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‘Picard’ Becomes First Star Trek Series To Break Into Streaming Top 10 Ranking

star trek picard viewership

| April 14, 2023 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 278 comments so far

The third season of Star Trek: Picard has been popular with fans and critics, and now there’s metrics to back that up—the show is a bona fide hit for Paramount+.

Picard arrives in Nielsen’s Top 10

Nielsen, known as the leading company doing broadcast and cable television ratings, also tracks streaming. And their latest release features Star Trek: Picard on the original programming top 10 list, showing up at number 9. Unlike their television ratings which track share and viewers, the streaming chart tracks total minutes viewed for each show (in millions), with Picard coming in at 310 million.

star trek picard viewership

This is a Star Trek first for Nielsen which started charting streaming content in 2021 but only started tracking Paramount+ shows earlier this year. As noted above, this chart covers mid-March, around the release of the fourth episode of Picard season 3. Nielsen’s streaming charts take around a month to be released. This indicates that the Picard audience is growing during season 3 and so the show could start showing up more in the coming weeks.

This is only the second time Paramount+ has made the list, following 1923 , one of their Yellowstone spin-offs, which showed up on the same chart two weeks ago (at number 6 with 560 million minutes viewed). Tracking streaming is more complicated, due to how each service has a different number of subscribers. Shows on Netflix and Disney+ tend to dominate the streaming charts, but those streaming services also have significantly more subscribers than Paramount+.

star trek picard viewership

Joanthan Frakes as Will Riker in “No Win Scenario” Episode 304

So, about that spin-off…

Nielsen ratings have always dominated the discussion in Hollywood. Reporting on the same Nielsen release, The Hollywood Reporter headline leads with “ ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Makes Streaming Chart Debut .” Paramount is tightening its belt when it comes to spending on original content and it recently decided to end Star Trek: Discovery with the fifth season, but the now documented popularity of season 3 of Picard will be noticed by Paramount and executive producer Alex Kurtzman, who oversees the franchise for Paramount+. This attention can only help the ambitions of showrunner Terry Matalas with the “ Star Trek: Legacy ” spin-off series he envisions.

Star Trek: Picard wraps up next Thursday with the season and series finale.

star trek picard viewership

Terry Matalas with Alex Kurtzman and members of the Picard season 3 cast at TCA event in January

The third and final season of  Picard  premiered on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, exclusively on  Paramount+  in the U.S., and Latin America, and on February 17 Paramount+ in Europe and elsewhere, with new episodes of the 10-episode-long season available to stream weekly. It also debuted on Friday, Feb. 17 internationally on Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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I guess turning on Picard and letting it play through for noise at night has made a difference…

You guess wrong.

I wish we had other data to compare. Paramount Plus wasn’t tracked by Nielsen until very recently.

We have the one that died versus the one that didn’t.

Is this a joke about Data the character? I’m confused.

These metrics from Nielsen are new. They didn’t exist for Discovery’s earlier seasons.

Nielsen can’t tell us how well Discovery did historically for any kind of comparison.

From other measures however, we know that Discovery previously did quite well.

Nielsen streaming numbers are, in additional to being less timely, only beaded on television boxes. They don’t reflect viewership on tablets, computers or phones.

What we do know is that a show’s Nielsen rankings in the streaming top ten tracks fairly closely to its performance in other metrics for the same week.

How did Discovery do in other metrics a few years back or SNW last year before a Nielsen number was available? Almost as well as Picard is doing now actually.

Other numbers are available at Parrot Analytics. SNW leapt ahead of Discovery and it would seem that Picard Season 3 leapt ahead of SNW. The show is a winner for Paramount.

Internationally though, the Parrot Analytics info I saw last summer had DSC S4 outperforming SNW S1 and Picard S2.

It’s interesting how Lower Decks never makes it to the top of these analytics ratings. We can all assess how Picard, SNW and DSC have done, but like the old and famous Bob Ueker commercial, “LDS is sitting in the front row!” LOL

LOL. Love that one!

So, Bob Bakish would go on to say on the earnings call after SNW debuted, it was their highest rated Star Trek series to date. Nielsen and Parrot use analytics to determine how a show is performing but Paramount (and other content providers) know exactly how a show is performing with every click to play. Of course, no one likes to share that info.

What I would love to know is of the 80 million or so subscribers to Paramount+, how many of those subscribers are watching each series and how many of those viewers actually make it through the entire season.

Yeah, good point. And the hype train is going to be in full gear for SNW S2 — mark my word, it’s going to surpass Pic S3’s viewership.

There’s a different Parrot Analytics top ten for ‘adult animated comedies’ that gets released publicly only occasionally. Both Prodigy and Lower Decks do well.

Last summer Parrot put out a report demonstrating that there’s untapped demand in the market for animated series that, as a whole, the streamers aren’t meeting. It’s got a comparative table showing all the major streamers and their animated shows. Lower Decks and Prodigy aren’t quite at the SW or Marvel levels but, they’re fine.

See this cartoon site article: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/animation-supply-demand-parrot-analytics-219442.html

Which is why it’s so odd that WBD basically gutted Cartoon Network and Adult Swim to give us.. Tiny Toons Looniversity. Oy.

While I’m not worried about LDS at all, I suspect it can go another season or two after season 5, I am happy you mentioned that about Prodigy. For some reason I don’t think it will get passed season 2. But its nice to hear it’s performing strongly enough on some level and maybe will get a third season and beyond.

YES IT IS!!

And well deserved! :)

Then why did you make that dumbass remark (no offense meant) that you can’t prove with ratings data?

…this comment is meant for Riker’s Mailbox, obviously

I’m being cautious around what we can and can’t say.

We can’t show yet how Nielsen numbers track to Parrot for any Paramount shows, but there are patterns that map for shows on other streamers.

Where it gets tricky for the Trek franchise is q metrics like Parrot capture negative chatter as much as positive, and legacy shows start from a floor.

Comparing Discovery or SNWs Parrot score directly to Picard’s isn’t entirely fair. They might have lower views but less media and social media traction.

At the extreme end, The Night Agent, which had astonishing number of viewing hours its premiere weekend on Netflix, as a completely new show with no franchise, is just above where SNW or Discovery usually place on Parrot.

(I can tell I’m getting to used to presenting data visually.

Look at Rotten Tomatos if you want to gain a sense of how unloved it was.

Rotten Tomatoes just tells us that it was targeted by the alt-right for review bombing. There’s nothing even remotely scientific or random about a self-selected group of extremist haters trying to make a statement by trashing a show they don’t like because it features people who aren’t white men.

Parrot Analytics provides a nit more context which shows that it’s performing very well for Paramount: https://tv.parrotanalytics.com/US/star-trek-picard-paramount-plus

44% is definitely way more than any modern Trek series had ever been. That’s definitely a high mark. Discovery was pretty high in the 30s% last year, and so was SNW. The darling of Reddit, Lower Decks, had never broken into the 30s.

We the People will be Assimilated By Star Trek. Picard. Resistance is Futile!!

E Plebnista

Kurtzman, please leave. Paramount, wise up and give TM the keys.

Ted Moseby?

LOL! Terry Matalas. What he has done for Star Trek is what Simon Bennett has done for Power Rangers.

Kurtzman hired him and promoted him this season and let him run this – just like Berman did with Ira SB.

I think fans should be thanking Kurtzman, not coming up with childish, moronic insults that make them sound like they’re in middle school.

Exactly. The anti-Kurtzman rhetoric borders on sociopathic sometimes.

Yeah, Kurtzman is doing a fine job.

In the mirror universe, maybe. Outside of a little of this season and a little of SNW, Kurtzman has never been associated with anything I didn’t find to be crap outside of the WATCHMEN feature, and I really don’t know how much damage or work of his is in the final cut of that.

And there’s the thing: YOU don’t like his work. That’s not true for everyone and it’s high time that you (and others in this community) realise that just because you have an opinion, it doesn’t make it gospel.

It’s high time that lemmings and other trek acolytes realize that there is room in this ‘verse for dissenting opinions — especially informed dissenting opinions.

He is entitled to his opinion.

Ugh, I walked out of WATCHMEN. Got through it finally on disc much later and it reconfirmed that it’s one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. IDIC of course.

Admittedly it is divisive among fans of the graphic novel — and I consider the book to be genuinely a work of literature, near-perfect in execution.

However heretical it may sound, I do think the film improves on the book’s ending, though apparently Kurtzman’s old ally Lindelof did not, since the HBO continuation series reinstates the novel’s squid ending as how it went down.

It’s a bit of an oddity, given that I find Zack Snyder’s output since to be wholly unwatchable, and that except for his DAWN OF THE DEAD remake, nothing preceding it impressed me much.But I swear I’ve watched just the opening backstory section by itself at least 60 times — it seems a textbook example for presenting a ton of information visually and concisely. For a film that I imagined somewhat differently nearly two decades earlier with Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum and Rutger Hauer and Robert Davi, it still really clicks for me.

Rather liked the feature film myself, in spite of of its really dark take on humanity — I even have the soundtrack, which is boss. Moore may disdain it as a film adaptation on principle, but I think it gets across his main point well enough: that fantasies about powerful, costumed superheros righting all that ails us are, at base, pretty fascist.

I’ve seen the used soundtrack at work (Goodwill) and was going back & forth about getting it, but shoot, it’s only two bucks and I have a huge credit to burn through (bought my wife a KitchenAide that had to be returned), so why not? I’d guess the Dylan and the Hendrix cues would probably cover that cost.

Snyder does trot out the slo-mo too often and the age makeups are a mixed bag, but I’ve just always been all-in on this one.

Checked my movie list just now and haven’t rewatched the movie since 2021, so I’m probably overdue for another look. I’m finding that in terms of rewatches (which is most of my viewing), it is turning into a regular circuit of films and TV, while others that I actually consider better films don’t seem to merit as many rewatches anymore. I’ve only seen KANE three times this century (not counting select scene views), and even though I think Spike’s HER is one of the best SF films of the last decade or so, have only seen that a couple times since (ditto for UNDER THE SKIN, my other pic for favorite SF post-CHILDREN OF MEN.) I don’t think I’ve seen GRAVITY more than once since getting the disk, and shoot, i saw that 3x in the theater (only movie that can make that claim this century, largely for the vfx rather than the storytelling.)

CHILDREN OF MEN was incredible, if harrowing and at times difficult to sit through, well worth the ride just for the masterclass in filmmaking that was the attack on the car when Julianne Moore buys it, and getting to hear Michael Caine say “Pull my finger” before exiting himself. GRAVITY is more immersive visuals than narrative, but so expertly put together that I’ll gladly take it. (I also love the way George Clooney’s voice circles the soundstage on my decent home theatre in the film’s opening.) And I loved HER too, on many levels. But I’ll still take ARRIVAL as the best SF film of the present century so far. I only wish that I liked Villeneuve’s BLADE RUNNER sequel half as well, and DUNE a quarter as well.

I find myself also doing mostly rewatches these days. Next up: Zhang Yimou’s HERO, which is one of maybe a half-dozen or so movies I’ve seen in my life that so astounded me that I left the theater speechless. Ravishing to the senses and technically near- perfect, it’s like if Stanley Kubrick decided to make the ultimate kick-ass martial arts movie.

We usually have HERO in stock at GW too; I’ll take a look, sounds like it is well worth a blind buy based on that glowing recommendation. ARRIVAL blew my wife away, but eluded me first time through, though I bought the disk awhile back anyway, figuring the deliberate craftsmanship alone will merit reviewing. My take on 2049 was as lukewarm as yours, but when I tried to rewatch, I couldn’t last 10 minutes, so guess I should be happy that we keep enjoying his DUNE regardless of how arid it seems (we still think the Lynch is much more of a fun ride though.)

ARRIVAL was adapted from one of the best SF short stories I’ve ever read, and is one of the few adaptations that in my view bettered the source material. In the end we all have our own tastes — and that’s a good thing — so I hope that HERO turns out not to be a letdown for you given how I feel about it. All I can say is that I also did a recent rewatch of Ang Lee’s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, in honor of its anniversary, and while I still think it’s great (Michelle Yeoh, you kick butt, girl!), for my money HERO is its superior in every way. Zhang Yimou ended-up doing a trilogy of martial arts films, all worth seeing, but HERO was the first and imo the best. I really do think of him as the Stanley Kubrick of China (they both got their start as still photographers), but where Kubrick takes a more and more formalized approach to his subjects as his career progresses, Yimou went the opposite way, with his films becoming ever-more passionate. At the very least, do yourself a favor and give him a shot.

I agree. I think he’s doing a pretty good job. I think he understands the philosophy of Star Trek and what that means. We had to meander through a lot of peak TV tropes to get there but I’m very optimistic about Star Trek’s future, especially when compared to something like Star Wars which has little worthwhile creative vision behind it.

But there is the Inverse Kurtzman Law — the closer he’s involved with a series, the worse it tends to be.

That makes no sense whatsoever given he was not involved in the creative genesis of discovery and he deferred to a lot of Stewart’s overall storage direction early on Picard. In comparison, he was in on the ground floor of — as a Kevin Feige -type franchise level executive producer — launching SNW, Prodigy and LDS – which the majority of core fans like.

So the opposite of what you are saying is true.

I mean, even if we all agree that DSC and PIC S1&2 were disasters (I don’t but i’ll accept it for the sake of argument) — Picard Season 3, Prodigy, Lower Decks, and SNW are all [generally] widely loved by fans.

Not only that, he was stuck with Fuller’s concept and set-up for DSC, and for Picard, he had to give a lot of latitude to Steward early on for the story concept, which Stewart was forcing to be Picard psycho-babble (I am exaggerating a bit, but you get my drift).

One could argue that Kurtzman is following the same path as Berman — he inherited some weak Trek, and then righted the ship and created new great series.

True. That said, i’m not here lauding him as a great producer, just defending him from accusations of being called garbage.

Very true — not garbage, but a mediocre creative mind at best.

If that’s your definition of his role, then I would say the exact same thing about Rick Berman.

I really don’t agree with this definition but nevertheless, if that’s the definition we must use then Berman’s the same deal. You can’t have it both ways

One could argue that and be wrong.

And if my grandmother had wheels she’d be a wagon

I’ve come millions of miles…..!

…Just to be with you.

Everybody have fun tonight. Everybody Wang Chung tonight.

(Yes, I’m that old. Only my Gen-Z kids keep me from being hopelessly cringe.)

Right! Kurtzman hate is so corny at this point. I love that we have a Star Trek: Universe on P+ and it’s thank to Kurtzman. And not a lot of people could pull that off. And it clearly just keeps getting better. This season is amazing yes but also the very first season of SNW hit it out the park. Prodigy is very cool and different but also very Star Trek and beautiful. Lower Desks is hilarious. And no matter if your a fan of the show or not it all started with Discovery. So yes lets give Terry a show please but also steady as she goes Alex, great job!!

Executives above Kurtzman approve the shows but cool story.

His post is spot-on

His post is completely fair. You seem to just have a narrative you want to prove.

Fans should be thanking Kurtzman for being busy with other projects so the meddling with Matalas was kept to a minium, granted.

Sounds like a good activity for you, Riker’s Mailbox and Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Ira Steven Behr.

I’m sure Paramount read your comment and is giving it careful consideration.

LOL. Well said.

Based on all the responses here, it looks like Riker’s Mailbox is getting his mail returned to him, marked: UNDELIVERED – POSTAGE DUE. Lol

Yeah but a lot of the different responses are from the same spam source.

Huh? If you’re going to accuse me or anyone else of something then accuse the person you are alluding to here directly so that the mods can see it and check on it. Otherwise, please refrain fome these trolling BS types of remarks that obviously seem to be geared towards you getting out of an uncomfortable situation, where almost everyone’s disagreeing with you. Thank you

… fade away to final scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark

Kurtzman did hire him and originated the Picard show in the first place. I don’t get why people are turning on him, he’s responsible for all the good things too, not just the bad things. I for one am thankful for many things Kurtzman has spearheaded, such as Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks!

This is also in danger of becoming spam given that Riker’s Mailbox keeps posting that same statement (it’s basically the same sentence every time) in article after article here. It’s like he just cuts and paste that same remark over and over and over. That’s called trolling, obviously.

And in defense of Kurtzman, Patrick Stewart would only agree to do the show if it wasn’t a TNG reunion, and he had a HUGE say in the story.

100% correct

Paramount hired Matalas; Kurtzman isn’t Louis B. Mayer.

Nope. Matalas first approached Kurtzman through Akiva, and then Alex hired him.

Oh stop trying to divide the franchise (more than it is).

And given the rough ride last night’s episode got on this and many other boards, it’s very premature to react based on data that’s a month old.

Kurtzman is overseeing the franchise but he’s doing what others typically do in his position: Hire the right people, take a step back and let them run with the ball. Oddly enough, he seemed to have started hitting his stride with Prodigy and Lower Decks, hiring people who know, live and breathe Star Trek but also know how to produce a series and also bring in the right people. It was a learning curve for Kurtzman but it looks like he figured it out (Starfleet Academy may be the real test).

Exactly! I have been a full on Kurtzman supporter since the day Picard was announced. Before then I was very suspect where he was going to take the franchise. But that decision proved he at least wanted to see Trek venture to other areas AND was listening to the fans who was begging for a post-Nemesis show. Now I didn’t love the show (until recently ;)) but I still thought it was a step in the right direction.

But since Picard, we have gotten great shows starting with Lower Decks, then Prodigy and finally SNW. And they managed to turn Picard around by season 3 to be a massive hit both with the fans and critics. When you have NuTrek haters who has been shunning this franchise since 2009 now singing this show’s praises you really are doing something right lol.

I have pointed this out soooo many times, the guy does listen to the fans. It’s why we now have four post-Nemesis shows on the air. It’s why we have SNW. It’s why we DON’T have the Discovery Klingons anymore lol. It’s why SNW actually feels like it belongs in the 23rd century. It’s why Discovery is no longer there. It’s why the entire TNG cast is back. They are listening even if people still not fond of all of it.

And we’ll see about Starfleet Academy, but I am totally on board with the idea at least. But I am definitely on board with a Picard spinoff and I know Kurtzman is definitely listening now. ;)

Damn right. If anything, people should thank Kurtzman for being nimble enough to cut the showrunners that suck right away and replace them with showrunners that rock.

In the very beginning, they had to do a lot of persuading to get the big wigs to give them money to produce the show. Remember how Seth MacFarlane pitched the Orville as a comedy first to Fox, and slowly turned it into a Trek-ish show? The same happened for Kurtzman Trek era. He had to pitch them stuff that the execs like and lean on them first – the JJ Trek, the grim dark Game of Thrones, serialization, etc.

And when Kurtzman saw that something is drawing audience attention like Captain Pike, he considered them pretty soon. And when something doesn’t work like the new Klingons, he cut those showrunners right away.

Finally, remember that Kurtzman first approached Terry Matalas for a Short Trek episode “The Escape Artist” in order to source talents for the Trek universe. And Matalas ended up making a very good one, which led him being considered to be the new showrunner of Picard.

Actually I didn’t know he approached Matalas for doing The Escape Artist. But it’s funny that seem to happen with McMahan who got his own show later too.

But it’s why I’m not concerned if we will get a legacy show because Kurtzman knows how much fans want it, so it will happen. It may not happen right away lol, but yes it will most likely happen. More so now that the season is a huge hit and probably the best performing season out of all of them.

And how do you explain the Academy show then?

I’m confused, has that show come out yet for anyone to judge it?

It finally got greenlit with successful creators in the YA niche, and has Tawny Newsome (and her deep knowledge of Treklore) in the writers room.

