They’re back!
What fans have hoped for since “Star Trek: Picard” was first announced four years ago, has come true: all of the main “Next Generation” cast will be returning to the “Star Trek” universe for the final season of “Picard.” LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis and Brent Spiner will all star opposite Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard in what showrunner Terry Matalas is billing as a final send-off for the characters. Watch the announcement video below.
“I remember watching the premiere of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ almost 34 years ago with my father like it was yesterday. It was the spark that ignited my love for science fiction,” said Terry Matalas, season three showrunner and executive producer. “So, it’s most fitting that the story of Jean-Luc Picard ends honoring the beginning, with his dearest and most loyal friends from the U.S.S. Enterprise. It would be an understatement to say that giving these characters a proper send-off is an honor. The entire ‘Star Trek: Picard’ team and I can’t wait for fans to experience this final, high-stakes, starship-bound adventure in season three!”
“Star Trek: Picard” Season 2 is currently streaming each week on Paramount+. Frakes and Sirtis appeared in Season 1, alongside Jonathan Del Arco as recurring “Next Gen” guest star Hugh and “Star Trek: Voyager” alum Jeri Ryan. But the cast of new characters on “Picard” has won fans over, as well. Santiago Cabrera, Allison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, and Michelle Hurd have been developed in very intriguing ways this second season.
Fans, though, have always wanted to see “what the ‘Next Gen’ cast are up to,” though. Other series have given us a glimpse, though often via alternate realities or hypothetical futures that made us doubt if these characters would actually end up that way.
The announcement comes on April 5, which in “Star Trek” lore is First Contact Day, the occasion 41 years from April 5, 2063, when humanity makes first contact with the Vulcans and puts Earth on a path toward peace, unity, and exploration. We can only hope. In honor of the occasion, Paramount+ and CBS will donate $1 for every tweet (per handle) that includes the hashtag #StarTrekUnited, giving to charities that support LGBTQ+ equality, as well as veterans and humanitarian aid.
