Picard: How (and When) to Stream the New Star Trek Series
After nearly two decades since Jean-Luc Picard's made his last appearance in Star Trek: Nemesis, Star Trek fans only have a few more days to wait until Star Trek: Picard marks the return of Patrick Stewart as the title character. The series, set 18 years after Nemesis, will follow Stewart's iconic character for a 10-episode run, and has already been renewed for a second season.
Anyone counting down the hours until the show's premiere this Thursday might have an even shorter wait than expected. CBS has revealed that new episodes of Picard will go live at 12:01 AM PST on CBS All Access. Each episode will be followed by a post-show called The Ready Room hosted by Wil Wheaton, who portrayed Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation alongside Stewart.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view. Start nowPicard's release time differs from that of the existing CBS All Access Star Trek show, Star Trek: Discovery. Discovery episodes have dropped at 7:30 PM PST since the show began in 2017, emulating a traditional prime time slot on television. While that show paved the way for more Star Trek programming like the upcoming animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks and an in-development Michelle Yeoh led Discovery spin-off, Picard will not be following Discovery's example and will release new episodes in the wee hours of the morning.
A 12:01 AM PST release puts Picard in line with most Netflix and Disney+ shows. While Netflix shows tend to release a full season all at once, The Mandalorian proved last year that something closer to a traditional weekly release schedule can still generate massive amounts of hype when replicated on a streaming platform.
Picard, like The Mandalorian, has been highly anticipated and would certainly attract viewers regardless of what time episodes go live. Fans have been waiting nearly 20 years to see more of Picard, who Stewart has said is "a bit tormented" in this series. It's not clear what this timeline might mean for other streaming exclusive shows and if this might affect how CBS releases Discovery's third and recently confirmed fourth seasons.
While Picard's CBS All Access release time is only for the United States, international fans will not have too long of a wait to watch the show for themselves. People outside of the US will be able to watch new episodes on Amazon Prime within 24 hours of their initial release.
Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera and Harry Treadaway. The series is set to premiere Jan. 23 on CBS All Access.
Source: www.cbr.com