It’s been in development for quite some time and he’s allowed to push his own pet projects but I think it’s also intended to see if a series set in that time period can stand on its own and skew younger. Paramount announced this series but didn’t commit beyond a single season.

I mean he’s been trying to get this off the ground for five years now lol. It was just time. I imagine the S31 show will eventually happen as well but yeah it could still be years away if that’s not Paramount’s main priority and clearly it hasn’t been.

Please elaborate. Kurtzman hired Matalas, ans they got a winner with season 3. That usually means a contract extension, not termination.

Sooner have Behr or Moore.

Tim Meadows? Tracey Morgan? Tobey McGuire? Tilly Masterson? (gave myself 45sec, figured three real people and a fake one from a different franchise was pretty good for that time frame.)

Looks like all the nostalgia this season has paid off. Now Paramount should give us a DS9, Voyager and Enterprise limited series.

Exactly. We constantly hear fans don’t want too much nostalgia and member berries but oddly enough those are always the most praised stuff on message boards lol. People drooled all over Nepenthe and it was just Picard, Riker and Troi sitting around talking over pizza. So someone finally smartened up (Matalas) and gave them an entire reunion season and it’s literally paying off for them.

People can deny it until the cows come home but when its done right , fan service works like no other.

People are happy with new stuff as long as it incorporates genuine older elements and tries not to rewrite the foundation (looking at you Discovery season 1!).

Exactly! Discovery season 1 tried to reboot Star Trek and that was its mistake and I feel a big reason why it’s still so divided in the fanbase today. They been trying to fix that show ever since and now I feel its too late since it’s been cancelled.

But all the other shows after it really tried to make their show look and feel like classic Star Trek again while still feeling like their own thing. And the responses have been waaaaay more positive over it.

What kind of bugs me is people will automatically assume that the show is a success because the ensemble is back. To a degree, that’s true, but I would argue that it’s also because Matalas gets Trek and gets these characters. It’s also true that Season 1 of Picard could have been successful without the TNG ensemble if the writers were true to the character and story was well thought out and compelling.

SNW was also an ensemble, and also a much better show. Picard is a hit because it’s a TNG reprise, and TNG is easily the most popular Trek show most viewers. Matalas doesn’t “get” Trek as much as I thought initially in the first 5 episodes. I take back my ask to have him act as a franchise-wide creative leader.

From what i’ve seen, the people behing SNW and PRO “get” Trek the best. Matalas, at least at the moment, seems like a fanboy making fan-films. When he resists that urge though, I think he’s a great storyteller.

Please. SNW is just as much of a “reprise” of TOS. Are you kidding?

Where did I say it wasn’t a reprise, or even imply it? You invented that just so you could be angry about it lol.

As for SNW being a “reprise” — i think that does a disservice, though obviously part of its appeal for some fans is its connection to TOS (but because it’s an all-new cast it’s also a part of what a lot of fans dislike about about).

My point is that the appeal of PIC S3 is largely the return of the original TNG cast. If it were the exact same story, but about a different crew coming back together that we’ve never met, I highly doubt most people raving about it would care, let alone even like it.

Whereas, SNW is loved by people like me, who have NO love at all for TOS.

Alpha Predator is by no means alone in his view that fanservice / nostalgia has crowded out good plotting and pacing in the back half of the season.

There was a fair bit of criticism of the last few episodes here, especially episode 8, no matter how emotionally some nostalgic moments hit.

Over on Trek BBS and TOR, the reaction is quite harsh. Reddit is mixed despite the main Trek related subs having mod rules on some that constrain negative posts to Throwdown Thursdays.

As for me, I’m still finding SNW season one the best season of live action Trek in the new era.

Prodigy is hands down the strongest all time in landing a single season serialized arc.

Wow, a fan that disagreed with you named himself “SNW” just to respond to you!

Lol, dude, that’s the ultimate complement and shows that you must be on the right track with your remarks!

Your comment is spot on by the way — I agree 100%

I’m of the belief that there simply wasn’t enough time to write the season. From the sounds of it, this was all very constrained in prep and production. Paramount combined the costs of two seasons and season three drew the short straw because season two burned huge piles of money and that had to be made up for with limiting season three’s scope. Streaming has a big problem in that they tend to bifurcate their writing staff and production staff (in the past, writers would continue working *into* production).

[I know people love the first two seasons of Picard, but the people who ran those seasons were not people who had experience making TV before (anyone thinking MATALAS WAS ON SEASON TWO is some sort of trump card is just wrong and misinformed as to what he had control over — he only had control over season three).]

I guess I’m just offering a meager defense because those first four episodes are so strong (and the Ro stuff in five is pretty great) and the time element is just a likely a reason for why things get wonky or sweaty later on than “dude just doesn’t get it” is.

Personally, I’m forced to wonder if Paramount had mandates on things he had to include:

1) must include a major role for Seven of Nine 2) must include the Borg in a major way 3) must be 10 episodes long (this is 99% guaranteed)

I’ve said this for a while, but Netflix released their list of “most rewatched Trek episodes” in 2016, and it was almost entirely Borg and Seven of Nine episodes. I really do believe that when Picard was being brought back, Paramount demanded that Seven and the Borg play a role in the story every year, because they think that’s what fans love most, based on those analytics.

Because part of me thinks if Matalas truly had full, 100% control, it would have been 6 episodes and not included Seven, Raffi, or the Borg.

Heck, he might have even wanted to do a dozen standalone episodes…

Almost certainly. Every time I’ve interacted with pro writers or people who have specifically worked on these new Trek shows, my takeaway has been, usually, “All the stuff that is annoying is some sort of mandate from a muckety-muck.” Paramount is no different from the studios in making all their decisions based on market research. The only difference between theirs and the other studios is that theirs is usually done on the cheap. Paramount/Viacom is not synonymous with quality.

Yet many of the core fans (not me) hate the new, creative stuff, where your argument doesn’t fit here, like DSC!

Market Research largely mirrors what fans and viewers want — like it or not.

I’m not sure what you’re saying is my argument, but I’ll seek to clarify. “Annoying” in that, in terms of what AlphaPredator was offering, it has to be 10 serialized episodes… and in my conversations, stuff like recapping the plot at the top of every scene,”\ punctuating tension with broad comedy, never taking itself too seriously (“No nerd sh**”).

And yes, Market Research largely mirrors what fans want. Paramount’s market research is not done in the same way that Disney does theirs, for example; but also, their execs really don’t really get too deep into the research. They just look at what iconography people recognize/know about the show and ignore all the stuff about values/beliefs associated with it — this is why we keep getting Borg (First Contact most successful TNG movie) mixed with TWOK (most popular Trek movie) and the Klingons, Romulans, Vulcans, Kirk, and Spock. Over and over again. Again and again.

I don’t see how Discovery not being as popular in the present moment as Star Trek: Picard (Discovery is still incredibly popular. Depending on who you ask, it’s the only good Star Trek ever made) proves that what I said doesn’t fit, though. I don’t see any of the new Treks as being particularly new or creative. Discovery began as a show about Spock’s sister fighting Klingons. That’s market research! Strange New Worlds? A prequel to TOS — Market research! Lower Decks? A sequel to TNG with Rick & Morty DNA — Market research! Prodigy? A sequel to Voyager (the most popular Trek that streamed on Netflix before licensing deal ended) — Market research! Yes, it’s not Paramount’s fault that the vast majority of audiences only want the same thing over and over again, I’m saying that within the fans’ narrow and boring desires, Paramount has their own annoying way of wanting to do things. That’s all I was really trying to say.

DSC began based on Brian Fuller’s own personal concept, and they him run with it untile he got fired for mismanagement (not for the story/creative issues), so, no, it did not begin with market research about Spock’s sister fighting Klingons — that is simply not factual.

I don’t disagree with other parts of your response here though — I certainly agree that SINCE DSC Paramount has an annoying Market Research way of doing things. My counter point was simply that when core fans got a wildly creative departure with DSC, many of those core fans did not embrace it — which unfortunately gives support to those at P+ that want to develop new Trek series that are based more solidly on market research — whether you or I like it or not.

You know what would be brave and cool — a limited series call Star Trek: Borg , where we get a story from the Borg’s perspective that highlights their point of view.

Think of it like Cobra Kai, which initially reversed the roles of Johnny and Daniel, and turned the whole good versus bad on it’s head, and made the viewer question their original viewpoints.

To the audience, it would just be like the last scene in Lower Decks’ “wej duj”. :-)

I suspect you’re right Alpha Predator about the constraints, or ‘must haves’ on Paramount’s side.

How about this for another possible ‘must have’ for the live-action shows that seems to be a pattern since 2016?

– Family ties to legacy characters…

Did Paramount decide that Star Trek needed to be dynastic as a franchise to be successful?

The pattern…

Discovery S1: Michael Burnham is Spock’s foster sister.

Discovery S2: Michael’s birth mother is a time traveler bridging to the 33nd century, and her MU adoptive mother is the Terran Emperor.

SNW: despite all the legacy characters, we still have La’an as a descendant of the family of Khan Noonien-Singh.

Picard S1: Dajh / Soji was characterized as ‘Data’s Daughter; tortured and murdered Icheb as Seven’s son; Elnor ‘like a son’ to Picard & the Riker-Troi’s with an extra entire backstory of their late son and teen daughter.

Picard S2: more Elnor (and time travel)

Picard S3: Matalas just leaned into the family thing with the next, next generation, to the point that not including Lal and Alexander Rozenko or mentioning Kestra seem notable.

Looking back, what longtime fans have criticized as unnecessary ‘small world syndrome’ retcons in Discovery and SNW to link up new characters, may be a feature and not a bug.

Someone at a senior level has made it a requirement.

I do think Time Travel could have been a Paramount directive, as was Q. I think the studio looks at the most watched episodes and sees Q episodes (on TNG and Voyager) and time travel episodes and just says “do that.”

Matalas literally came up with the main plots for season 2. The season long time travel and a plots were all him. Season 3 also took all season to answer questions and introduced the “real” villain at the very end.

Oof. There’s more to MAKING TV than just “[coming] up with the main plot points.” He did not produce season two. It is more than just the plot points. I do not see how this was unclear.

Was he in production meetings, was he in casting, was he supervising cuts, was he on the set every day? There are so many other things that go into making a TV show if you’re an executive producer.

If you look at the original reporting, Matalas was originally brought in to show run season 2 because Chabon was stepping back (to develop one of his own works into another show). And apparently, Matalas did the daily show running during the first half of season 2. He then stepped back during the second half to focus on preparing season 3 at which point Goldsman reportedly took over daily show running duties on season 2.

This helped me realize I’m wrong about a lot. I don’t feel like ST:P-S2 is something anyone should be proud of, but guess what – I’m a f-in idiot on the internet. Thanks for setting me straight.

To be honest, I was a little surprised myself when I noticed recently that season 2 and 3 were largely done by the same team. Luckily for most fans here, the producers picked a storyline for season 3 (and it was approved by the studio) that resonates much more with long-time trekkies than previous seasons.

Yes, and the main plot points and time travel story weren’t the issues I had with the season, nor was the late-season villain reveal.

(then again, I don’t think Season 2 was pure garbage, either).

He has been a great storyteller elsewhere (12 Monkeys).

I’d like to see more of that in a Trek show.

This season seemed to be an unrepentant, shameless pitch to bring the vitriolic naysayers on YouTube and their audience back into the fold.

Ok, that’s an important strategy for the brand.

If he can stay a team player and perhaps help them get some of those folks to give Prodigy, Lower Decks and SNW a try, all the better. There’re several new posts a week of the ‘I thought I’d hate but…” on other boards. This is helpful for the brand.

As my spouse put it last night, I guess I can live with the cringe moments of nostalgia dragging out too long if it boosts the franchise. Doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to less of it in SNW though.

It’s hilarious to read the daily “I thought I would hate ” threads.

The main character energy to try to feel special by making a public confession admitting fault is so shallow – like, why don’t they all just let people enjoy things back then, and now they like it they let other people enjoy things finally? Give me a break.

With that said, if enough people write them, we may finally be able to banish those irrational and relentless haters to the realm of Pal-Wraiths. So sick of hearing them like a broken record.

Silly me, I’m assuming the show is a success because people are watching it.

In the uk it’s been consistently number 2 or 3 on Amazon prime since debut

I seem to recall reading last summer that they were adding P+ to their tracking. That would explain why SNW and the previous Yellowstone seasons didn’t show up in their previous monthly Top 10s.

I wonder where lower decks s3 came in last fall in these ratings. 93rd? 167th? Lol

🙄 As for Yellowstone, the only shows from the franchise are 1883 and 1923. The original’s reruns stream on Peacock, which has a smaller footprint than P+.

Well, the Yellowstone series 1883 completed its run before the Nielsen’s started doing the P+ ratings last summer, so my point stands .

1883 was only one season, so it half-stands, and yours is technically still a conjecture because we don’t really know how 1883, Halo, SNW, Discovery et al might have performed on that list in previous years.

Shows kept getting renewed and some got traction with Parrot and vague “Best performer ever!” praise from All Access/Paramount+ as it grew, and that was enough for a time.

That’s rather weak, but I can’t completely dismiss it.

And just like THAT… a fourth season ended up on the discussion table.

Indeed. I think Paramount+ could green light the Star Trek Legacy Pitch, if they could produce the show in Toronto.

I don’t see a constraint for a production in the Greater Toronto Area. There’s major studio construction going on all over the region. Production incentives aren’t constrained.

The 2 Ontario-based EPs for the SH productions, Frank Siracusa and John Weber, were also the guys who put forward the proposal for CBS Studios to build its own studio in the region, and managed the project to lease and convert a warehouse complex close to Toronto International Airport.

CBS Stages in Mississauga now has 6 soundstages. SNW isn’t occupying all of them with its standing sets.

The pilot for new Matlock for CBS linear is shooting there and on location around Toronto, as well as some other limited series.

However, even with Starfleet Academy going in there, they may still have a soundstages for another bridge set and other Titan sets.

Actually a fourth season was already on the table. Kurtzman and Stewart said at an event before this season started that another season was still possible. The reality is Picard was probably always a big hit for them (for Star Trek) and there would’ve been another season if Stewart decided to come back after season 3. Again, totally understandable why he was done and frankly a lot of fans probably weren’t that bothered after seasons 1 and 2 lol.

But I don’t think the idea has ever went away. I been very adamant we are getting a spin off show in some form, it’s just a matter of when and what it looks like. But yes, we could just get Matalas show now or even another season with the entire TNG cast back if Stewart wants to come back. Paramount really likes money, so it’s a strong possibility now. ;)

This is great news! Congrats to all the creatives that made this gem possible. David Blass and Mike Okuda and Doug Drexler I am pointing at you too! Terry, if I ever meet you…you are gunna get a hug!

Now, lets get #startreklegacy green-lit and off the ground!!

Yep, a lot of the old guard coming back has made such a difference. You give fans what they want and shockingly fans will watch.

Awesome news. Congrats to the whole Production Team.

Wow wow wow as an original TNG fan the best Picard episode by far well done everyone involved fantastic ! Can’t wait for next week

I have to say, it’s really good and stands on its own. From story, to music, to acting. Kudos to all involved.

It’s gratifying to see Trek making waves in the marketplace. These metrics aren’t perfect, but they are a lot more transparent than the numbers the media companies just keep to themselves. I remember how Nielsen ratings and box office numbers used to bolster my confidence in the franchise’s resilience, or steel me for when the other shoe dropped.

For march hey? Right around when the Dominion and Changeling connections were revealed. Interesting.

Well, this is good news, and at the very least gives some fuel to the “give Terry Matalas a show” argument.

I don’t think it’s a good reason to completely ditch Kurtzman, though. I’m not a huge fan of his storytelling and writing techniques, but he does seem to have skill in putting together teams that put out stuff that people love. I think of him kind of like JJ Abrams. Abrams is a stylish, energetic director, who makes some very silly writing choices.

All in all, I think this bodes well for his leadership within the franchise. Trek is finding its groove again. With the rotating showrunner drama of the first few years of Disco, and the *ahem* uneven first couple seasons of Picard, I think it’s fair to say that the franchise was having a time finding its footing again. Disco settled down with Seasons 3 and 4 (I think 4 might be the best of it), Picard told a coherent story with S3, Prodigy and Lower Decks are working for folks, and SNW is serving up classic episodic Trek, albeit with some modern sensibilities around things mattering to characters from one episode to the next.

Kudos to Terry Matalas for making a coherent, fun season. Kudos to Alex Kurtzman for hiring him for the job. (Alex, do it again, give him another show please.)

Give Terry a show! I was skeptical at first but now I’m a super Terry fan. Give this storyteller a show p+

They did, we’re watching it. Where have you been?

His own show as showrunner is what KvenB is asking for. Based on his other posts, he is very much aware that Matalis is the showrunner for Season 3. Matalis didn’t build this show but may have the opportunity to build a Star Trek series of his own.

Maybe let the dude speak for himself? More than one of us thought his post was nonsensical.

Exactly. Picard is not Matalas show, he simply ran it for a season, huge difference. Now he has the chance to build his own show from the ground up and many many many fans, me included, really want to see what he would do with it if he had the full reigns.

As do I. I’ve heard good things about 12 Monkeys. But is Star Trek: Legacy going to be his own show from the ground up? Or just another nostalgic reunion-driven callback like his season of Picard?

You should watch 12 Monkeys Alpha Predator.

It’s important to know though that Matalas faced some of the same ‘direction from above’ challenges at first. He and his cocreator-coshowrunner had their own concept for a multi season time travel show called Splinter. When they pitched, the production company or SyFy already had rights to make a tv adaptation of the 12 Monkeys movie, and their proposal was seen as too similar. So they were told to merge them.

The first season has some of the same problems as season one of Picard. They had to respect and adapt the storyline and characters of Terry Gilliam’s movie, and lay pipe towards their own much more complex plot arc. Season one of 12 Monkeys works better on rewatch in some ways because there are numerous points woven in that are necessary for the later story but are somewhat extraneous to the original arc from the film.

It’s been clear Matalas has built in his own backdoor pilot into Picard season three. I suspect some of the plot incoherence can be attributed to doing that at the same time as hitting the TNG reunion feels agenda.

LOL you really fell in love with that show TG47. You even know the history and backstory of how it happened. I told you I’m thinking of watching it again even though I already did last year and I think I will at some point this year.

Oh and loving Travelers. Still haven’t finished but at the end of season 2. But it has the same tight plotting, great pacing and really interesting twists 12 Monkeys have. I wish we got that level of writing for shows like Discovery and early Picard, but it’s a lot more of that in season 3 obviously.

Huh? His series is airing right now?

Paramount Plus only started to submit data to Nielsen from February 27 2023 onwards. No wonder no other Star Trek show was in the charts. This is tracking for the third week since Feb 27 and in the first two weeks since tracking for P+ started, Picard was not in the charts. Because in those two weeks, the show in 10th place had over 400m minutes of watch time.

I don’t think 310m minutes is that good.

For Picard to be in the top 10 for that week is a pretty significant get for P+. It means that enough folks watched it that week to put it in the same order of magnitude of viewers that freaking Ted Lasso has. That’s a show that’s HUGE in the cultural discourse, and it’s not even double PIC’s numbers for the week.

Sure, Picard’s numbers are smaller than the previous week’s 10th place, but that’s not super relevant. Moving up in the rankings at a time when the overall viewership is lower (by around 927m minutes) is a sign of strength, rather than it being a sign of low turnout.

