of Jean-Luc Picard by revisiting some of the pivotal stories about the beloved Starfleet captain from across the last three decades of Star Trek: The Next Generation published fiction.
Welcome to the next entry in our retro review series Prelude to Picard!
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Kicking off the Star Trek: The Next Generation relaunch — a series of novels that continued the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-E after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis — Death in Winter makes a bold move right out of the gate by changing one of the fundamental character relationships from the show… by finally pairing up Picard and Beverly Crusher.
The final two two entries of my Prelude to Picard series — with the last review coming next week — deal with books that take place after the (to this point) final appearances of The Next Generation crew on our TV or movie screens. And so, I will stipulate up front, that the events depicted in Death in Winter are likely to be very different from what we learn about the events of Picard’s life in Star Trek: Picard.
But, it is still fun to see how other writers approached telling the story of Picard’s life after the events of Nemesis, and Death in Winter has lots of thematic connections to what we know of Picard. Picking up shortly after the Enterprise returns from Romulan space in tatters, and with many of Picard’s command crew having left him, the captain is reflecting on his life and missed opportunities.
Not wallowing for long, however, Picard learns that Beverly Crusher has been captured on a secret mission to Romulan space to help one of their subjugated races, the Kevrata, recover from a devastating plague. Unable to bear the potential loss of the woman he loves — but hasn’t pursued– Picard is tasked with finishing Crusher’s mission and saving her if possible.
Death in Winter is a return to the franchise by author Michael Jan Friedman, and he used the opportunity of writing this book to finish an effective trilogy of novels that deal with the crew of the Stargazer – starting with The Valiant, Reunion, and now this book. While there are other books in the actual Stargazer series, those three tell you everything you need to know to enjoy some mostly complete character arcs.
Along for the ride to Romulan space with Picard are his former security officer turned trader, Pug Joseph, and the only other doctor with experience of the Kevrata plague, Carter Greyhorse, the former Stargazer doctor serving a lengthy sentence at a Federation penal colony for attempting to murder Picard during Reunion.
The reappearance of Joseph and Greyhorse is welcome, giving us an update on their lives. But they also do not amount to all that much; both are very much supporting players, and the implications of Greyhorse’s crimes are not explored in considerable detail. And both characters just disappear at the end of the book, without much closure for either on what comes next.
The novel is a quick easy read, but if there’s one major disappointment with it, it’s that Picard and Crusher, the book’s subjects, spend next to no time actually together. On the one hand, that allows for the characters to separately and independently explore their feelings for each other, but given this book is billed as being the start of their romance, a little actual romance would have been nice.
Picard is focused on his mission to help cure the plague, and is conflicted throughout much of the novel because he cannot go hunting for Beverly until the larger crisis has been solved. Picard, once again, places duty before his personal concerns, though ultimately Crusher is not so much the damsel in distress in need of a rescue so much as a competent Starfleet officer herself who can get herself out of her own mess.
In addition to the Picard/Crusher plot lines, that culminate in Picard telling Beverly he loves her and her initially turning him down (only to later change her mind), there is also a strong Romulan subplot that runs through the novel. Indeed, the novel opens 30 years in the past at the wedding of Beverly and Jack Crusher. In what might be the most fun scene of the novel, an undercover Romulan agent is assigned to steal Picard’s DNA to lead to the creation of the Shinzon clone.
Following Shinzon’s demise, a new Praetor, Tal’aura, has risen in his place. But her hold on power is shaky, and the Kevrata plague situation plays into how the Praetor consolidates the power behind her throne. Other fun Romulan characters making an appearance in this novel include Tomalak and Commander Sela, who is assigned to be the lead Romulan on the Kevratan homeworld.
This book reminds me how deliciously fun the Romulans can be as an adversary, and how stoked I am that they’ll be one of the featured races in Star Trek: Picard. There’s still so much we don’t know about the Romulans and could learn, and so getting some Romulan characters will add a lot to our understanding of the race.
Overall, Death in Winter was the story that many fans had been waiting for; the coupling of Picard and Crusher. But given the couple spend almost no time together in the book, it can’t help but feel a little empty. However, Romulan machinations and a fun check in with Friedman’s Stargazer characters help provide enough “there” for the book to be worth a read.
Writer-director Noah Hawley may have his sensors locked on the next Star Trek film project, but in new comments from the Fargo and Legion creator today, his plan for the final frontier may not be one that we’ve seen before.
I have my own take on ‘Star Trek,’ and going back to what I loved about the series ‘Next Generation,’ when a lot of franchises focus on ‘might makes right’, ‘Star Trek’ is about exploration and humanity at its best, and diversity and creative problem solving.
There’s nothing better than that moment when William Shatner puts on his reading glasses and lowers Khan’s shields. It doesn’t cost anything. But it’s that triumphant feeling about smarting your enemy. For me it’s about to getting to those elements of the show. I don’t necessarily find action in and of itself interesting unless it’s story.
So, it’s early days, I’m still talking with Paramount and I have a take and I gotta write a script.”
While early trade reporting seemed to indicate that Hawley’s project would be another film featuring Chris Pine and the rest of the Kelvin Timeline movie cast, his comments today seem to indicate that his pitch to Paramount will be one starting fresh with new actors — and possibly new characters, depending on what his still-unwritten script might contain.
Hawley also commented on the project to The Hollywood Reporter, saying “Yeah, I think so,” when asked if his film would have a new cast.
To call it ‘Star Trek IV’ is kind of a misnomer. I have my own take on the franchise as a life-long fan… It’s early days. I don’t know. But new characters often involve new cast.
