Star Trek Picard

Star Trek: Picard is an American television series created by Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, and Alex Kurtzman for the streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded as Paramount+). It is the eighth Star Trek series, and was launched in 2020 as part of Kurtzman’s expanded Star Trek Universe. The series features the retired Starfleet Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, with each season exploring different aspects of the character and covering issues that come up in the last stage of a person’s life.

Patrick Stewart stars as Picard, reprising his role from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as other Star Trek media. Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Harry Treadaway, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, and Evan Evagora also star in the first season, with Jeri Ryan, Orla Brady, and Brent Spiner joining for the second. The third season stars Stewart, Hurd, Ryan, Spiner, and other returning Next Generation cast members LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, and Marina Sirtis.

The series was first rumored in June 2018, and was officially announced that August. It is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout, Weed Road Pictures, and Roddenberry Entertainment, and was designed to be slower and more character-focused than previous series in the franchise. Filming took place in California, which granted the series large tax credits. Chabon served as showrunner for the first season, with Goldsman and Terry Matalas taking over for the second which was filmed back-to-back with the third. Matalas was sole showrunner for the third season, which was designed to be a conclusion to the stories of Picard and the other Next Generation cast members.

Star Trek: Picard premiered on CBS All Access on January 23, 2020, and its first season ran for 10 episodes until March 26. The second season was released on Paramount+ from March 3 to May 5, 2022, with the third and final season expected to premiere in early 2023. The series was met with generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Stewart’s performance and the focus on character over action, though some criticized the slow pacing. It has received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award for its prosthetic makeup. Several tie-in projects have been created based on the series, including an episode of the companion series Star Trek: Short Treks.

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