Agree that the facts/context are/is perhaps not as glowing as the headline suggests, and other services that track social media and search suggests that Strange New Worlds had a similar response last year, but one thing this does that few other Star Trek shows have done in this new era is give Paramount+ a positive headline about one of the shows into its run. Usually, all the press coverage is in the runup to a new season when they’re doing press tour. This is a performance-based positive headline tied to Nielsen, which for a long time was the most relevant measure of viewership. Maybe we’ll see SNW-S2 pop up on Nielsen later in the year and that’ll get the same headline, and maybe the rest of Picard season 3 will stay in the top 10, but it’s hard to read this news as anything other than positive. Your mileage may vary on the degree of that positivity, of course.

It is. Head over to Parrot Analytics and scroll down. Also do a search at Parrot for Star Trek Picard and it provides further context on how well the show is doing. The Nielsen numbers serve to further illustrate how well the series is performing. Internally, Paramount knows they have a hit.

I think the point is valid though, that the recent inclusion kind of makes the argument that Picard is the only successful modern Trek invalid.

On Parrot, Picard isn’t doing relatively speaking that much more than Discovery and SNW at their peaks.

However, Picard is staying consistently high in the mid 40s X comparable series, while Discovery consistently hovers in the mid 30s. In May 2022, SNW led breakout new series with 35 X.

The big story for Picard is staying in the top half of the digital originals with Ted Lasso, Mandolorian, Shadow & Bone all with new seasons as well as The Night Agent premiering strongly.

By contrast, SNW premiered very strongly but didn’t hold up the media attention as well. It will be interesting to see how it does this May.

It’s a real shame too, because SNW is miles better-written. It’s absolutely embarrassing for the fandom how much they’ve been duped by a single scene this week.

Fingers crossed that next week’s episode is much better, which will put the balance of the season back in order after a weak last few episodes. I’m hoping to be able to see it Monday, so i’ll give you my spoiler-free review Tuesday, probably.

Ok, seeing the clip from the Ready Room for next week, i’m feeling slightly more optimistic. Perhaps this will be a true TNG episode in format, with a problem they have to solve, and all working together to figure out the solution. Fingers crossed.

Wow that’s interesting about SNW. I assumed it held up all season. But I don’t pretend to know how any of these shows are doing unless there is an article about it like we got here.

All I care about is that Picard is doing strong enough to warrant a spin off show which I don’t think has ever really been in contention. It doesn’t mean it will happen but you can’t argue that fans aren’t hungry for more. I mean even though so many hated season `1 and 2 they still wanted a spin off lol. Because most just want to stay in this era, period. And now even more so since they finally made a satisfying season.

Excellent! Hopefully this bodes well for Legacy .

From the bottom of the barrel, to among the best. What a ride.

From pretty good to a lot better, you mean. Not close to greatness after the last few episodes. You’ve been completely hoodwinked by the Enterprise-D.

I’m not an Enterprise-D apologist (though I do love those sleek lines of a minivan flying through space) but I don’t think it’s a stretch to call seasons 1 and 2 “bottom of the barrel.” You don’t need to be hoodwinked by the D for that

I do think it is a stretch. They are not great, maybe not even very good (I think they’re fine, but I see people’s point) — but bottom of the barrel? Really? Did we all just forget what true garbage television is all of a sudden? Perspective, people.

Honestly, that’s just hyperbole from bitter fans because it wasn’t good, and anyone who says that isn’t worth paying attention to.

I guess the perspective and context is key. I’d go to bat for someone calling them the worst Trek properties, but not the worst TV out there.

I think they fell very short of a lot of folks’ expectations, and that’s a part of the measure, too. If you’re hoping for, and think you’re going to get, the very best, and you get something that’s mediocre, I think you’ll feel more disappointment than if you expect something that’s fine, and get something bad.

I still don’t think they’re the worst Trek, not by a longshot. There’s still TNG Season 1 and TAS, both of which are almost entirely unwatchable.

PIC’s first two years, while a slog at times, still have good performances, and plenty of good moments throughout, compelling themes, and some really fascinating ideas, even if they’re executed poorly.

TNG S1 by contrast is rarely interesting, the acting is wooden and terrible, and even the themes and ideas are mostly cringe-inducing — on top of it being poorly executed. The only reason to watch is out of curious fascination with where TNG started.

I don’t know if one can readily compare episodic TNG season 1 with serialized Picard 2 according to the same criteria. Yes, TNG took a while to find its overall ethos and characterizations, but Picard 2’s overall arc was almost totally incoherent and nonsensical.

Yes, you can, Elrond. Your comment is incoherent and nonsensical. You didn’t even respond to anything I actually said. Kudos on that.

You compared two tv series without reckoning at all with their different natures as episodic vs serialized. The fact that in your subjective opinion that is irrelevant to your assessment does not make my expectation that a serialized show be logically consistent incoherent or nonsensical.

I’m just going to facepalm at you Elrond because that’s all your insipid logic deserves.

TNG S1 is, unquestionably, some of the weakest Trek out there. And I agree that some of it is pretty unwatchable now (looking at you Code of Honor ).

I did up a rather complicated spreadsheet where I gave each series and movie a score from 1-5 across 8 categories. Entertainment, Writing, Characters, Production Value, Consistency, Comedy, Drama, and Cringe. It then takes a weighted average of the scores (based on how much I value each of the elements) and spits out a number. Of the 22 entries I put in (I skipped TAS because, well, TAS, and PRO because I haven’t watched more than 1 episode), Picard fell to the bottom.

Looking back on it, and thinking on your comments, I think I should add both an “Ideas” and “Rewatchability” metric, and break each constituent show into seasons. Ideally I’d actually use the same metric for every episode of each season, get a season score, and then use that to derive show scores… but even my spreadsheet-loving ADHD has its limits.

That’s interesting, but I just can’t see how any reasonable person would look at Picard Season 1 and think “the worst thing Trek has ever done” when Season 1 of TNG exists.

I think it may be in the difference between expectations and results. TNG S1 is pretty cringe, but still feels distinctly like Star Trek. The same types of stories that GR wanted to tell, but in glorious 1980s fashion. PIC S1, in contrast is a lot less cringe, but kind of feels like a meandering mess, like it didn’t have much to say other than “robots are people, too” which had already been done before in the franchise, and done better.

Picard gave us that android uprising on Mars, though. Where some workers are murdered by an android called F-8. People are killed by F8. By Fate. Then Fate shoots itself in the head. I can’t look at the writing choices of that season as being significantly better than TNG S1. Maybe not worse, but not better. A different kind of bad.

I’d rather meandering mess with good acting and thought-provoking ideas than pure cringe. But hey, as I like to say… you do you.

I’d much prefer the synth uprising plot to almost any episode of Season 1 of TNG. I don’t even find it that bad a plot. To me, the weakness of that season was that it was too many individual plot threads woven together and nothing tied up well.

They really should have been a two-parter about the Synths, a three-parter about the xBs, a three parter about the Romulans, and a final two parter that tied it all together.

I would happily rewatch season 1 of TNG again over season 1 of Picard. In fact I know that because I did a grand rewatch of every show back in 2021 and didn’t have a big of a problem with season one of TNG like I thought I would. But for Picard, it was OK until the second half and then I just wanted to shut it off because it was going nowhere good. And that’s the difference between episodic TV and serialized TV.

And to this day, the season one finale of TNG is actually one of my favorites. The season one finale of PIC is easily one of my worst.

So, about that spinoff… Absolutely, more than anything, ANYTHING, I want to see a Star Trek: Legacy show, set in the 25th Century with some of these very characters, show runner, creative team and writers. Fast track this shit please!!! The third session of Picard is a revelations 100%. Also fast track the Blu-Ray and 4k disk release of this session with all the extras. I’m talking about an extended director’s cut for each episode, remastering with better lighting and sound, deleted scenes, a blooper real, all the ready room stuff… give it too me good! I hope Paramount and Paramount+ knows what gold that have here.

If it comes to pass I really hope it doesn’t fall into pure nostalgia.

I don’t mind fan service at all, or nostalgia, but it’s got to be in addition to great writing and a strong story (like the first half of the season), not in place of it (like the second half, and in particular episode 9).

I don’t agree about episode 9, like at all. I think it’s amazing. But I do agree that strong and original writing is more important than anything with Star Trek. That for sure has to be Paramount (pun intended lol)

I think you’ve got your nostalgia goggles on. Ep 9 isn’t bad, it’s just not great. Yet people are calling it the best episode of Trek ever. It currently sits at 9.5 on IMDb, making it literally the best rated episode in the franchise.

All because of the final scene, people got so weak at the knees fangasming that they can’t see straight.

It’s not even the best episode of the season, and is pretty average if you ask me.

I found episode 9 not great. Too much was by the numbers. Plot, internal logic and pacing sacrificed for nostalgia.

Many are asking why the big reveal wasn’t done in episode 8, such that many important plot points and character questions seem never likely to be answered satisfactorily if at all.

After all the criticism of the earlier seasons of Picard or Discovery doing this sort of thing, I have to ask why these sorts of things are getting a pass.

Not only was it buy the numbers, it was borderline exposition dump. It wasn’t terribly exciting, original, well-written, or even well-acted, to be honest. Some of the plot was head scratching, and it strikes me now that so much of the season was just putting pieces in place to get to that Enterprise-D moment.

I really do wonder what perception would be if that final scene wasn’t there, or if they’d gone aboard any old random ship, and not the E-D.

Either way, kudos to them because it worked and everyone is creaming their pants over it. I guess they realized that member-berries really are all people want.

I agree as well TG47. I definitely liked episode 9 overall but yeah it had problems for sure; the pacing being one. In fact I remember telling you how I thought they should’ve just revealed what was behind the door at the end of episode 8. And seeing what we got, I have no idea why they just didn’t do it OTHER than to stall for time basically. But that image of the Borg should’ve been the last shot of episode 8.

I just realized I never actually wrote a review for episode 9 lol. I was so over taken seeing the Enterprise D again, I didn’t even discuss anything else on the thread.

But I don’t think it’s getting a pass at all. All my favorite Star Trek YouTubers, at least the ones I watched for this episode, has criticized their issues with it. If you watch Jessie Gender, she has been the biggest gusher of this season, but basically slammed episode 9 . And a lot of people agreed with her. But yes also many people LOVED it too. It gave them a lot of things they wanted to see again in Star Trek. I know the whole Borg thing is really tired for a lot of people, but there are just as many excited to see them back.

Again, it’s not all binary. You can love something while still pointing out its issues. I do that all the time lol; this episode included. I completely understand why some thought it sucked. I also understand why others loved it. Fans are not a monolith and Picard season 3 is doing more right than wrong and after two dreadful seasons it will still get more praise even when its not perfect.

It’s currently the highest rated Trek episode of ALL TIME on IMDb. I know it’s day 1, but seriously, that’s the ridiculousness of fans we’re dealing with.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m more like you: I thought it was OK. I didn’t love it, I don’t think it’s bad, and I did feel the emotional ending. But I just can’t believe how easily manipulated people are by them recreating the Enterprise-D.

I’ll say this: people should stop being mad at Discovery. If not for Discovery, and how “different” it was, they never would have reacted this strongly to this episode — and the season — if you ask me. I think a lot of the overwhelming positivity is because of how frustrated people were by Discovery and the first two seasons of Picard.

As it turns out, fans don’t want anything new, they just want the old, no matter how much they protest to want something new.

Naah Discovery still blows! Just an awful show all around and why very few people are shedding a tear it got cancelled.

If they decided not to run season 5 I really don’t think most will lose any sleep over it.

It is hilarious this episode is the highest rated of all time though. 😂

I loved this episode too but damn! Bringing back the Enterprise D is probably what did it. Matalas is a genius! He knows what the fan base wants! 🖖

LOL I won’t lie, I cried when I saw the Enterprise D. I broke down. I did NOT expect to be so overwhelmed by it, especially because we all knew it was coming. The last time I cried over something in Star Trek was in STID, but not in a good way lol.

All jokes aside, it’s a bit nuts that this episode is so highly rated but I can see why obviously. I highly doubt it’s going to stay that high as people calm down and watch later. But you threw in everyone standing on the Enterprise D again, that alone is going to make it very special for a lot of fans out there.

I definitely choked up too man. It was very emotional and I didn’t even start watching TNG until I was in my 20s. For people whose show was their childhood I can’t imagine what that moment brought for them.

Well, you’ve lost all credibility, TG. Discovery doesn’t “blow” — I don’t like it, but it has legions of fans who are all sad it’s gone.

Frankly, it was a big success, got 5 seasons, and is now getting a spin-off. And let’s face it, if it hadn’t existed, you and all the other whiny little crybabies wouldn’t have nearly as much to complain about.

Just to clarify, that was the other TG – 1701 – who is relatively newer here, although a longtime voice elsewhere.

I think it blows. You can certainly disagree though. If you like it, I’m not trying to disrespect your opinion, I’m only giving you mine.

I love Lower Decks, but many people think that show blows too. That’s their opinion, I respect that and totally get why. I don’t get triggered over it. 😂

And I think the show is pretty bad. And lots of bad shows stay on the air man. This is not the first one.

LOL yeah. This is why I enjoy talking to people like you and less to people like AlphaPredator. You understand how message boards works. You’re very honest about your opinion but I have never seen you (or most people here frankly) get upset or bitter when others say things about shows or movies you happen to like. Not once.

I’m the same way. I love DS9. It’s my favorite show. But I understand others hate it. No, it’s not hated like Discovery lol, but believe it or not, there are still people even today who doesn’t view that show as ‘real’ Star Trek and says so. That’s fine, it’s their opinion. Same for every other show or movie I like. I been a VOY fan just as long and people still hate that show too and says so. Again, completely understandable. I happen to love both. But they are still just TV shows, none of it really matters. You don’t need to sound like a baby over it when someone says something mean about them.

But people like this, they are too thin skinned and argumentative to the point they want to either insult you or censor you just because you think a TV show or a movie sucks. Well that’s their problem, not ours. And then they are shocked when you don’t want to talk to them lol. I don’t need that in my life, period.

This is why we need an ignore button here.

To be fair, it’s perfectly reasonable to see the dramatic flaws in Discovery and earlier Picard and still be won over by what this season is doing.

The writing is not perfect. Just as with season 2 Picard and season 4 of Disco, the overall story arc was stretched out too long by bottle episodes. When we were getting episodes like No Win Scenario it didn’t matter, but eventually the trick of reuniting us with a TNG character stopped compensating for remedial development for Vadic, the Changelings, Raffi, and the new bridge crew I should feel for now more than I do. Jack’s relationship with his father started off well but got subsumed by the Mystery Box of his Borg connection – somehow simultaneously not set up properly and also played out for far too long. Expository dialogue has been rough for the whole season. The idea of having Starfleet commandeered in this manner is far far too similar to what the animated series just did in their most recent finales. The Borg are overused after two seasons of not really living up to their potential, and the idea of a team-up between them and the Changelings is reduced to clunky exposition, a degrading of the shapeshifters into mere henchmen, and those scraps of Vadic’s “handphone” chats. An epic team up that DS9, TNG or even Voyager would have delved more deeply into has little hope of being well developed with only one episode left to go.

But through it all, I still think it’s working. The updates to our TNG characters have been better thought out for the most part than what we got before. Season 1 of Picard was obsessed with returning characters being miserable and coping with extreme trauma. Now, character voices honed over 176+ episodes and 4 movies largely still ring true and sparkle (it can never go without saying that Riker is friggin’ fantastic and Frakes has never been so wonderful on camera), Seven has been better used, and Jack and Shaw have memorable personalities. There was a struggle to get the new characters in Picard’s first seasons to shine, and just about everyone not named Saru, Tilly, or Kovich on Discovery these days talks and acts exactly the same.

The nostalgia factor is huge and it’s difficult to set it aside and be dispassionate, and there have been some Easter eggs that even I find to be a bit much. At the same time though, this is still a Star Trek drama which runs on fans’ passion and reverence. We get to see beloved characters’ lives as they are reunited over 20 years after Nemesis ended things on a mixed note. The Enterprise D is back, Ro came back in a way which served the story arc and Picard’s struggles to be a good paternal figure, the relationships of the TNG crew make sense, the show is dark without being oppressive, the humor works far better than on any new live action Trek show besides perhaps SNW’s, the music is familiar but memorable, big, and cinematic, the VFX are fun and include lingering shots of ships, the chutzpah of basically saying the old generation is the only one equipped to save the day is goofy fun.

At the end of the day, this is a show that I never wanted to be so dispassionate about, because that doesn’t actually bring me much pleasure, which is entirely the point of entertainment and Star Trek as a whole. Nostalgia is a legitimate emotional entry point and the fundamentals have been good enough around it that I can just sit back and enjoy this ridiculous and comforting show about geriatric space adventurers saving the Galaxy. That is a gift, and I am very grateful for it.

I didn’t read all of that because I have things to do this morning, but you’re right about Discovery: it has plenty of dramatic flaws. But my point is how the fandom turned on it and PIC S1&2 so violently when it was undeserved (again, proportional to its quality).

So my point is, if it wasn’t for those disappointments, i’m not sure the response to this Season probably would have been so overwhelmingly positive.

That said, I think it’s curious how many fans who were ready to jump ship last week are now calling this the best season in Trek history, all because it made them weep like babies because their old ENT-D is back.

I would genuinely love to see what the opinion of the episode and the season would have been if that final scene had been saved for the opening of next week’s finale. Because I’d wager every penny I have that it would not be that good.

I don’t think you are wrong that multiple seasons of different but uneven Disco and Picard informed the warm critical reception of this season (and I’d say SNW as well). But I don’t really think there’s much point in trying to undercut the reaction people are having with a hypothetical we can never answer about the way this episode was edited.

Also, thank you for taking the time to reply to my message and reiterate your point, but honestly you didn’t need to mention that you didn’t read the rest of my reply. I’d have been none the wiser.

The reason I mentioned that is that I didn’t want you to think I was willfully ignoring it.

I know sometimes it can be annoying when someone responds to just the first point made in a long post and overlooks everything else.

Thank you for the clarification, I appreciate it.

Good analysis.

Agreed with all of that Ian. I think you nailed it and why this season is such a huge success among fans even with its flaws.

And frankly after the disastrous two seasons. some of the worst Star Trek out there, if they had Picard just playing poker with the crew for an episode, it was probably going to win people over lol.

I’m grateful for everything they did this season as well.

Well, my spouse spouse caught up with me tonight.

Their reaction to the reveal was a satisfied “Yes, the Borg! It had to be the Borg to conclude Picard’s story.”

So, there’s that. It was the right choice to conclude the arc of that character.

It’s just we’ve had two seasons of Borg already. For those who are just joking in to watch this season, it hits quite differently.

I agree, I think for most people, they are excited to see the Borg again, the true Borg. I’m one of them like your wife.

But yeah, I can also admit it does a feel a little tiring when we already had them appear for the third straight time on this show. Not to mention they showed up on Prodigy as well and a few holodeck versions of them on LDS.

But it’s such a weird conundrum because the Borg are highly highly popular. That’s why they keep showing up, all these people running these new shows are fanboys themselves, hence why they keep throwing them in. I know people say they are sick of them but I guarantee you episodes 9 and 10 are going to be the most watched and highly rated episodes of this show a year from now because of their presence.

You put the Borg in, you get butts in the seat, period. I STILL wish Star Trek Beyond could’ve went more left field and put the Borg in the movie instead of another forgetful uber-villain out for revenge. You would’ve heard the same moans about it, but it would’ve been the highest grossing Kelvin movie easily lol. All the fans who stayed home would’ve went and saw it in the theaters. And I liked Beyond, but it needed a real hook. A $200 million Borg story would’ve been that hook.