That doesn’t mean we should expect Hawley’s nascent project to tie into the ever-expanding world of Star Trek television projects, either: additional comments from the writer seem to imply that despite the recent CBS-Viacom corporate merger, there still may be a divide between Trek TV and film oversight.
Speaking again to Deadline:
I know Alex [Kurtzman, who manages ‘Trek’ television]. There isn’t a mandate from Paramount to connect it. And on some levels, there’s a bit of the wall, the TV version and the film version.
I have my own story and want to make sure as I did with ‘Fargo’ and ‘Legion’ that I’m respectful to the underlying material. That I’m not unintentionally changing things that people love or feel passionate about. So, it’s important to do that research as I go.
But with all things in the world of Trek movies, we’re still a long way away from seeing the franchise return to the silver screen — while we’ll continue to monitor and report on new developments as they break, don’t get too worked up about a potential “Hawley Timeline” just yet.
“Children of Mars,” the last Short Trek from 2019’s production run, provides us our first tantalizing morsel of Star Trek: Picard in advance of its premiere later this month — and it sends a clear message: if you think you know what this show is, think again.
This nine-minute short, directed by Michael Pellington from a script by Kirsten Beyer,Jenny Lumet, and Alex Kurtzman, focuses on two school children, both with parents on Mars — but like school children down the generations, they are fixed upon their petty slights against one another rather than what they have in common.
The rocky relationship between loners alien Kima (Ilmaria Ebrahim) and human Lil (Sadie Munroe) comes to a head, though, as tragedy strikes. Word reaches their school — and the general population of Earth — that Mars has been attacked, leaving the fate of their parents unknown. We see a few recognizable shots from recent Star Trek: Picard trailers of triangular black ships attacking an orbital space station, which we now know is the Utopia Planitia Ship Yards, as a series of explosions ripple across the surface of Mars.
As the footage plays on the screen at the school, a ticker at the bottom reads ROGUE SYNTHS ATTACK MARS — 3,000 ESTIMATED DEAD, with a later shot offering up our first glimpse of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), photographed in the Starfleet admiral’s uniform unveiled last fall at Destination Star Trek.
And that’s it! A tantalizing morsel indeed. Ultimately, “Children of Mars” does not tell us all that much about Picard and what the show will be about; as far as I know, none of the characters featured in this short are expected to appear in the show. But it does tell us that there are a number of dynamics to this story that we haven’t even guessed about yet.
But perhaps we now have a little better idea about what drove Picard from Starfleet: perhaps it was not the destruction of Romulus, but widespread devastation caused on Mars by these “rogue synths.” Who are the synths — possibly the Soong-ish androids seen in the series previews? Why did they go rogue? “Children of Mars” doesn’t give us any of that information, but it asks some very interesting questions!
A “synth” created by the Federation, perhaps?
In that way, “Children of Mars” is probably best thought of as another extended trailer for Picard rather than a substantive and necessary part of the show. That’s probably a good thing, given that we aren’t sure when or whether this short will air in the rest of the world (as of this writing), and it seems likely that we’ll learn much more about the attack on Mars in the show proper once it premieres in two weeks.
One of the most recent trailers, for example, features Picard in a dream sequence, sitting in Ten Forward, while there are explosions on the surface of Mars through the windows behind him. This appears to be a core story thread for the show, and so “Children of Mars” is unlikely to be the final – or only – word on the subject.
Taken by itself, though, “Children of Mars” provides a few additional glimpses of everyday life in the 24th century, something we’ve only been treated to occasionally in previous Star Trek shows. We’ve not seen an Earth school, for example, that wasn’t Starfleet Academy.
A couple of nice touches included a brief glimpse of the San Francisco skyline through Lil’s bedroom window, a poster on Lil’s wall mentioning Bajorans, the yellow school bus shuttlecraft — you’d better be on time, or the bus will leave without you! — and the fact that this short takes place on April 5… First Contact Day.
The story of the relationship between Kim and Lil is an interesting framing device for the short as a whole, but ultimately feels a little empty given we know almost nothing at all about these characters. Are these just young teenage girls who have taken a dislike to each other, or is there something more going on? Ultimately, it’s not important to what “Children of Mars” is trying to do, which is to tease you for Picard, but when looking at the story in isolation would have been nice to learn more about.
In addition, the majority of the short is backed by a cover of David Bowie’s classic “Heroes,” which is a bit of a strange choice. There is certainly something to be drawn from the lyrics – two people brought together “just for one day” – but the idea of heroism that manifests in the song does not feel like it lines up here.
Both the main characters of “Children of Mars” are mere bystanders to the attack on Mars, and while they each may be impacted by their shared loss, it feels a bit dissonant to label them heroes. Perhaps that has more relevance for the show as a whole – you can’t argue that Picard himself isn’t a hero – but taken in isolation I’m not sure the song choice entirely worked for me. But it was very artfully done and well produced.
Lastly, the title card of the short, shown right before the credits, was rendered in the famous The Next Generation font. Many fans were disappointed that the title treatment for Star Trek: Picard uses the classic Star Trek typeface — rather than the 1987-era TNG font — for the title, but it seems that it has not been entirely abandoned.
I was very pleased to see it here!
The classic Next Gen-era episode title styling returns, rendered in red for 2020.
Overall, “Children of Mars” is enough to whet your appetite for the premiere of Picard in on January 23 (or January 24 for you international viewers). It asks many more new questions than it answers, but luckily we likely don’t have long to wait until we start to get some of those answers.
In that way, it’s probably the most expensive trailer ever produced. But it worked on me, at least, and I’m definitely pumped for what’s to come.
