Star Trek Guide

Eighth Star Trek series details next phase of the Federation, Jean-Luc Picard's life

Star Trek: Picard promises ST fans more – more of the beloved Jean Luc-Picard and many of his compadres from the days of Enterprise captaincy, of course, but also more Federation lore, more science-fiction technological advances, and just plain old more Star Trek.  Since before Voyager debuted, a swathe of Trek fandom has hoped for such an expansion to the franchise’s timeline, the next next generation, so to speak; this is the time period of ST:P.

Star Trek: Picard depicts a Federation wearier and warier then yet seen. Through the course of series 1 (plus one episode of Short Treks), the stories of two cataclysms taking place after we last saw Picard captaining are revealed: The destruction of Romulus (mentioned in the 2009 reboot movie) and the annihilation of the Federation’s shipbuilding facility on Mars.

Some 14 years after resigning his commission as a Starfarfleet admiral, Picard believes he’s safely ensconced far away from the galaxy’s troubles on his vineyard in France – until a single desperate soul inspires him to ultimately save humanity … once again.



Star Trek: Picard – Cast and crew

The entirety of season 1 was devoted in large part to assembling what presumably will be the La Sirena crew for season 2. Said crew members include:

Adm. (ret.) Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) – The man, the myth, the legend.

Comm. (ret.) Rafaella “Raffi” Musiker (Michelle Hurd) – Picard’s first officer aboard the USS Verity during the Romulan evacuation/refugee crisis, Raffi was ultimately decommissioned for putting forth “conspiracy theories” about the Mars shipyard destruction. And she’s a chronic for that Snakeleaf…

Comm. (ret.) Cristóbal “Chris” Rios (Santiago Cabrera) – A former Starfleet officer who has commanded his ship for hire since resigning his own commission. His La Sirena is supplied with EMH-like holograms, some with essential and some with not-so-essential purposes, all modelled after him (albeit with different accents).

Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) – Dr. Jurati is a top-ranking expert on artificial intelligence at the Daystrom Institute’s Division of Advanced Synthetic Research. An acolyte (and quite a bit more) of Dr. Bruce Maddox, first seen arguing in JAG court about the thrilling possibilities of disassembling Lt. Comm. Data in the ST:TNG episode “Measure of a Man”, Dr. Jurati joins Picard’s initial mission for not exactly noble reasons.

Elnor (Evan Evagora) is a Romulan refugee who sees Picard as a father figure, having a) known the admiral since boyhood and b) having been raised in a Romulan convent since Picard returned to Earth. Elnor proves quite handy in a pinch from the start, as this dude makes up for his naivete with some hardcore martial artistry.

Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) – Last seen helping Captain Janeway take out the Borg queen in Voyager season 7, the ex-Borg formerly known as Anneke has spent much of the past two decades practicing vigilantism with a group known as the Ferris Rangers.

And last but not least is Soji Asha (Isa Briones), the raison d’ être for Picard’s motivation to get out there in the big chair again. Soji is a brilliant young woman ultimately revealed as a synthetic lifeform designed, though not physically manifested by, Data. The appearance and death of Soji’s twin sister Dahj sets Picard on his parth back to personal redemption – and beyond.

Other cast members expected to continue to play key roles in upcoming seasons may include…

Zhaban (Jamie McShane) and Laris (Orla Brady) – the Romulan butler and household manager, respectively; both are former members of the Tal Shiar.   

Dr. Altan Inigo Soong (Brent Spiner), the biological son of Data and Lore’s creator Dr. Noonien Soong,  is revealed as creator of many synthetic individuals and de factor ruler of Coppelius, planet on which most live.

Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) – OK, Guinan’s appearance on Star Trek: Picard season 2 has not, as of this writing, been officially confirmed. However, Sir Patrick himself extended an informal offer to Whoopi on her tv show The View and, let’s face it, how can you run a Picard-centric show without Guinan ever appearing. For that matter, what about Q (John de lancie)?