A JJ verse Borg movie could’ve been amazing. And stop Beyond from being a dud at the box office. Trekkies would’ve been really excited. 😎👍

But then it’s still JJ verse. Kirk would’ve just played Sabotage and the cube would’ve self destructed or something. 🙄

Seriously if Michael Bay directed those movies what would’ve been different about them?

Taking that question at face value, Michael Bay hasn’t been good with character in decades. Abrams and Lin at least knew how to keep the characters compelling, I’m sure their notes on the script were more thoughtful than Bay’s would have been.

Well definitely more explosions if that was possible lol. And maybe a role for Mark Wahlberg. :)

The best (though certainly not ONLY) way to avoid this, I think, is to flip it into episodic. Telling one long story invites nostalgia humping to fill in the story gaps. Too much filler time. I think Strange New Worlds worked as well as it did because they had to come up with endings! Season-long stories compel the writers to focus on cliffhangers — big difference. And I don’t think there are many writer groups out there that can do single-season stories that still have meaningful substories or arcs within them a la Better Caul Saul or For All Mankind, or even The Expanse, because those are exceptional examples of the form and not usually what a network wants from a streaming show (which is why a lot of streaming shows are just sludge).

Totally agree. I would love it if this season had been episodic. SNW is light years better for it.

I agree as well, the next show should be more episodic. I honestly think that’s why both Lower Decks and SNW are so popular today, people like having more individual stories again. And while I am loving this season of Picard overall, it probably should’ve been 8 episodes as the latter half has been dragging.

But that’s not me complaining, not at all lol. The season is hands down pretty great, but yes it still has some issues with the serialized format and dragging things out again. But thankfully not at the tedious level of season 2 or seasons 3 and 4 of Discovery. Unlike all those seasons, I haven’t nearly fallen asleep once. ;)

Prodigy successfully did a serialized season.

They however had their biggest reveal mid season and didn’t draw out the mystery. Instead, they gave time for the implications to settle and for the ensemble to struggle together towards the solution.

No reason why a live action Trek season couldn’t use that template.

Well, there’s the exception that virtually proves the rule, and those episodes have half the runtime of a typical live action episode and they’re for children; but also, Prodigy eps have heaps of fan service and nostalgia humping! My comment was speaking to the idea that the best way — though not only — way to avoid Legacy devolving into another nostalgia mess is to do more single story episodes.

Prodigy was actually good though.

Picard and Discovery has been a poorly written tedious affair. Picard season 3 is good only because like Prodigy they found someone who knows what they are doing and did an amazing serialized show in the past with 12 Monkeys.

But I agree too I prefer to see more standalone stories. I love DS9 and Enterprise serialized stories but they also had better writers and more episodes to still do standalone stories too.

But I trust Matalas. If he gets another show and it’s still serialized, then no issues with me. 🙂

Be wary. If he doesn’t give you the Enterprise D, you probably won’t like it!

Why are you always so nasty on this board man? You understand you have to accept not everyone is going to agree with you.

You shouldn’t be nasty to others over it.

See that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t give two flying trucks if anyone agrees with me!

B5 did it quite well

I’m so compelled by the untold Enterprise E story that I would love to see a follow-up story in that spinoff! There is just mountains of great material to use following this season of Picard.

Because it’s far better written then all the other media since 2017. Matalas and the older Trek vets like Drexler, Okuda etc have done a great job and has respected canon (both narratively and visually) Something the DIS writers never did. Is it perfect? Hell no! Is it the best live action Trek anything since Ent: Terra Prime? Absolutely.

Not nearly as well written as SNW, heck, i’d say the back half is thusfar not as well written as Prodigy. The first half is GOLD, the second is weak. You people are just happy that you’ve got your Enterprise-D and are having trouble seeing anything else.

100% agree!

Just wondering… The show is called “Picard” and all along Matalas has said he wanted to give the TNG crew a proper send off, so given that, if you were showrunner would you have made the choice NOT to show the Enterprise-D at all? For better or worse, I just think there’s a certain nostalgic expectation built into this season’s premise…

In honestly, I would have ignored the Enterprise-D entirely, yes.

If anything, the Enterprise-E should have still been in service, and Shaw could have been the captain of THAT ship.

Look, at the end of the day, i’m not really down on the return to the D. I can’t deny it is great to see and emotionally resonant. What is frustrating is how it’s been used to manipulate the audience. Much of the fans on this board had been down on the season over the last few weeks — criticizing elements that weren’t that bad — but are now gushing in their pants because of the Enterprise, while completely ignoring legitimate story problems.

🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏼

Despite my generally being a Matalas fan.

When I think how many great, coherent and faithful stories with legacy characters have been told in the Trek Litverse since Nemesis, seeing folks gush over this unoriginal season is very lowering.

All the more when the people doing it are so disrespectful of the efforts of Discovery, Short Treks, and Strange New Worlds to give us some glorious and gorgeous costume and production designs.

While I appreciate that Fuller set up Discovery with initial sets that did not meet visual canon, Tamara Deverell ( who took over mid season one), Philip Barker and Doug McCullough did incredible work, and have given us new worlds that actually look different than the same old foam rocks.

Agreed! Respecting canon is very important for most fans although just writing a good show will always (or at least should) be #1.

I don’t think Discovery ever did the latter but has been closer to the former since leaving the 23rd century IMO.

I don’t think it’s even close to the quality of writing we saw in strange new worlds last year, but I am liking this season.

Your comment about discovery not having Trek vets is false given Brian Fuller was a Star Trek veteran and the whole thing was his concept, and he even wrote the premier screenplay. If you’re going to make broad statements like that, please make sure your Star Trek production history comments are correct.

They actually made a Star Trek show. And it was popular.

Yes, just like they did last year, the year before, and the year before that! Amazing!

Also worth noting that Nielsen’s streaming tracking wasn’t around until 2021, and then didn’t track Paramount until late last year, from what I understand.

Yep, give the fans want they want and its GOOD and they will happily turn out for it. This season is proving that in spades.

I applaud your obtuse response!

Go away. You’re annoying.

Well, for those who liked this, apparently we’re in for more of it. My sincere congrats. :-)

Feel the same.

I’ll watch, but I hope that there are fewer what my spouse has labeled ‘cringey’ overdrawn out moments in the new show.

Make good Star Trek, and it will sell! Maybe this will send a message to Paramount about replacing Kurtzman.

Umm, Kurtzman is responsible for all current Trek (good or bad in your opinion). He is just as much responsible for PIC S3 as any future Paramount Trek overseer would be responsible for shows under their reign. PIC S3 is not just a success for Matalas, it is also a success for Kurtzman. Sure it was Matalas’ vision, but Kurtzman put him in charge as showrunner. That’s how this works.

Why? He oversaw it. Kurtzman will get some of the credit.

He didn’t really do anything though. Matalas came up with the idea and then wrote, produced and directed parts of the season.

This was clearly his baby.

Kurtzman sounds like he just said OK to it but then smartly stayed the hell out the way.

And yet Matalas was his choice to join the series, and wisely gave him leeway on this season. As an executive producer, he deserves credit for those decisions.

You’re confusing the executive producer and show runner roles. Kurtzman is an executive producer, his role is to hire the show runners to, you know, run the shows. If you’re happy with Matalas’ work as showrunner, it was Kurtzman who put him in that role.

But Kurtzman was definitely more hands on with this show in its first season. I think it was obvious why because it was so important to them to get the show on the air. But third season even Matalas said he was nowhere around because he was in London making another TV show. So Matalas basically made all the decisions he wanted with no pushback. But yes they obviously trusted him to do it.

This should bode well for Star Trek Legacy!!

But I knew once fans totally got behind this season in its praise of it, that would already be a big factor. But to see it being paid off in actual ratings will make it harder to ignore. Picard season 3 is without a doubt a hit.

On RT, Picard season 3 currently has an audience score of 89%. That’s the highest score of every single modern Star Trek show currently. Second place is a tie between SNW season 1 and LDS season 3. They are both at 80%. What makes this even more eye opening is that Picard season 3 actually holds the same score TNG holds overall, which is also 89%.

They would be nuts to ignore where all of this can go next; especially with a very excited (and united ;)) fan base begging for more.

Wow to see actual ratings numbers is pretty impressive. I can only guess what the finale will draw. I am sure P+ execs will be happy and they will demand more! I am sure the cast and crew is also pleased!

Yeah, now I see why they decided to have those IMAX screenings. They knew what they had and that fans were going to go nuts over it. So to burrow a Trump the insurrectionist phrase, next week is going to be huuuuuuuge! ;D

I suspect that Picard will be HUUUUGGEEE in the news next Thursday!

Normally I would say no but if we rallied for SNW and got it then who knows???

The Next Generation was the biggest Star Trek show when it left TV in the 90s.

Nearly 30 years later, The Next Generation is the biggest Star Trek show once again.

You can not doubt the popularity of this cast and Matalas clearly knew that enough to make it happen. Take a bow Matalas, you clearly earned it!

Lets be cautious about the narrative here.

We don’t actually know it’s the biggest Star Trek show Tiger2.

Nielsen only started getting data on Paramount+ a couple of weeks before Picard season premiered.

SNW had similar rankings in other metrics at the same point in the season. We’ll need to see what numbers it gets in season two for comparison.

What we do know is that Picard has a lot more entertainment, mainstream and social media chatter. Matalas can take a now for a lot of that because he personally got out there months before the premiere and drummed up interest. Myers and Goldsman need to step up their game to get the same Q.

LOL don’t over think it dude! I’m only saying the obvious, when you bring back characters/actors from a highly acclaimed hit show, it shouldn’t be a shock it would be a hit show again if you do it right.

People have been wanting more TNG for 20 years now. Yes, Nemesis was a stinker but it didn’t mean people no longer wanted more TNG or 24th century Star Trek just like people still wanted more TOS even after TFF was a stinker. It’.s so narrow minded so-called fans stated that, as if one bad movie is going to wipe away the millions of fans who watched these characters endlessly

And obviously I wouldn’t be shocked if SNW is doing as well because yeah its exactly like Picard is, ie, more nostalgia bait and legacy characters in a pretty good season overall. And especially as you and I have said it’s basically just a TOS prequel show starring Pike. And that’s for a reason, the same reason the TNG cast is back and probably the same reason Prodigy will lean more towards Voyager in its second season as well.

Fans want their comfort food. People want more TOS and TNG era stuff. Up until now, LDS and SNW was the biggest comfort food in that regard (and why it’s so brilliant to cross over those shows). And not a shock why they BOTH have 80% audience score on RT. Picard S3 now tops both of those at 89%. So it’s clearly working lol.

Picard probably tops those shows a bit more, especially SNW, because it’s not just bringing back legacy characters, but obviously the original actors as well. That’s always going to trump other factors. Yes they are on LDS too, but in animated form and solely as guest stars. And now they got their glorious Enterprise D back in its purest form after 29 years, so none of this is a surprise.

CBS (finally) knows what it’s doing with these shows.

You know what you say about nostalga is right! I bought the blu ray SNW S1 (the first DVDs I have bought in years) and they included the 1966 TOS episode Balance of Terror in it so you could watch both it and A Quality of Mercy for comparison… brilliant! I expect we will see more nostalga next week on the finale, although I am not sure how the TNG gang is going to get out of this mess. I also suspect they will greenlight Star Trek Legacy.

I am rambling here but…. I know I prefer episodic tv, but Picard S3 has done a great job with 2 or 3 mini arcs contained in a serialized season long story. Maybe serielized story telling can work for nuTrek afterall.

Btw, from the sounds of things the only way Kurtzman was ever going to get Sir Patrick to comeback was to NOT make a TNG comeback show. After a mixed S1 and an atrociously horrible S2, thank goodness that he gave the showrunner reigns to Matalas while bringing in legacy crew like the Okudas and voila…. they have a great TNG comeback show. Kudos to Kurtzman for taking the heat about the dog’s breakfast called S2 and to a certain extent S1 and for bringing in writers and people that understand nostalgia and how it can be used to make a show a winner.

Wow that’s cool they actually included BoT as well although I’m sure every Trekkie who still buys DVDs has like three other copies lol.

But nostalgia works. It was the reason people even wanted a SNW show which was basically the same reason people wanted a Picard show, to ultimately end up on the Enterprise again and have more TOS/TNG characters show up. And we got plenty for both of them now. When Kirk showed up in season one it told you everything lol. But they know ultimately fans want nostalgia.

I mean people did accept the fact Picard was no longer in Starfleet in season one because we were told that’s what Stewart wanted. But even then many people assumed the Enterprise E would arrive with Worf or Riker to save the day lol. I never doubted we would eventually see the entire TNG cast eventually because that’s what everyone wanted including Paramount.

But is a great irony though Patrick Stewart was so against a reunion show of any kind. He didn’t even want Picard on any starships. And now look where we are, the guy is back around all his old co-workers sitting on the bridge of Enterprise D giving orders. Even in my biggest fanboy fantasies of what I thought this season could be like it never once hit me any of that could happen. I mean I can only imagine how much they had to talk him up to do it. He’s even back with Data, the character they killed off again for the second time two seasons ago and Spiner made clear he never wanted to play fully again. Matalas must have worked his magic to do a lot of convincing, but I bet all of them think it was totally worth it now. It certainly seem that way for the audience.

But this season was made with pure love, you can obviously tell that. Even if some still don’t like it, many still love to see so many people back from the old days both in front of and behind the camera. For me, I’ve always said I didn’t need a single TNG era character back including Picard himself for a post-Nemesis show and would’ve been happy as long as it was good. I just got tired of prequels and wanted to go forward again like so many others. But the fanboy in me is super happy what we got this season and I’m excited with ever direction they go next with the 25th century.

Completely agree! 👍

I’m a fan and I want fan service. I don’t know why that’s such a dirty word for some people. For me the more fan service the better as long as it’s done right.

And to me it’s all been done right this season because the people making it understands it. That’s why people want Matalas to take over because he gets it.

I don’t just mean giving us more TNG he gets Star Trek period like McMahan gets it and the Hageman brothers gets it. I’m so happy all these guys are making Trek today but Matalas especially has the chance to make 25tg century Trek exciting even with brand new characters. Why so many love Shaw.

I would happily watch a spinoff with him and Seven alone.

“For me the more fan service the better as long as it’s done right.”

You hit it on the head. Most fans are fine with fan service AS LONG AS its done right. That’s all that really matters, how well they execute it. I do believe people when they say they don’t want more old characters or want to do something new. I don’t doubt that at all and feel exactly like they do. It’s actually why I am for the Academy show. They can do something radically different and in an era where Picard, Kirk or Janeway can’t show up in. But I wouldn’t fight it if they did lol. But yeah, even for that it has to be pulled off well or will suck and feel cheap.

That’s why things like TATV, Generations and STID are hated by so many fans because these were all meant to be fan service stories but they were executed so badly (and TATV is the worst of these three IMO) it did the opposite and put fans off to it. But then you have tons of the opposite examples where fans gobbled it up like TWOK, Trials and Tribble-ations, In a Mirror Darkly, Relics, etc. And you have so many great examples of the newer stuff like Quality of Mercy, Kobayashi, Hear All, Trust Nothing and nearly every minute of Picard season 3 lol.

Most fans REALLY want fan service and nostalgia, just done right. That’s just the reality. And it’s not a Star Trek thing alone obviously.

You’re asking me not to overthink it?!!

Dude, Tiger2, we’ve been chatting at each other for like 5 years now and you have to know that ‘not overthinking’ isn’t in me. lol

LOL well I certainly overthink things all the time as you know. In this instance I’m only saying the show is still really popular but it shouldn’t be any doubt considering how many people still adore TNG today. But I also think Picard’s season 1 and 2 had a large audience but probably not as big once word of mouth settled on them.

Well said bro! TNG is back on top 30 years later! 😂

Yeah, it’s great to see! Especially when its done right.

The greats never die!!!

TNG was one of the biggest shows period in S7. It was like a miracle. It was a first run syndicated show and in it’s series finale network affiliates around the US dropped airing prime time shows to air All Good Things. It was nominated for outstanding dramatic series. I’ve heard it wasn’t the first but when I was a kid it was the first time I ever saw that happen! And Star Trek Generations made the money it did not even slightly because it was a good movie but because it was the return of TNG. Even more so than Kirk meets Picard.

I think TNG’s popularity never went away, people just accepted they may not see these characters again in new things (at least not with the original actors) but the show still remained very popular, hence Picard. That was obvious to me being on places like Facebook and Reddit. And no Generations wasn’t great but it was still an exciting time to see them on the big screen and have Picard meet Kirk. But I sooo wish they could’ve done so many different things with it.

And while I don’t think it’s in the cards yet, I wouldn’t be totally surprised if we got another TNG movie in the future. Paramount seems beyond clueless what to do with the movies next, they may decide to go that direction with all the hype of this season.

Well TNG and VOY were snoozefests but Picard S3 showed it could be good done TOS movie style. Berman Trek is dead, long live Matalas TNG and Star Trek Strange New Worlds. I am loving S3 and Strange New Worlds!!! Always thought Picard was compromised, they turned that into an awesome story!!! I think you have it where the new fleet is toast and Starfleet has to rebuild with a bunch of Titan A neo Constitutions. Have it where faith in the fleet is low given all the destruction brought on by the service being compromised. Or could have it where the assimilated fleet or Dominion are still out there and planning on hitting another galaxy and the new fleet has to explore to stop them. The Ent-E is gone, Stargazer-A forgotten, the Ent-G retired, the Titan decommissioned; there is your opening for a TOS movie style continuation. Fleet Admiral Saavik drafted into the service? JTK resurrected? Just get the Titan-A a new sensible bridge (no doors in the background). Also I think it’s funny how all those who pushed for more bland VOY type Trek with the argument we must move forward despite it becoming boring – who cares about wanting Starships to be novel, final frontier to be dangerous and unexplored as with the awesome Strange New Worlds totally drop their objections for Titan-A re the Ent G and Discovery in the 30th. Also happy TNG fans got to figure out Trek music themes rock Vs wallpaper blandness. I think this is another win for Star Trek as an action adventure story exploring a dangerous frontier Vs Soap opera.

Great to hear!!!! 🙂

Most of us wanted this show to be a TNG revival on day one. Now that we got it and it’s actually good fans are going crazy for it!

TNG is my favorite show and I’m so happy we finally got it back! Judging by the ratings and the pure love over this season I’m not the only one. 👍🖖

Exactly! This is what people wanted on day one so it’s not a shock why there is so much hoopla and praise over it. And I say that NOT loving this season as so many others are. But it is delivering what people have been wanting to see again since All Good Things…

Matalas is going to look like the golden boy of Star Trek for years to come based on this one season alone.

Paramount would be nuts not to want more Terry Trek! He’s making Star Trek and TNG great again!

I’ve watched the episode another two more times and watching BOBW right now. Man Shelby was a spit fire lol. So happy we got to see her again. After that is over, on to First Contact since I couldn’t watch it on First Contact Day. Can’t get enough of the Borg! 😁

They better give us that legacy show! I know we’re getting the 32nd CW Academy show but most fans are dying for the 25th spinoff legacy show! The ratings are proving it!

This is so what I wanted from day 1 too. A great TNG show. But I can’t say this show reminds me of TNG at all. It’s tone and pace and everything is completely different. But good is good and I like good lol.

It doesn’t have to feel exactly the same as long as they got the spirit of the show and the characters right. Season 1 and 2 missed it by a mile IMO. Picard felt like a different character to me.

But now they all feel like the same characters from TNG, simply older. That’s the way it should be done.

Can’t wait for next week and excited to see they confirmed Tuvok will be back. I originally theorized maybe he’s Captain of the Enterprise F but someone else suggested he could be Captain of the Voyager B since it exists now.

That would be awesome! 😁

They don’t have the spirit of the show at all though. Which is fine, I think the first half of the season is some of the best Trek for this crew, but let’s not pretend it’s anything like TNG just because they have the same cast and recreated the old bridge.

The characters are exactly what I thought they would be. This is the TNG I wanted to see in the movies that we never really got outside First Contact and happy to have! 😎🖖

But if you feel differently that’s cool bro.

I don’t think it’s supposed to be a 1:1 recreation of TNG in tone, that’s not really possible to deliver after so much time has passed and the characters have matured. Compared to season 1 and 2 of Picard though, the characters are better written…Picard feels more like I had expected an older Picard would have evolved. It’s spiritually resonant in enough ways that it feels right to me.

Yes also excited to see Tuvok again!

I told you Matalas Trek is Our Future

🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏼🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏼🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏼🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏼🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏼

Really like Matalas’ work but this ‘Terry Trek’ boosterism is everything I divisive I don’t like about the franchise.

To each their own, I’ll take whoever is doing Strange New Worlds and see you on the flip side.

Morbid curiosity.

In Germany its the most viewed streaming show in the last week. 1. place. Yeah. https://www.quotenmeter.de/n/141572/star-trek-picard-schiebt-sich-auf-die-eins

This warms my heart. The last time I saw Trek being honored in such a way was TNG Season 7 being nominated for Outstanding Dramatic Series in the Emmys which is tragically and wrongfully lost.

I have a question for Trekmovie tho… Didn’t Strange New Worlds in it’s first season make like some top record for it’s week too?

It did, but not by this specific metric. I believe it was the most in-demand show at one point, but there were no ratings charts for it.

AHHH! Gotcha. Thank you for the clarification!

It was the most in-demand breakout new show in the spring 2022 Parrot metrics.

This has been as good a season of Star Trek as any good season of Star Trek. I feel burned by Star Trek these last few years, but Lower Decks, SNW and now finally Picard has given hope for the future.

I was ready to give up on Trek altogether until I saw Lower Decks. And amazingly it’s been getting better ever since. This season of Picard has made me especially excited about Trek I haven’t felt since Voyager ended.

The Trek brand probably makes it a safer bet for Paramount to invest in provided costs are kept inline. I’m curious as to what season 3 of Picard cost just in terms of the cast alone. A Legacy spin-off starring Ryan would be more likely to get the go ahead if the “legacy characters” were kept as recurring. Would the fans still be as interested?

Of course i’ll watch as long as its good. But my hope is that, like you say, legacy cast are guest stars or recurring, not the focus of the show. Though I fear, given the response to this season, that they’ll want legacy characters front, center, left, and right, because that’s clearly the draw.

So much for moving forward.

I’m still strongly in favour of Kurtzman’s proposal to have Legacy characters in their own limited series, direct to streaming movies, or one-shots in an anthology (of whatever length makes sense).

I think it’s better for the legacy characters to each have their own stories to shine in.

In whatever era, not just the 25th century.

Yes, I want to see Janeway, Kira and Garak. But also give me a one-shot with Kovich doing his thing in the 32nd century, a prequel with Hemmer, or an even deeper prequel romantic episode showing how Sarek and Amanda got together. Be daring, give us different tones to best show off the characters.

I’d like nonetheless to see Shaw, Seven and the LaForge sisters on Star Trek: Titan travelling around in a ship with an upgraded drive, actually seeing new things in parts of the galaxy in the reaches we’ve never seen. If they occasionally (one episode a season max) have reason for a callback, fine. Just don’t make their story serve the legacy characters. Don’t make them look incompetent to make the legacy characters and actors shine.

If it starred Seven alone I would be through the roof lol.

Ok I read a story this morning that Nielson only counted streaming stats from Amazon Prime and Netflix until earlier this year, but NOW they include ratings for AppleTV+, Disney Plus and Paramount+. If that is so, let’s keep things in perspective. Picard is still awesome and is a top ten show, but don’t assume it means SNW or any other Trek or Paramount shows have never equalled the Picard ratings.

Picard might have been big of viewers but how many well watch a second time ? are their some show you watch over and over ? well this be one of those or not ?

English

United States TV audience demand for Star Trek: Picard

TV ratings for Star Trek: Picard in the United States. Paramount+ TV series

Star Trek: Picard

Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) in the next chapter of his life.

How well is this TV series doing in the United States?

Title position in demand distribution.

Outstanding demand distribution

The Demand Distribution curve illustrates how a TV show’s popularity compares to the demand benchmark, which is a measure of the average demand across all titles . The curve is divided into performance buckets, ranging from “Below Average” to “Exceptional”. A show falls into one of these performance buckets depending on how many times more or less demand it has compared to the demand benchmark.

The show’s performance is market-specific, e.g. the same show can be in the “Average” range in the United States and in the “Good” range in France.

As an example, if a show has 9 times more demand than the demand benchmark , it falls in the “Outstanding” performance range; only 2.7% of all shows in the market reach this high level of demand.

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Making Informed Content Decisions: How Demand Data for Star Trek: Picard Can Help Entertainment Executives

As an entertainment executive, you are constantly making decisions about what content to produce, acquire, distribute, or program. However, with so many options available in the market, it can be difficult to confidently make a decision that will drive engagement and profitability. This is where demand data comes in - it can help you make more informed content decisions based on audience interest and engagement.

For example, let's take a look at "Star Trek: Picard". According to Parrot Analytics' demand data for the month of December 2023 in the United States, the show has 20.0 times the audience demand of the average show in the country over the last 30 days, which is outstanding. This means that only 2.7% of all TV shows have this level of demand. Additionally, the demand for the show has been increasing recently, with demand of 19.6 times the average over the last 90 days.

This information can be used in content valuation to determine how much the show is worth and how much of this worth is being driven by audience demand. Parrot Analytics' content valuation system uses demand data to reveal the dollar value contribution of any title, to any platform, in any region. This means that by analyzing demand data for "Star Trek: Picard", you can determine the show's value to a platform and its contribution to engagement and revenue.

Moreover, by examining the show's ranking, which reached its peak at #155 in the U.S and moved up 51 spots during December, we can identify how the show is performing relative to other titles in the market. Additionally, we can use regional demand data to reveal which countries and content genres are most popular and likely to be more profitable to target.

Furthermore, Parrot Analytics' content has a wide range of uses. Demand data can inform decisions concerning supply and demand, with detailed insights on the popularity of a TV show relative to others in a particular genre in a particular region. It can help with subscriber acquisition by providing insights into which titles are likely to grow the audience of a platform, as well as subscriber retention. This data can also help to map local whitespaces and decide on the appropriate release strategy for shows.

Looking at the case of "Star Trek: Picard", we know it's outstanding globally, but it's essential to find out which markets have the highest demand for this TV series. By looking at the top 10 global markets where "Star Trek: Picard" is most in-demand over the last 30 days, we can gain details about the show's popularity in each market and allocate funding accordingly.

In conclusion, demand data is essential for making more informed decisions about content acquisition, distribution, programming, financing decisions, and all other aspects of the entertainment industry. Analyzing demand data for a TV series like "Star Trek: Picard" can help you make better-informed decisions about whether to renew or cancel the show, where to allocate funds internally based on demand data or when to acquire international distribution rights. Parrot Analytics' services offer a unique advantage to executives as they provide decision-making support that is vital to boosting audience engagement and revenue performance.

More news about Star Trek: Picard:

  • Maximizing Returns: How Demand Data Can Inform Strategic Content Decisions in the Entertainment Industry (November 2023)
  • Maximizing Revenue and Engagement: How Demand Data for 'Star Trek: Picard' Can Inform Your Entertainment Industry Decisions (October 2023)
  • Using Demand Data to Make Informed Decisions - A Look at the Performance of Star Trek: Picard in the US (September 2023)
  • Using Demand Data Analytics to Make Informed Content Decisions: A Case Study on 'Star Trek: Picard' (August 2023)
  • Unlocking Strategic Insights: How Demand Data Can Revolutionize Content Decision Making for Entertainment Executives (July 2023)
  • Unlocking the Power of Demand: How Data Can Make Executives More Informed Content Decisions (April 2023)
  • Unlocking the Power of Demand Data: How 'Star Trek: Picard' and Parrot Analytics Illuminate Content Decisions for Entertainment Executives (March 2023)

How fast is demand for Star Trek: Picard growing?

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This is Star Trek: Picard 's home market and therefore its travelability is 100%; the travelability of a TV show's market of origin is always 100%. Click through to another market to discover how well Star Trek: Picard travels internationally.

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Star Trek: Picard Television Stats for 2024-02-28

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Star Trek: Picard : 7 Things To Know About the Final Season From the Cast and Showrunner

The next generation is back to steer the paramount+ sci-fi series' last season into dock. the shows' star patrick stewart and more cast members along with showrunner terry matalas offer insights into season 3 and what fans may find beyond its final frontier..

star trek picard viewership

TAGGED AS: Paramount , Sci-Fi , science fiction , streaming , television , TV

Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) is about to embark on his final mission in the third season of Pararmount+’s Star Trek: Picard . Of course, never say never when it comes to Stewart reprising his role or, indeed, the rest of his Star Trek: The Next Generation castmates finding a place a in Star Trek ‘s future. You need only look at bonus features on the Blu-ray releases of The Next Generation to see the group wrestling with notions of both retirement and continuing.

Patrick Stewart in a poster for Star Trek: Picard season 3 (Paramount+)

(Photo by Paramount+)

Those same concerns may become text in Picard ‘s final 10-episode run. As announced when the program was still streaming episodes of the second season, the majority of Stewart’s TNG shipmates – Jonathan Frakes , Brent Spiner , LeVar Burton , Marina Sirtis , Michael Dorn , and Gates McFadden – return as their classic characters (mostly). The intent of the season: to give the group the proper send-off they never quite received in the Next Generation ’s feature film series.

Nevertheless, Picard ’s final season acknowledges the gap of years between their last film, Star Trek: Nemesis , and now; in fact, that distance has been a constant in the show’s various storylines. And if you haven’t been keeping up, but want to see the last mission of the Next Generation crew, here are a few things we were able to learn from the cast and showrunner Terry Matalas about Picard ‘s third season.

1. It’s Set in the 25th Century

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes and Jeri Ryan in Star Trek: Picard

(Photo by Trae Patton/Paramount+)

Although Picard always took place in the last years of the 24th century – the era first explored in TNG and continued in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Lower Decks – the third season proudly announces itself as entering a new century. To TNG faithful, the century shift should offer a sense of momentum and reaffirm Star Trek ‘s commitment to setting out further in its own fictional history and future while Star Trek: Discovery tells stories in its far removed future and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds seeks out new life in the original Star Trek ‘s 23rd century.

At the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January, Trek universe executive producer Alex Kurtzman suggested employing the various time periods allows Trek to grow while also holding onto its core ideals.

“It’s still always about [ Star Trek creator Gene] Roddenberry’s vision of optimism,” he said. “[But] you meet different crews who face different situations.”

2. The Ship Featured Is U.S.S. Titan  and Its Captain Is Unmissable

Todd Stashwick in STAR TREK: PICARD

(Photo by James Dimmock/Paramount+)

One new crew viewers will meet in Picard ‘s third season is the complement of the U.S.S. Titan . The ship was first referenced in Nemesis as Captain Riker’s (Frakes) first command following a 10–12 year stint as Picard’s first officer. He has also been seen taking the ship out for missions on Lower Decks and the first season of Picard .

But the ship will be different this time around. Photographed with cooler color temperatures and featuring none of the famous carpeting adorning TNG ‘s Enterprise , the steeler vision of the ship also reflects the sterner disposition of Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick), its less-than-approving commanding officer. When speaking with Rotten Tomatoes, Stashwick joked that Shaw is “barely noticeable.”

“Fans want to see new things with characters that they love,” he continued. “He certainly is new. The way he treats them, we really haven’t seen that before; that sort of irreverence. That sort of passive aggression. I think they’re going to love it.”

As an ongoing character for the season, Stashwick said Shaw will get to “poke at their whole legacy” and that, eventually, fans will enjoy the character, who gets to be a critic of the Next Generation . Of course, it remains to be seen if that enjoyment will be direct or in a “love-to-hate” manner.

Jeri Ryan in STAR TREK: PICARD

Despite Shaw presenting the ship as an icier environment for the TNG gang, there will be one familiar face aboard the Titan : Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Although the topic of her name – an aspect of the character going right back to her earliest Voyager days – continues to be a source of conflict for her.

“It’s very deep-rooted personal thing for Seven, and it took a long time for her to accept being [Seven versus ‘Seven of Nine’],” Ryan said. As fans who have seen the season 3 trailers know, Seven is finally in a Starfleet uniform, but despite its utopian ideals, she will “be butting heads with somebody else who doesn’t want that to be her name and wants this [her human name] to be her name.”

Ryan added it will be “frustrating for her” to once again tackle the issue of her name when “she has finally embraced it and accepted herself.”

3. Echoes of “All Good Things…” Are Inevitable, But Not Necessarily Intentional  

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, Patrick Stewart, 'All Good Things...'

(Photo by ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Reuniting the TNG cast 20-or-so years after Nemesis will undoubtedly put the group’s TV finale, “All Good Things…,” into the minds of fans. The Next Generation  two-hour closer sees Picard experiencing a possible future some 20 years ahead. His crew has scattered, some are estranged, and Picard himself has retired to the family winery in France. Naturally enough, Picard , as a whole, features some similarities to “All Good Things …,” but Matalas maintained direct thematic connections are not intended, although they may still occur.

“We did look at it,” he said. “It’s the greatest television finale of all time, and it is a proper send-off to Star Trek: The Next Generation . This [season] is a send-off to them now, post feature films and looking at them decades later.”

Gates McFadden in STAR TREK: PICARD

For McFadden, whose ultimate future may feature a few more ties to the one seen in “All Good Things…,” added, “I loved the way it was dealt with this time because all of our characters have such a huge history, both as people, the actors, and as the characters.”

That history matters in either vision of the future, but where “All Good Things…” reverted to TNG ’s status quo – something largely unchanged in the Next Generation feature films as well –McFadden felt Matalas and Picard ’s overall tendency for character examination opened a “new world of exploration, of conflict in our characters, and the loneliness and the vulnerabilities and the humanity of our characters.”

At the TCA press conference, Stewart echoed her comment, wishing “more of those elements with Beverly could’ve been touched on earlier.”

Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut in Star Trek: Picard

Burton noted the life of his character, Geordi LaForge, diverts “significantly” from the one Picard glimpsed in the TNG finale. But one commonality does exist: “I’m really, really pleased that Geordi has kids and that we see him as a father. That was hugely attractive to me, and I thought really a satisfying arc for him,” he explained.

The one definitely intentional call-back to TNG ’s final mission log, the names of Geordi’s daughters, Alandra and Sidney, were pulled directly from a scene in “All Good Things …,” Matalas added.

“I thank Terry Matalas for that,” Burton continued. “He agreed with me that it was important to right what I considered a great injustice done to Geordi in terms of his inability to form healthy and lasting relationships with human beings [during The Next Generation ]. And so he addressed that right away, right off the bat, and I’m really grateful.”

4. Picard and Riker Get To Have an Informal Adventure

Jonathan Frakes and Patrick Stewart in Episode 301, Star Trek: Picard

One of the more fun elements of the season is a chance to see Picard and Riker pal around on an adventure while no longer being tied to the rigid Starfleet command structure.

“That provided us with a new starting point obviously, but also the opportunity for a new type of behavior since the hierarchy of the [Horatio] Hornblower military setup that Roddenberry set was not there,” Frakes said of the storyline. “We were there together as peers, if you will, or brothers.”

He also thanked Matalas for pitching a “Butch-and-Sundance type of thing” to him and Stewart as an opening adventure for the season. And, as viewers will quickly see, the informality between the two characters pays dividends.

5. Raffi Gets Back To One

Michelle Hurd of the Paramount+ original series STAR TREK: PICARD

Although the second season of Picard wrapped up the stories of nearly all its supporting characters, Michelle Hurd ’s Raffi carries on as a major part of the story. Introduced as Picard’s attaché at the time of the Romulan relief effort and as a capable intelligence officer, Raffi’s more obsessive traits saw her booted from Starfleet by the time Picard ’s first season began. Across the two previous seasons, though, she returned to the fold and now returns to gathering intelligence. In Hurd’s estimation, it is the character’s best destiny.

“This is what she did before she was in Starfleet. She’s a master spy,” the actor said.

When viewers first met Raffi, she was quite critical of some Starfleet actions and its politics, but according to Hurd, “Starfleet was always this force that kept her grounded, kept her sober, because it was a place for her to be and she had a job.”

As the season begins, Raffi is at the helm of the starship La Sirena , formerly owned by departed Picard character Cristobal Rios ( Santiago Cabrera ), and “given free rein [aboard that ship].” Once again working as an intelligence agent, she’s “able to really use the skills that she’s always had.”

“She’s able to navigate and she doesn’t have to deal with anybody else talking in her head,” Hurd continued. “I think it’s just a natural progression.”

Michael Dorn in STAR TREK: PICARD.

Raffi’s continued presence on the series also maintains a level of crossover for Picard with the character holding the banner for the group assembled in its first year, Seven bringing her continued story from Voyager , and Dorn feeling he represents both his time on TNG and his work on Deep Space Nine .

“[The DS9 writers] really delved deeply into [Worf] and into the Klingon Empire, and the stories they came up with were spectacular and it gave him a lot to do,” he said of his time on the third live-action Star Trek spinoff, the first to use serialized storytelling and set itself away from a starship.

As seen in the season 3 trailer, Worf claims to adhere to pacifism at this point in his life, but as Dorn clarified at the TCA press tour in January, “Worf has always been on a journey for who he is” and the teasing comment in the preview is the latest step in that trek.

6. Some Things Never Change

LeVar Burton in STAR TREK: PICARD

Although modern Trek follows more of the serialized storytelling of DS9 and looks more like a feature film each week than its 1980s and 90s TV antecedents, the cast said actually shooting the show feels very much the same from the days on the Paramount lot in the 20th century.

“It certainly felt familiar being together,” Burton explained. “We have acted with one another more than anyone else in our respective careers. We’ve spent hours on soundstages in each other’s company, and plus the nature of our relationships offscreen got deeper over time. And so we were all able to bring that depth [to the characters].”

Brent Spiner of the Paramount+ original series STAR TREK: PICARD.

Also supporting the ongoing TNG atmosphere are several other cameos from established characters and actors. The two revealed so far: Spiner returning as Data’s corrupt brother, Lore, and Daniel Davis as the holographic but sentient construct of Professor James Moriarty. Additionally, Matalas teased in January “there are a few Next Gen –adjacent characters who will return this season, but we’re holding them back until [the episodes] air.”

7. It May Not Be the End

Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: PIcard

Although this third season Picard is billed as its last, it may not be the end for the characters. Back in January, Stewart told reporters during the show’s TCA press panel that he would consider subsequent appearances after Picard ‘s final episode streams.

“If we can maintain the work we did on seasons one, two, and three, than yes. There is still enormous potential in the narrative. And there are doors left open,” he said.

Kurtzman added at the time that while the show was always envisioned as a three-year mission, “anything is possible.”

When McFadden spoke to us, she expressed her hope that even as Star Trek continues to expand into the 25th century, it still has a place for the TNG cast. “I read all those 10 scripts and I didn’t see it as a send-off as much as we are engaged in the present of the world,” she said. “It’s a new world, things have changed, and there is so much yet to be done.”

“You can do anything you want to do [with Trek ],” added Dorn. “You never know what’s in studios’ minds, but it seems like it’s the right thing [to continue with the characters.]”

Ed Speleers in STAR TREK: PICARD

Matalas, for his part, suggested more stories set in the new century may happen. For one, Ed Speleers (pictured above), who has appeared in Outlander and Downton Abbey , plays a new character in season 3 of Picard .

“What [this season of Picard ] does feel like is a completion of the Star Trek Next Generation arc. It does feel like a passing of the torch to sort of a ‘next generation.’ I think that these legacy characters should be a part of that [and] I would love nothing more than to see [it happen].”

He continued. “I don’t want to say what happens to Beverly Crusher [as an example], but let’s just say that she has a role in, possibly, the future of the Federation that’s important. And so it is very much an ending and a beginning at the same time.”

And, just as it seemed on those now 10-year-old Blu-ray bonus features, the future of Star Trek and the Next Generation characters is something the cast welcomes if and when the call comes to join Starfleet once more.

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No Fooling, Is Picard a Hit or Not?

  • The Streaming Ratings Report for 1-April-2022
  • By The Entertainment Strategy Guy
  • April 1, 2022

star trek picard viewership

I know it’s April Fool’s Day today, but as much as I love this holiday, this newsletter is still serious-ish journalism, so I’m not going to make up anything. In my experience, bad statistics just get taken as fact more often than real, often boring truth. (You may have seen that quote “that a lie travels halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on”, that’s often misattributed to a famous American. A good rule of thumb: if someone tells you Mark Twain said a quote, half the time he didn’t .)

So lets give you some boring old truth!

(Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks , TV Time trend data, Netflix datecdotes and hours viewed data, Netflix Top Ten lists , Google Trends and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of February 28th to March 6th.)

The joke is that instead of calling it “Paramount+” and leaning into the mountain of content analogy, the company formerly known as ViacomCBS (and now Paramount Global) should have called it Star Trek+. There’s just so much Star Trek on that streamer!

The latest iteration is Star Trek: Picard, which debuted season two on 3-March. Like the previous Star Trek series Star Trek: Discovery , it is released weekly. So how is it doing? Yeah, you know the answer: Nielsen doesn’t release Paramount viewership, so the best source of data is missing. Oh well, on to other sources.

Starting with the TV Time data, you can see that while Paramount+ shows can’t reach the heights of Disney+, Prime Video or (especially) Netflix series, the Star Trek series get their numbers:

star trek picard viewership

How do these rank overall? We’ll have to see, but right now Picard has three weeks on the charts for a score (score being the opposite of the weekly rank, so a one gets 10 points, a second place gets 9 points and so on) of 13, good for 38th out of 82 TV series in the data set. Star Trek: Discovery , however, made the list for ten weeks with a score of 40, good for 13th in the data set.  

star trek picard viewership

You might think—looking at that chart—and I would agree, that TV Time skews a pinch towards genre shows in its rankings. Probably. My guess is TV Time users are younger and more “cord cutter-y” than average viewers. That could skew genre. Especially considering that, looking at the Google Trends, its hard to see either Star Trek series generating lots of interest:

star trek picard viewership

I tossed in Halo in that chart because it’s also on Paramount+. (And it is interesting that the new video game release in December is much bigger than the Paramount+ series release.) As for IMDb scores, the Star Trek series are in the dreaded “average” zone, with Picard having an 7.5 on 59K reviews and Discovery with 7.1 on 116K reviews . Compare those to other “genre” series and you see that gap.

star trek picard viewership

Let’s wait a few weeks to make a final, final call, but I’d call these shows both “fine”. They do well for Paramount+—only 1883 , the Yellowstone spinoff, has maybe done better—but haven’t broken through the way top genre series do on the other big three streamers (T he Witcher, The Boys or Marvel/Star Wars).  

Quick Notes on TV

– Hulu finally made it back onto the weekly Nielsen ratings charts. So far, in 2022, they’ve only had Pam & Tommy earn a spot in the ratings. Interestingly, The Dropout —based on an ABC News podcast of the same name ( synergy !)—about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes debuted on 3-Mar and netted 4.2 million hours. That’s pretty close to Pam & Tommy ’s 5.2 million hours and both had similar releases (three episodes to start, then weekly.) Of the 118 season one debuts in my data set, 4.2 million hours is good for the 71st place overall. Among “weekly” releases only, that’s still 10th place out of 14. And out of Hulu series, that’s fifth place out of the seven series in the data set. (And yeah, if you think seven feels low for a major streamer, it is.)

– The big scripted Netflix release of the week is Pieces of Her starring Toni Collette. It debuted to 12.5 million hours with a Friday release, and that’s basically what I’m calling the “fine” Netflix release range. (Anything between 10 to 15 million hours. I’m working on quantifying this.) It’s not a great release—ranked 26th out of 118—but isn’t a miss either. Whether or not it’s a hit depends on the next few weeks of viewing, and given its IMDb score (6.4 on 14K reviews) and TV Time tracking (only one week) I’d say it tapers off after getting a “binge release bounce” next week.

– HBO Max presents us with our usual perplexing challenge, without ratings, can we figure out if this show is a hit or not? (Say it with me regular readers, “HBO let Nielsen release your data!!!) This week’s challenge? Our Flag Means Death , from executive producer Taika Waititi which debuted on 3-March.  

Using TV Time’s data, it made the rankings for two weeks totaling seven “points”. That’s good for 51st among the 82 TV series to chart on TV Time. Pam & Tommy , for example made the list for three weeks and also got seven points. Since Pam & Tommy only showed up on Nielsen once, that would be my bet for the likely viewership for this series as well. Toss in a good IMDb score of 7.9, but only 7.8K reviews and let’s say this show isn’t very popular, but also not a “dog not barking”. Call it “average to fine”.

– Remember last week when I wondered aloud what would be the next true crime series to do well in the Netflix ratings? Well, the wait is over! With Worst Roommate Ever —a true crime docu-series on con artists—we have our answer. At 17.2 million hours on only 5 episodes, it smashed it in the ratings. (It did have a Tuesday release, so it should see a decline in ratings next week.) Still that’s the 12th biggest season one launch to date. Further, both Worst Roommate Ever and Catching Killers have fewer episodes than a lot of Netflix titles and frankly are about as cheap to make as they come.  

star trek picard viewership

– In follow ups, Love Is Blind had strong ratings into its third week, though Inventing Anna is really the giant. Vikings: Valhalla had a binge release bump, but pretty soft and like Pieces of Her in the U.S.—globally may be a different story—I’d call it a “good” but not great series.  

– Moreover, looking at the above chart, you can really see how quickly the monsters of January fall off. Looking at the TV Time data, Ozark, Reacher and Peacemaker have all already left the TV Time lists by the end of February. I’d guess Reacher and maybe Ozark fall off the Nielsen charts next week too.

– The Dog Not Barking of the Week is The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder . Most kids shows—not named Bluey or CoComelon —don’t make the Nielsen charts, but also they don’t usually get the marketing push this one got.  

– A few other big titles failed to make the Nielsen or TV Time charts this week:

– Prime Video expanded its The Boys universe with the aptly named The Boys Presents: Diabolical . As an animated   show, it’s not a huge surprise that it missed the rankings in its first week. – Apple TV+ still has problems with Jon Stewart’s The Problem with Jon Stewart. It moved to a weekly format with new episodes on Thursdays. The silence around this show, frankly, feels deafening. – On Netflix, the kids-show-that-secretly-hopes-to-appeal-to-fanboys He-Man and the Masters of the Universe had a new season. The first season had some controversy, so we’ll see if the next round can draw in fans, but it’s a kids show so likely won’t make the ratings. – Peacock also pushed Joe vs Carole really hard, but that show looks to be experiencing the same “Oh we got enough Tiger King after the first season” fatigue as Tiger King season two.

Library titles—meaning films that debuted more than two years ago—continue to dominate the film charts. Here’s the Top Ten film, with the Dreamworks films highlighted:

star trek picard viewership

What’s going on? Well, Shrek, Shrek 2 , Just Like Heaven and Battleship (2014) all showed up on Netflix on March 1st 2020 . Like Warner Bros films earlier in the year, most film studios still have library deals with Netflix to put some of their films on that streamer for a nice little pay day. Universal just expanded their deal with Netflix, as mentioned when they gave Netflix Pay-1 film rights for new Dreamworks films.  

However, like the other Illumination films that we wrote about earlier ( Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2 ), these films will bounce around. For example, the two Shrek films will show up Hulu in April! So they’ll be on both platforms.  

I do think this has some implications for Disney, of all streamers. When Disney+ first launched, I half wondered if they’d call it “the Vault”—because they used to move films back to “the vault”—and frankly that name sounds better than Disney+. However, I still wonder if Disney+ would benefit from rotating films on and off the platform. On the one hand, being able to say, “Every Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and Disney Animated film is here” is a huge brand win.  

On the other hand, as Netflix shows almost every week, when new movies come back on a streaming service, it gives customers an excuse to watch them again, as the Despicable Me’s and Shrek films showed. Frankly, both strategies have their advantages and drawbacks.

Quick Notes on Film

– Let me take the “L” on my hopes that West Side Story would have a rebound on streaming that differed from its theatrical performance. Given that is skewed older, and the older folks were most likely to stay home from theaters in December, I wondered if it would have a second life on its dual Disney+/HBO/HBO Max release on 2-March. It did not, only getting 5.2 million in its Wednesday opening week launch, good for 9th place among the 20 “Pay 1” films in my data set. If it had been a streaming only title, it would have been 76th out of 145 films. So not great.  

That said, it saw an “Oscar bump” as did Dune and Don’t Look Up last weekend:

star trek picard viewership

– Compare West Side Story to Netflix’s two releases of the week, Against the Ice —an Danish survival thriller (in English) with Jamie Lannister/Nikolaj Coster-Waldau—and The Weekend Away —a thriller set in Croatia with Leighton Meester—which earned 3.2 million and 5.8 million respectively. In Disney’s favor, their service is roughly 60% the size of Netflix, so a higher percentage of folks watched on Disney+. On the other hand, West Side Story probably cost more than these two put together.  

star trek picard viewership

There is always the temptation to draw a a lot of conclusions about “theatrical vs streaming” release strategies based on the latest film releases—like say these three titles—but I’d say the simplest explanation is still likely the best: how well a film does in theaters is the best predictor for its performance on streaming. Moreover, poorly rated films— The Weekend Away has a 5.6 on 17K reviews, Against the Ice has a 6.5 on 15K reviews and West Side Story has a 7.3 on 62K reviews—just don’t scream “customers loved these titles”.

– Over at Hulu, they released Fresh , a comedy horror-thriller, that missed the Nielsen charts. Huh. It did well on the TV Time charts—anything that gets two weeks on TV Time is not a “Dog Not Barking” for me—and its interesting that it didn’t make TV Time until the week after its debut. So it may appear next week.  

star trek picard viewership

The week before, Hulu released No Exit, which is labeled as a “20th Century” film . I track things like how shows are branded—not something you can easily automate—and it’s interesting that No Exit has this new label. Fresh , meanwhile, had the “Searchlight” label and both were labeled Hulu Originals too. Meanwhile, the upcoming Deep Water is only a Hulu Original. All three of these films are in the thriller/horror realm. No Exit never made the Nielsen charts, but it did make it on TV Time for two weeks, though near the bottom of the charts.  

– For the “dog not barking” this week, I’m going to pick on Peacock again. Sorry folks at NBC-Universal. Their miss this week is The 355 , the spy action film that grossed $14.5 million in January.

For a movie that had a budget somewhere between 40 and 75 million (a ccording to Wikipedia’s links ), with big talent, this isn’t great. The IMDb score is middling too (an 5.3 on 19K reviews, though that could have been the result of a campaign against it), poor theatrical numbers and now only one week on the TV Time charts. So yeah, this was a bomb.  

(Another interesting branding note? It was called “Only on Peacock”, since likely the initial contracts couldn’t call it a Peacock Original or anything like that. I bet we see a lot more publicity echoing this.)

Coming Soon!  

Next week will be a massive movie show down, as Turning Red squares off against The Adam Project . Pixar versus Ryan Reynolds. We know both do well (Disney said Turning Red had their highest global viewership in three days and The Adam Project is on Netflix’s top ten films list—but who wins in the U.S.? But that isn’t even the most interesting story. Amazon aired the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards on their service. Those ratings are what I’m most interested in.

Later this month, we’ll see the results of the Oscars on viewing. Last year, as I noted here, the Academy Awards didn’t propel anything into the top ten, but that could change. Interestingly, the streamers were VERY quiet over the last week in launching new movies. The Academy Award show may be dead, but the streamers aren’t acting like it on the film side. On the TV side, we have new Bridgerton season. Man the end of March between Picard, Halo, Bridgerton and Moon Knight is crowded.

Lastly, we got a delicious new release date, as HBO Max decided to preempt Prime Video and launch their Game of Thrones prequel series in late August , two weeks before Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel. Looks like I have a deadline to get this big series finished . In other squaring off news, Disney+ pushed the Obi-wan series back two days to debut against Stranger Things ’ next season. Some titanic battles are coming are way!

(As always, sign up for my newsletter to get all my columns, streaming ratings reports, and articles in your inbox.)

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‘Star Trek: Picard’ Succeeded in Every Way ‘The Mandalorian’ Failed

Christian blauvelt.

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[Spoiler alert! The below contains extensive details about the finales of both series.]

For the past few years, “ Star Wars ” definitively had the upper hand over “Star Trek” in the streaming wars. Times change, though: The viewership totals may still be on the side of “Star Wars,” but when it comes to quality there’s no question “Star Trek” has now moved ahead of its rival space franchise.

With the exception of “Andor,” Disney+’s takes on that galaxy far, far away have grown increasingly limp — from the candy-colored nonsense of “The Book of Boba Fett,” to the from nowhere-to-nowhere storytelling of “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” to the astonishingly incoherent Season 3 of “ The Mandalorian .” I’ve written before about the creative vacuum that was “Picard” Seasons 1 and 2 , but, by any standard, “Star Trek: Discovery” Season 4, the first season of “Strange New Worlds,” and the final season of “Picard” are outclassing everything Lucasfilm is producing that doesn’t star Diego Luna.

This past week, the divergence was particularly striking. “The Mandalorian” Season 3 ended on as stale a note as could be imagined, any hints of evolution or character development flattened into oblivion — this ending also could have been the Season 1 finale, or the series finale altogether, it doesn’t really matter. While “Picard” pulled a bit of a cheat, with a series finale, titled “The Last Generation,” that’s obviously setting up future stories, it was also deeply invested with emotion, found ways of giving meaning to old symbols, and thoughtfully reflected on what the past means rather than just wanting to repeat it. “The Mandalorian” is repetition, “Picard” represented an evolution.

“Picard” Season 3 Invested Old Symbols with New Meaning

A particular moment in the “Mandalorian” finale felt symbolic of the whole thing: The Darksaber, a weapon fraught with meaning for the Mandalorian people as it’s to be wielded by their leader, and has accumulated significance over the course of “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels” animated series before making the jump to live action, was suddenly destroyed. Crumpled in Moff Gideon’s fist like just another toy. Far more disturbing that that moment in “The Last Jedi” when Luke tossed his father’s lightsaber over his shoulder that elicited so many fanboy tears, this act of destruction definitively said that what you’re supposed to care about on “The Mandalorian” is ephemeral and changeable. As did that moment earlier in the season when Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin just gave it to Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan, even though it’s supposed to be won in combat.

“Star Trek” is not immune to these mistakes either. The 1994 film “Star Trek Generations” had a similar moment when Picard holds a treasured artifact given to him by a beloved mentor (as established on the episode “The Chase” of “The Next Generation”) then casually discards it among the wreckage of the Enterprise-D. That mentor was legendary actor Norman Lloyd, no less! And this thing that had been invested with meaning suddenly had none. The Darksaber is basically given that same treatment on “The Mandalorian.”

The Darksaber, destroyed

On the other hand, “Picard” Season 3 goes on to show that LeVar Burton’s Geordi LaForge actually recovered the saucer section of the Enterprise-D from its crash in that previous film and spent 20 years restoring the ship to its old glory. The fact that it was older and unplugged from Starfleet’s new “Fleet Formation” ship-linking system meant that it wasn’t assimilated by the Borg. This was a bit of a ripoff of how the title ship on Ronald D. Moore’s “Battlestar Galactica” series survived because it wasn’t part of an internet-like network as well, but still a potent metaphor for how you can look to the past to find solutions for the present.

Likewise, “Picard” Season 3 spent an entire season building the USS Titan as a ship to revere. Rechristening it the new USS Enterprise NCC-1701-G was another example of taking something old… and evolving it. Basically the approach of this entire final season.

“Picard” Season 3 Showed Real Evolution of Its Characters

How is Mando any different at the end of Season 3 than he is at the end of Season 1? On the other hand, the “Next Gen” characters brought back for “Picard” have evolved strikingly. Gates McFadden’s Beverly Crusher is now capable of being a helluva tactical officer for the Enterprise. Jonathan Frakes’ Riker and Marina Sirtis’s Troi draw strength from their relationship rather than the “will they? won’t they?” waffling they engaged in for seven years on “Next Gen.” Brent Spiner’s Data is finally a “real boy,” a flesh and blood human (more or less) his consciousness was downloaded into — he experienced death, now he needs to face aging. Michael Dorn’s Worf is a warrior for pacifism now. Geordi is a father of two grown daughters and far from the tremulous guy he could once be when it came to relationships.

And for Picard himself, the most interesting thing is to consider how Patrick Stewart’s acting style has evolved since “Next Gen,” where he could be a stern authoritarian figure telling Data, when the android was cosplaying as Sherlock Holmes, to “lose the damn pipe.” By “First Contact,” Picard had basically become one of Hollywood’s bald badasses, rocking a tank top Bruce Willis-style to defeat the Borg Queen in gruesome fashion. Now, he’s a lovable old softie, sanded down by time, an avatar for cute. If “Picard” has a Baby Yoda, it’s Picard himself.

“Picard” Season 3 Also Evolved the Meaning of the Greatest “Trek” Villains, the Borg

“Picard” Season 3 also gave a whole new subtext of meaning to the Borg. When introduced in the late ’80s, they represented the ultimate nemesis to Gene Roddenberry’s much-touted mantra of “infinite diversity in infinite combinations.” The cybernetic baddies were a homogeneity that subsumes anything unique into its monolithic whole. They represent a world where everyone can communicate, yes, but everyone speaks just one language and there’s no diversity of any kind at all. That makes them the ultimate “Star Trek” villains.

But in Season 3 we’re reintroduced to the surviving Borg, last seen in the finale of “Star Trek: Voyager” in 2001 when Janeway kills most of them, and we see it’s mostly just the disfigured Queen (hauntingly voiced once again by Alice Krige) and a few scattered drones. She herself consumed most of her collective to keep herself alive. And the only way to grow is “by taking over someone else’s army,” finding a way to automatically assimilate everyone in Starfleet who’s 25 years old or younger. (25 being the age at which our brains stop developing.)

Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker and Michael Dorn as Worf in

The Borg thus become a very 21st century metaphor for the conformity young people are encouraged to contribute to on social media: looking a certain way, acting a certain way, having fun a certain way, being #blessed. FOMO is the ultimate driver toward a collective mindset. Picard says to his son Jack (Ed Speelers), who’s been assimilated into the Borg that he gets it, that feeling of being “hungry to connect while needing to keep people distant so they never see the real you.” The Borg are all connected. They’re never alone. But as just one voice aggregated out of many, and performing only a version of themselves, they’re essentially anonymous too.

To the credit of “The Mandalorian,” it does seem to be trying to evolve our notion of the Empire as well, turning someone like Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon into someone only obsessed with survival. And to do so he’ll take the best attributes of his enemies (the Beskar armor from the Mandalorians, the Force from the Jedi) and put them all into a new clone body he’ll download himself into. He’s basically looking to assimilate his enemies as much as annihilate them. Yet all of this conveyed without much emotional resonance.

“Picard” Season 3 Created a Real Sense of Atmosphere and Stakes

From the moment that sitar plays Jerry Goldsmith’s Borg theme from “First Contact” to open the finale episode, you know, if it hadn’t already been apparent, that an extraordinary attention to detail is going to follow. Having Walter Koenig voice Anton, the son of Pavel Chekhov, who’s apparently the current Federation president, helps hearken back to an even earlier generation to give additional heft to what might be lost with Earth under assault.

Fantastic images abound in this finale episode, “The Last Generation.” A giant Borg cube sitting in the swirling red dot of Jupiter, poking out like the rocket that lands in the moon’s eye in “A Trip to the Moon.” The acting too: the robotic, ramrod-straight way Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut walks to convey she’s been assimilated. It all creates a powerful effect, a story told through images and gestures that’s full of special effects “Next Gen” couldn’t have dreamed of employing in its original run but built on the most foundational elements of visual storytelling.

Brent Spiner as Data and LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge in

By contrast, Mandalore is so underdeveloped as a place in “The Mandalorian,” that the title character decides not to even live there after winning it back for his people. Its history is skimped on in every conceivable way, down to the bizarre decision never to mention the character of Duchess Satine Kryze, Bo-Katan’s sister, who was a major part of the animated shows “The Mandalorian” is built on.

“Picard” Season 3 Also Recognizes There’s an Element of “Playing with Toys” to This Story

And has some major fun with that. The very idea of the Borg forging an alliance with what’s left of the Dominion ( the villains from “Deep Space Nine” ) is the kind of thing a 12-year-old in 1998 would have dreamed of. Not to mention that the assimilated Starfleet’s assault on Spacedock looks very much like the battles you could wage against Spacedock in the mid-90s computer game “Birth of the Federation.” Or that the Borg control a whole fleet of assimilated Starfleet ships, just like you could do in the “Star Trek: Armada” game. The references and the images here feel deep and organic and sprung out of a shared imagination about what made ’90s “Trek” unforgettable.

On the other hand, the masked-warrior versus masked-warrior showdown on “The Mandalorian” finale felt like the way “Community” made fun of “Blade” as just endless metal-on-metal clanging. “Star Wars” is not supposed to be quite that loud. And somehow, despite all that noise, “Picard” still delivered the superior space battles — an area where “Trek” was usually inferior to “Star Wars.”

In every way that matters, “Picard” had the edge over “The Mandalorian” this season. And in the age-old “Star Trek” versus “Star Wars” debate, both franchises are living long but only one is prospering right now.

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Star Trek: Picard (2020)

Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life. Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life. Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life.

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  • Trivia The Chateau Picard vineyard first appeared in Family (1990) . It was run by Jean-Luc Picard's brother Robert and his wife Marie, and their son René. Jean-Luc would learn in Star Trek: Generations (1994) that Robert and René had both burned to death in a fire, leaving Jean-Luc as the last in the Picard line.
  • Goofs Commodore Oh often wears sunglasses. Star Trek lore establishes that Vulcans have an inner eyelid to protect against harsh sunlight on their desert planet. Oh's shades are a fashion statement, not a protective measure.
  • The first season features a Borg cube and the planet Romulus.
  • The second season features a Borg ship, a wormhole and hourglass, and the Borg Queen's silhouette.
  • The third season does not have an opening titles sequence.
  • Connections Featured in Half in the Bag: Comic Con 2019, The Picard Trailer, Streaming Services, and Midsommar (2019)

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Star Trek: Picard

Where to watch.

Watch Star Trek: Picard with a subscription on Paramount Plus, or buy it on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV.

Cast & Crew

Patrick Stewart

Jean-Luc Picard

LeVar Burton

Geordi LaForge

Michael Dorn

Jonathan Frakes

Gates McFadden

Beverly Crusher

Marina Sirtis

Deanna Troi

Popular TV on Streaming

Tv news & guides, this show is featured in the following articles., series info.

Star Trek Picard: Where did it all go wrong?

Opinion: The final frontier of quality

Picard

Paramount Plus' Star Trek series, Picard concluded its second season this week, and the 10-episode run has felt like a real slog. 

After announcing in 2018 that Paramount had tempted back Patrick Stewart to play Jean Luc Picard once again, there was a hope that we would not only see Picard in his twilight years to get the bad taste of Star Trek: Nemesis out of our mouths, but to see what that world has been up to since we last saw them.

While there have been some high points, mainly from the performances of all the actors, the majority of the series has been riddled with plot inconsistencies, jerky twists that don’t lead anywhere, and camera angles so silly they are reminiscent for Adam West's crash, bang, wallop days as Batman. 

With the finale of Season 2 wrapped up, we wanted to go into what’s missing from the show, alongside some thoughts of the viewers who have also been invested in Picard, and the series of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

A little bit of history...

I first watched Star Trek on Sunday afternoons with my family in the late 1990s, where Voyager and Next Generation would play in marathons while others would watch the EastEnders omnibus on another channel.

I don’t class myself as a hardcore Star Trek fan - more of a casual watcher who enjoyed the serialized stories. But it seems as though there’s been a big misunderstanding as to why those Star Trek shows worked so well in the 90s.

I watched the remainder of Picard out of pure curiosity - to see just how more nonsensical the stories can become. In one episode we’re watching Picard and company look for ‘The Watcher’, but instead, we see the police, twice put Picard and Cristóbal Rios in jail with their missing comms link, which is the badges on all Trek uniforms.

We then get a younger Guinan, normally played by Whoopi Goldberg, advancing the plot, very slowly, over three episodes. Then followed by Dr. Soong, an ancestor of Soong who created the android Data and Lore, who is also making an early synthetic of his daughter. There’s also Q who appears to be dying. Also, the Borg Queen is involved with Agnes.

It’s a lot. The early Trek series had a more procedural feel, a new adventure each week with a much neater feeling, whereas with Picard, there’s an overarching story to save the future. That arc has made the show feel so long-winded and lacking the efficiency of the early series. This storyline could have easily been a two-parter if The Next Generation (TNG) was still going.

The advent of streaming services have been wonderful, but with a captive audience already in place and without the fiery breath of executives demanding high ratings to sell back to advertisers, you can start to see storylines become bloated.

The wrath of plot holes

The first episode of Picard Season Two was a marked improvement - there was structure and a plot you could understand, with every character having a purpose. But once episode 2 arrived, we were brought to the many plot strands that yet again, made you care less for the characters.

While the finale tied up the many plots into a bow, even with Elnor having been resurrected by Q, as Rios decided to stay behind, I watched the credits with the same frustrations I had, rather than being moved.

I decided to ask a few viewers who had also been on the same journey as me, just to make sure that it wasn’t me thinking that I was becoming out of touch with television.

Richie Morgan is a freelance videographer and podcaster , and I asked him why he put up with watching it, regardless of knowing the show’s flaws. “I keep getting annoyed while watching it and yet I return every week. Maybe I love the characters and want to see them again?” Morgan wonders. “That might be the case if anyone remembered how to write or play those characters.  Maybe it's just because it's Star Trek, but it’s not with Picard here. Even at its darkest, whatever form it has taken, Star Trek was about optimism and utopian ideals either thriving or trying to thrive in the darkest places.” Morgan explains.

“Now I'm just tuning in every week to see returning characters tortured to death, or exploring their hideous retconned traumas, or in some cases committing actual murders.”

I’ve read high-praise of the show, but I can’t help but think that this is from wearing rose-tinted nostalgia glasses, in awe of the fact that Admiral Picard is back after 20 years. But without a coherent story, the series is already on course to be worse than Star Trek: Nemesis, the final film for The Next Generation crew.

Another viewer is a reader of TechRadar who got in touch after watching the penultimate episode of Picard towards the end of April. Ian Hicks sent in what he thought of Picard as a whole. “Whereas other Star Trek shows don’t hit the heights of TNG, it at least had all of the formulaic aspects of a typical star trek show. A thirst for discovery, a higher purpose and logic.” Hicks explains.

“Picard has none of these. It’s clear Sir Patrick Stewart can’t even himself recall what the character stood for. Where’s the unwavering authority, the moral righteousness, and virtue that made Picard such a beloved captain? It’s a hollow ensemble of lifeless hollowed-out Star Trek characters, that are thrown together into a story that makes no sense and goes off on so many confusing tangents, that it makes Season 1 look well-written.” Hicks continues. “Character traits flip flop to further the inane script rather than for development. It’s a show that tries to be everything and ends up being nothing.”

To boldly, go?

Season 3 of Picard is not only commissioned, but already filmed, as it was in production soon after Season 2 had been filmed halfway. With the cast of TNG coming back, I asked Richie Morgan again as to what he’d like to see in this final series of Picard, with himself being a lifelong Trek fan.

“I'm telling myself now that I don't care what happens in the next season. I'll just be happy to see everyone again.” Morgan reveals. “In an ideal world, I'd love to see an exploration of late 24th century Trek again. Maybe a stop to Deep Space Nine - perhaps a plot as to how the Alpha Quadrant rebuilt itself after the Dominion war?” Morgan wonders. “Or what's happening with the Klingons, the Romulans, or even the Ferengi!  An exploration of what it is to be an intergalactic hero in the twilight years of your life. Let's acknowledge their age and really tell that story. I want to believe they can do it." Morgan hopes. "I want to believe every character won't return with a miserable back story. That Geordie LaForge married Leah Brahms and she didn't immediately die.”

As we head into a story where the Borg is part of the Federation, sudden plot points may rear their heads once again, as the third season hasn’t had the chance to breathe and look at the feedback of its fans.

But with this clearly being the final season of Picard, not just the series but the character, there could always be a glimmer of hope that we can say a proper goodbye to this part of Star Trek, and see what else the franchise can offer.

That said, with the lazy plotting and non-sensical decisions made in the show's second season, I'm not hopeful. 

  • How to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds online, wherever you are

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Daryl Baxter

Daryl had been freelancing for 3 years before joining TechRadar, now reporting on everything software-related. In his spare time he's written a book, 'The Making of Tomb Raider', alongside podcasting and usually found playing games old and new on his PC and MacBook Pro. If you have a story about an updated app, one that's about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line.

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‘picard’ star patrick stewart shares season 2 regret and explains why he sounds slightly different in final episodes.

"The fact is, during the seven years of shooting 'TNG,' I truly began to understand that I didn't know where Patrick Stewart left off and Jean-Luc Picard began," the distinguished actor tells THR.

By Ryan Parker

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Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard of STAR TREK: PICARD.

[Warning: This story contains spoilers for the season two finale of Star Trek: Picard . ] 

As Sir Patrick Stewart watched the season two finale of Star Trek: Picard , he became awash in emotion.

The distinguished, iconic actor, who has played Jean-Luc Picard since the 1987 Star Trek: The Next Generation pilot “Encounter at Farpoint,” realized for him and Q actor John de Lancie, the adventure they began 30 years prior had officially concluded. And the moment was perfect.

Of course, that was not the only scene in “Farewell” that struck a major chord with the Picard star as he viewed the finale episode in the sophomore season of the Paramount+ series, but the final exchange between the two left an indelible impression, a sensation different from that which came on while filming the moment.

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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on the eve of the season two finale, Stewart explored a number of topics that arose from the series, and explained why the experience of making both the second and upcoming third and final seasons, while tremendously rewarding, was also extremely taxing. Stewart also addressed the mental health aspect of this season and why it was personal to him.

I must start by saying this season was extraordinary. You all did a tremendous job with an action-packed — and quite emotional — roller-coaster Star Trek season.

Thank you. It was tough. You know, we were set up to go with season two when the pandemic broke out, so we were shut down and sidelined. About after eight months, I was called up and told, “Look, here’s the plan: We’ve lost a lot of time and we need to record both seasons two and three back-to-back.” Normally, there is a long break between a season’s shooting. But we wrapped season two at about 7 p.m. and started season three at 7 a.m. the next morning. We worked for about 14 months, continually. It was thrilling and exciting much of the time, but it was also for me — who I would imagine is more than double the age of anybody else in this series — tough. ( Laughs .)

There were a number of deeply beautiful and profound moments this season for Picard, especially in the finale. I loved that final chat with Picard and Q. Was that overwhelming, you two starting this adventure in “Farpoint?”

I watched the episode for the first time this morning, and I was so deeply moved by those scenes with John de Lancie and the content of those scenes because he was making himself, as a character, vulnerable. John can bring complexity to the simplest line. I mean that as a compliment. I’m envious. His whole attitude and the things he was saying and his gentleness and sensitivity, it choked me up.

And then when we came to the moment when [Borg Queen] Alison Pill took off her mask. We had this curious angle shot, rather low into her face, looking up into her eyes. I’m afraid I began to weep, it was so touching. Because, of course, it meant that I was saying goodbye to John and to Alison, who are both wonderful actors.

Mental health has been forefront and deeply impactful this season. I’m curious if Picard’s trauma over his mother’s death changed your perception of this character, whom you’ve known for 30 years. We, the viewers, have a better understanding now of this complicated man. How was this new information for you to digest and perform?

My only regret is that once Jean-Luc revealed those hidden facts about his childhood to us, I almost wished we could immediately put him back on the bridge of the Enterprise to hear and see what the impact this revelation had on him. But we couldn’t do that.

There are so many emotional complexities in this whole series that we did not investigate much in Next Generation . I grew up in a violent home and over the years, thanks to lots of very expensive American therapy, it’s something that I think I’ve come to terms with. But the harm that it could do while it was being compressed and kept out and kept back and not acknowledged, it was very dark. I realized this was the same with Jean-Luc.

Now, if you watched episodes nine and 10, you will hear that my voice sounds different. Whenever smoke is used onstage, I have to make a protest because — I know it’s not poisonous, it’s not going to harm — it gets onto the vocal cords. I particularly suffer badly from this. And it made me a little hoarse. So, at first, we were going to rerecord a lot of what I said, but I urged [executive producer] Akiva [Goldsman] and my fellow producers not to do that because the weakness in my voice was reflecting the weakness in the character.

Jean-Luc putting the key back behind the brick knowing his younger self would find it, hence his trauma would take place, reminded me of the TNG episode “Tapestry,” where, after getting stabbed in the heart, he laughs, knowing his timeline is secured. Did you have glimpses of those moments during this series, those callbacks you actually experienced?

The fact is, during the seven years of shooting TNG , I truly began to understand that I didn’t know where Patrick Stewart left off and Jean-Luc Picard began. Over those first few years they just merged, and I found that I was, as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, becoming more and more like Patrick Stewart. So when you get these moments of a character’s situation or his actions or his risks and dangers, those are something you recognize as a person.

There is an exercise in acting called “sense memory” that I was taught at my drama school when I was 17. The basic premise of sense memory is that no experience is ever wasted on an actor. Such as, I recently had injections in my hands, going into the knuckles because I have arthritis. Eight injections. And the first one was tolerable, I thought, “I can live with this.” And then the doctor put the second needle in, and I screamed! I don’t think I’ve ever screamed as an adult before. Of course, they had to do it six more times after that. And each time I told myself, “Patrick, sense memory. Remember every part of this, how it feels, how you reacted to it.”

One of my all-time favorite TNG moments is the final shot, when Jean-Luc finally joins his command crew for a game of poker.

Do you happen to remember the final line?

“Five-card stud, nothing wild. And the sky’s the limit.”

Yes! ( Claps hands. )

Yeah, I’m kind of a huge fan. Anyway, I bring it up because I would love to hear how it feels, after 30 years, to still be playing in the cosmic sandbox with the amazing TNG actors, as we know several of whom will appear on Picard next season.

We have been bonded together for years and years in different ways and for different reasons. I adore them, and I love them all deeply. What they brought into my life in 1987 was rich and complex. They all are as committed as any group of actors I’ve ever worked with. And yes, we had a lot of fun, and we joked. But nevertheless, we were a serious group of actors, and I was so proud of the work that we did.

Interview edited for length and clarity. 

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Den of Geek

Picard Just Ended One of Star Trek: TNG’s Most Frustrating Storylines

Star Trek: Picard finally brings back one of The Next Generation's most controversial Starfleet characters...

star trek picard viewership

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Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Picard Season 3

This Star Trek: Picard article contains spoilers.

When most people think about the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation , Picard, Riker, Geordi La Forge, Worf , Beverly Crusher, and Data immediately come to mind. They might even think of some of the side characters, like Wesley Crusher and Chief Miles O’Brien, the latter of which went on to play a much bigger role on Deep Space Nine . But Trekkers would agree that when it comes to the best of the recurring characters of TNG , there’s one who stands above even Lieutenant Barclay and Doctor Pulaski : Michelle Forbes’ Ensign Ro Laren.

Introduced in the season five episode that bore her name, Ro was a Bajoran Ensign who clashed with Picard almost immediately. Played with a chip on her shoulder by Forbes, Ro brought an essential bit of conflict to the Enterprise crew, adhering to a moral code that sometimes put her at odds with Starfleet, and adding some edge to a show that tended to avoid deeper interpersonal conflicts (a Gene Roddenberry rule that modern Trek has largely abandoned). It’s no surprise, then, that Forbes’ abrupt exit from the franchise resulted in one of The Next Generation ‘s most divisive storylines.

In the season 7 episode “Preemptive Strike,” Ro Laren defects from Starfleet to join the Maquis, a group of anti-Cardassian extremists who oppose the Federation’s treaty with the one-time occupiers of Bajor. Although producers originally hoped to continue Ro’s story on Deep Space Nine , the show about Starfleet occupying a former Cardassian space station above Bajor, Forbes passed on the opportunity, leading to the creation of Nana Visitor’s equally brilliant Major Kira Nerys as a replacement.

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Meanwhile, the lack of closure for Ro left a frustrating hole in Next Generation . Throughout her two seasons on the show, Ro and Picard pushed one another, with the former learning how to be part of an organization that put the needs of the many before the needs of the few, and the latter learning to ease up on empty restrictions, eventually allowing Ro to wear her Bajoran earpiece on the Enterprise.

Ro’s story comes to an end shortly after she’s promoted to Lieutenant when she’s assigned to infiltrate and investigate a Maquis cell. The experience leads Ro to believe that she’ll do the most good by working with the rebel group, leading to her heartbreaking resignation from Starfleet. And unlike Worf, who always came back after resigning his commission to do Klingon stuff, Ro basically disappears, leaving both Picard and viewers hanging. Although she showed up again in non-canonical works — including the book The Wrath of the Prophets , which teams Ro with Kira — she didn’t even get a brief movie cameo, an honor bestowed upon Barclay in First Contact .

So it was quite the shock to see Ro Laren leading a group of Starfleet security personnel to court martial Picard, Riker, and Seven in the latest episode of Star Trek: Picard , “ Imposters .” Our heroes knew they would face repercussions for commandeering the USS Titan and endangering Captain Shaw ‘s crew in their attempts to rescue Beverly Crusher and her son Jack . But they are caught completely by surprise when Ro arrives once again representing Starfleet and with the rank of Commander.

Ro’s Starfleet comeback allows director Dan Liu to ratchet up the tension in the episode, in which we learn that renegade Changelings have already infiltrated the highest levels of Starfleet. Like the viewers, Picard doesn’t understand how Ro was allowed back into Starfleet after joining the Maquis or how she earned such a high-ranking position (apparently, he never asked his fellow defendant Seven of Nine about her Voyager shipmates Chakotay or Torres). So we watch the proceedings closely, convinced that Ro will, at any moment, reveal her true, gooey nature as an undercover Changeling.

But episode writers Cindy Appel & Chris Derrick have more than just paranoia in mind. Instead, they allow Picard and Ro to hash out their differences, thus giving a more satisfying conclusion to the latter’s journey. Ro explains that principles drove her to leave Starfleet for the Maquis, that it wasn’t just ego that prevented her from acquiescing to the Federation. And as she has always done, Ro challenges Picard’s assumptions, especially his sometimes blind faith in Starfleet, bringing a healthy bit of skepticism that will surely serve her former mentor well as he deals with the Changeling threat.

Unfortunately, their reunion is short-lived. By the end of the episode, Ro has chosen to sacrifice herself so that the Titan can escape the USS Intrepid , which is now also under the control of the Changelings. Some may argue that ending Ro’s story just as suddenly as it began is equally unsatisfying, but unlike her original exit back, Picard gives Ro the opportunity to fully speak for herself and make peace with Jean-Luc, while filling in the gaps from the TNG era. Most importantly, it gives us all a chance to say a proper goodbye to one of Star Trek ‘s best characters.

Star Trek: Picard season 3 streams on Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Joe George

Joe George | @jageorgeii

Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!

Bounding Into Comics

Star Trek: Picard Viewership Plummets Over Half A Million In Canada

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Star Trek: Picard viewership has plummeted over half a million viewers in Canada in just five episodes.

Canadian data analysis firm Numeris, who provide “broadcast measurement and consumer behavior data, as well as industry-leading intelligence, to a membership and licensee base that includes Canadian broadcasters, advertisers and agencies, as well as other broadcast-related organizations,” released their latest viewership for Star Trek: Picard as part of their TV Weekly Top 30.

The latest numbers are from Episode 5. They report that the show was only viewed by 1.309 million viewers . It was the 16th most popular show in Canada between February 17th to February 23rd.

The show originally debuted in Canada with 1.851 million viewers on January 23rd.

Related: Red Letter Media Explains Why Star Trek: Picard Is A Dumpster Fire

By the second episode the show’s viewership had fallen to 1.674 million and it was tied for 10th as the most watched show in Canada. It lost 177,000 viewers. That’s almost a 10% decline.

Episode 3 dropped to 1.402 million . The show dropped to 13th most viewed in Canada. It lost 272,000 viewers from Episode 2. It’s almost a 25% decline from the first episode.

star trek picard viewership

The show would slightly rebound in viewership for Episode 4 with 1.420 million . However, it would still fall to 15th most viewed. It’s an 18,000 increase. It’s still a a little over 23% decline from the first episode.

With Episode 5 only clocking in 1.309 million, it lost 111,000 viewers. That’s almost a 30% decline in viewership in just 5 episodes.

The show is losing on average 108,000 viewers per episode. It has lost 542,000 total since the premiere episode.

Related: CBS Provides Major Update On Future Of Star Trek Franchise!

ViacomCBS President and CEO Bob Bakish did indicate in the most recent earnings report call that Star Trek: Picard broke CBS All Access records for streams as well as new sign-ups.

Bakish stated, “On the heels of Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access – which broke our records for total streams & subscriber sign-ups.”

Their earnings report also noted, “In January, the premiere of Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access broke internal records for total streams and subscriber signups.”

star trek picard viewership

Bakish would also tout the health of the Star Trek franchise and indicate they plan on expanding on it, “We’re now taking the #StarTrek franchise & extending it across the house.”

However, given the rapid attrition of Canadian viewers from Picard, it’s safe to assume that CBS All Access is more than likely facing similar results.

If Star Trek: Picard is facing this rapid loss of audience, one has to wonder just what the viewership numbers for Star Trek: Discovery are, especially given that Bakish and CBS touted the show broke records for total streams.

Related: Rumor: Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Underwent Reshoots To Create A Series Finale

Is the Star Trek franchise really as healthy as ViacomCBS and Bob Bakish make it out to be?

star trek picard viewership

The stock market doesn’t seem to be too confident in ViacomCBS at the moment. While it’s not specifically related to Star Trek it does affect the company overall. The stock price plummeted from $35.67 a share on February 19th to $21.48 on March 5th. And the trend indicates it will continue to decline.

What do you make of these plummeting viewership numbers for Star Trek: Picard?

More About: Television

Memory Alpha

Star Trek: Picard

  • View history

Star Trek: Picard is the eighth main series set in the Star Trek universe, the ninth including the companion series Star Trek: Short Treks , and the eleventh Star Trek series overall. Picard is produced by CBS Studios and stars Patrick Stewart , reprising the role of Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation . [1] The new series is set twenty years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis , [2] dealing with "the new chapter in Picard's life."

The series forms part of Alex Kurtzman 's five-year deal with CBS to expand the Star Trek franchise . The first season debuted on CBS All Access , which subsequently became Paramount+ . [3] Kurtzman serves as executive producer on the series along with Stewart, as well as James Duff , Akiva Goldsman , Michael Chabon , Trevor Roth , Heather Kadin , and Rod Roddenberry . In addition, Aaron Baiers serves as co-executive producer. [4] Writer Kirsten Beyer devised the concept for the series, [5] and she features as part of the writing staff alongside Kurtzman, Duff, Goldsman, and Chabon. Chabon served as the first season's showrunner. [6]

  • 1 Production history
  • 2 Opening credits
  • 3.1 Special guest stars
  • 3.2 Recurring guest stars
  • 4.1 Season 1
  • 4.2 Season 2
  • 4.3 Season 3
  • 5.1 Production
  • 5.2.1 Reception
  • 5.2.2 Products
  • 6 Related topics
  • 8 External links

Production history

The series was announced at the Star Trek Las Vegas convention on 4 August 2018 , where Stewart appeared alongside Kurtzman to reveal his involvement. At the time of the announcement, the series was still early in pre-production, with no scripts written yet. [7] According to the actor, the possibility of Picard's return had been suggested to him about a year before, but he originally planned to reject the idea. However, upon revisiting episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and realizing the power and influence of the series, he changed his mind. [8] On making the announcement, Stewart referred to the news as "unexpected, but delightful". [9]

It was reported that, on the day before the announcement, CBS applied for a number of trademarks in classes relating to entertainment, which could be connected with the new series. Marks applied for included " Star Trek: Reliant ", and " Star Trek: Destiny ", a title that shares its name with a post-TNG Star Trek novel trilogy . [10]

Work in the writers' room began in September 2018 , and an image of the staff with Stewart was shared by the actor at the end of that month. [11] This image featured Stewart, Duff, Goldsman, Beyer, Chabon and also Diandra Pendleton-Thompson , who had not been previously announced as one of the series' writers. Production was expected to begin in April 2019 , according to Kurtzman, [12] and the series is filmed in California. [13] In December 2018, CBS Corporation Chief Creative Officer David Nevins stated that CBS expected the series to launch late in 2019. [14]

In January 2019 , Kurtzman announced that the series would acknowledge the prime universe elements of Star Trek , stating that " Picard's life was radically altered by the dissolution of the Romulan Empire . " [15]

On 1 March 2019 , it was announced that Hanelle M. Culpepper would be directing the first two episodes of the series. [16] This marks the first time that a black woman was directing the series premiere of a Star Trek series.

On 4 March 2019 , the first two series regulars besides Stewart were announced, Santiago Cabrera and Michelle Hurd . [17] Later in March, Evan Evagora was added to the cast as a series regular. [18]

On 17 April 2019 , it was announced that Alison Pill , Harry Treadaway , and Isa Briones were joining the cast. [19]

On 22 April 2019 , production on the show began. [20] The Star Trek: Picard production is based out of Santa Clarita Studios (SCS). SCS is an independent studio production facility based in Santa Clarita, California, 35 miles north of Hollywood. Although Star Trek was returning to Hollywood, like all of the previous series save Star Trek: Discovery , it is not being shot at Star Trek 's previous home of Paramount Studios. [21] Paramount lost not only its television division, but the entire franchise as well, when the former Viacom was split in late 2005 into the new Viacom (Paramount's holding company at the time Picard began filming) and the CBS Corporation , with Star Trek ownership passing over to the latter. (The two corporations re-merged to form ViacomCBS in December 2019; ViacomCBS was rebranded as Paramount Global in February 2022.)

Shortly before filming began, Michael Chabon was appointed as showrunner. [22] However, CBS did not announce Chabon's position until 27 June 2019 . [23]

On 13 May 2019 , the announcement was made that Amazon Prime had acquired the international streaming rights for the new series, each episode to be aired 24 hours after its American premiere on CBS All Access . [24] [25] Stewart confirmed the news the same day on his Twitter account. [26]

On 15 May 2019 , the first seven-second teaser, revealing the new show's title and logo, was released. [27] This was followed on 23 May by the first live-action teaser trailer in both the CBS All Access and Amazon Prime Video variants. [28] [29] The voice of the teaser trailer's female narrator was not from any of the then-known contracted actresses, but rather from voice actress Merrin Dungey . [30] It was after the series had premiered, that it became apparent that Dungey was also given the guest-starring part of Richter .

On 20 July 2019 the first official Season 1 trailer , coming in at 130 seconds, was unveiled at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con. The trailer featured footage of former Next Generation co-star Brent Spiner , and Star Trek: Voyager star Jeri Ryan reprising her role as Seven of Nine . It was also announced that Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis would each be reprising their roles as William T. Riker and Deanna Troi , respectively.

Robert Picardo revealed on 29 July 2019 that he has been approached about a possible appearance in a second season of the show. [31]

On 31 August 2019 , Michael Chabon posted on Instagram that filming for the first season had been completed. [32]

On 17 September 2019 , Patrick Stewart told The Huddersfield Daily Examiner in his native Yorkshire that " there is ... the possibility of a second Picard series filming in March next year. " [33]

On 5 October 2019 , a second trailer debuted at New York Comic-Con, and it was announced that the first season would air on CBS All Access beginning on 23 January 2020 .

On 7 October 2019 , Kurtzman confirmed that a second season of Picard was "already in the works". [34]

An interview released on 29 November 2019 mentioned Ayelet Waldman as a member of the writing staff for Picard . [35]

On 10 December 2019 , it was announced that Michael Chabon would step down from his role as showrunner, but would remain involved in the show. [36]

On 20 December 2019 , a third teaser trailer debuted almost exactly one month ahead of the CBS All Access series premier online. The teaser revealed new pieces of footage with Jean-Luc Picard in what appears to be Ten Forward , the bar on the USS Enterprise -D , among other quick new moments with William T. Riker , Dr. Agnes Jurati, and what appears to be a Borg flashback. [37]

The renewal of Star Trek: Picard for a second season was informally revealed on 16 December 2019 , and formally announced on 12 January 2020 . [38] [39] The same day, it was announced that Terry Matalas had joined the staff of Picard , and was likely to take over as showrunner from Chabon. [40] Also joining the writing team was Marc Bernardin .

The series premiered in North America on 23 January 2020 on CBS All Access with its first episode " Remembrance ", with the rest of the world following suit the next day through Amazon Prime Video.

In August 2020 , Alex Kurtzman said that the Picard writers' room had continued to meet via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. [41]

Opening credits

The opening title sequence for Star Trek: Picard was meant to connect viewers to Picard's journey in a way that was "more intimate" and "more emotional", containing imagery of Château Picard , a Borg cube , chips and pieces that would culminate into Picard himself. [42]

Picard in PIC

Teaser image of Picard in Picard

  • Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard
  • Alison Pill as Dr. Agnes Jurati (Seasons 1-2)
  • Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine (Seasons 2-3)
  • Isa Briones as Soji Asha , Dahj Asha , Sutra (Season 1), and Kore Soong (Season 2)
  • Evan Evagora as Elnor (Seasons 1-2)
  • Michelle Hurd as Raffaela Musiker
  • Orla Brady as Laris and Tallinn (Season 2)
  • Ed Speleers as Jack Crusher (Season 3)
  • Santiago Cabrera as Cristóbal "Chris" Rios , Emil , Emmet , Enoch , Ian , and Mister Hospitality (Seasons 1-2)
  • Harry Treadaway as Narek (Season 1)
  • Brent Spiner as Adam Soong (Season 2)

Special guest stars

  • LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge (Season 3)
  • Daniel Davis as James Moriarty (Season 3)
  • John de Lancie as Q (Season 2)
  • Michael Dorn as Worf (Season 3)
  • Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren (Season 3)
  • Jonathan Frakes as William T. Riker (Seasons 1 & 3)
  • Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan (Season 2)
  • Walter Koenig as Anton Chekov (voice) (Season 3)
  • Alice Krige as the Borg Queen (voice) (Season 3)
  • Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher (Season 3)
  • Tim Russ as Tuvok , Tuvok (Season 3)
  • Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine (Season 1)
  • Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi (Seasons 1 & 3)
  • Brent Spiner as Data and Altan Soong (Season 1); Daystrom Android M-5-10 (Season 3)

Recurring guest stars

  • Ito Aghayere as Guinan (Season 2)
  • Orla Brady as Laris (Seasons 1 & 3)
  • James Callis as Maurice Picard (Season 2)
  • Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut as Sidney La Forge (Season 3)
  • Stephanie Czajkowski as Lt. T'Veen (Season 3)
  • Jonathan Del Arco as Hugh (Season 1)
  • Steve Gutierrez as Ricardo (Season 2)
  • Joseph Lee as Lt. Matthew Mura (Season 3)
  • Chad Lindberg as Ensign Eli Foster (Season 3)
  • Peyton List as Narissa (Season 1)
  • Ann Magnuson as Admiral Kirsten Clancy (Season 1)
  • Jin Maley as Ensign Kova Esmar (Season 3)
  • Jamie McShane as Zhaban (Season 1)
  • Penelope Mitchell as Renée Picard (Season 2)
  • Amanda Plummer as Vadic (Season 3)
  • Tiffany Shepis as Dr. Ohk (Season 3)
  • Sol Rodriguez as Teresa Ramirez (Season 2)
  • Todd Stashwick as Captain Liam Shaw (Season 3)
  • Tamlyn Tomita as Commodore Oh (Season 1)
  • Dylan Von Halle as Young Jean-Luc Picard (Season 2)
  • Annie Wersching as The Borg Queen (Season 2)
  • Madeline Wise as Yvette Picard (Season 2)
  • Rebecca Wisocky as Ramdha (Season 1)

Episode list

PIC Season 1 , 10 episodes:

PIC Season 2 , 10 episodes: [43] [44] [45]

PIC Season 3 , 10 episodes: [46]

Development

Picard lead Patrick Stewart initially had no intention whatsoever to reprise his role, feeling that the role had run its course, but decided to accept the invitation for a talk with the producers, as he felt it was only courteous to explain his reasons for declining the part in person. However, during the meeting and its follow-ups, Producer Michael Chabon was able to change Stewart's mind as he was fully willing to take Stewart's vision of an older Picard into account. In the process, Chabon entirely discarded the original story treatment he had written for the opening episode, and started a new, heeding Stewart's concerns. ( TRR : " Remembrance ") Stewart himself has confirmed this (including his initial disinclination to take on the role again) during his appearance on the British talk show The Graham Norton Show (Season 26, Episode 16, 17 January 2020), shortly before the series premiered. [47]

Marina Sirtis appeared with the same wig and contact lenses that she wore in Star Trek Nemesis . She held on to them after that production finished, and informed Picard producers of this, likely saving them time and the US$10,000 it would have cost to make a new wig. [48]

In the months leading up to the premiere of the new series, a monthly prequel three-volume comic book mini-series, Star Trek: Picard - Countdown , was released by IDW Publishing , starting in November 2019. The comic book series introduced several characters, later featured in the live-action production, as well as dealing with events that led up to the ones featured on the show.

Additionally, the Star Trek: Picard Movie & TV Collection Blu-ray Disc set (which incidentally, included the exclusive sixteen-page Star Trek: Sky's the Limit comic book, likewise from IDW [49] ) saw an October/November release as an appetizer. [50] The majority of the titles included in the collection contained events referenced to in the series, which held especially true for TNG : " The Best of Both Worlds ", Star Trek: First Contact , and Star Trek Nemesis .

Picardilly Circus

The London, UK, "Picardilly Circus" subway station

Aside for Patrick Stewart's own remarks on the new show, it was also revealed in the above-mentioned The Graham Norton Show episode, that the London Underground station Piccadilly Circus was temporarily dubbed "Pica r dilly Circus" in anticipation of the new series, whereas Stewart himself had related how he came across a New York City subway line map into which an imaginary subway line was incorporated, outlining the Starfleet arrowhead logo. [51] Both of these occasions had been part of the official franchise overall marketing strategy. London public transportation Head of Customer Information, Design and Partnerships at Transport for London, Julie Dixon, clarified, " We're thrilled to partner with Amazon Prime Video to create this exciting takeover of one of London's most well-known Underground stations to celebrate the launch of Star Trek: Picard . The Star Trek franchise is a global sensation and we're excited to mark this next chapter in a creative and engaging way that connects with tens of thousands of people. We hope that the out of this world activity has brought a bit of unexpected fun to our customers and that they boldly go on their commute, young or old. " [52] The New York City MTA metro company Stewart had come across, additionally dispensed Star Trek: Picard -themed cards/tickets at six pre-selected metro stations, aside from displaying the series billboards and having adjusted its subway line map where the six stations were linked to form the Starfleet arrowhead. [53] [54]

Season 1 first poster

In its first season, Star Trek: Picard was nominated for five Emmy Awards , all in "technical" categories such as makeup and sound editing. It won one, "Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special".

FanSets debuted its first Star Trek: Picard pins in 2019.

CherryTree previewed a prototype of its Borg Cube ATX Limited Collector's Edition computer in July 2019 , [55] and the final version reached retail in January 2020 . [56] Smaller ITX builds of this cube debuted in June 2020 . In 2021, the company displayed a prototype for its forthcoming computerized Star Trek: Picard Borg Cube Record Player . [57]

In June 2019 , Eaglemoss/Hero Collector 's project manager Ben Robinson reconfirmed that the company would manufacture starship miniatures from the series, and later indicated that they would be about 150 to 250 mm in length, similar to ships from its DIS starships partwork . The first four sets of CG starship assets were received from the production in March 2020 , and the first products, models of La Sirena , the USS Zheng He , Fenris Ranger vessel , and the Romulan Bird-of-Prey were scheduled. [58] In October 2020 , the company announced that its forthcoming PIC starship line would be combined with ships from Star Trek: Discovery (after the release of issue 33 of the DIS collection) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds into a new partwork , which was subsequently named the Star Trek Universe: The Official Starships Collection and debuted in March 2021 . [59] Robinson added, " We've got 9 or 10 Picard ships followed by the Disco season 3 fleet. " [60]

In June 2021, Eaglemoss released its first, larger XL Edition model of a "hero ship" from PIC within its Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection . Three starship classes from the series are also covered in the second edition of the company's Star Trek: Shipyards - Starfleet Ships 2294 to the Future reference book . [61]

Hallmark has scheduled the release of its La Sirena Christmas ornament for October 2021 . [62]

On 13 July 2021 , ViacomCBS Consumer Products and Playmates Toys jointly announced that the latter had acquired new licensing for " action figures, vehicles and ships, role play and other toy categories ", and slated the first of these products for retail release in 2022. Among other Star Trek series and films, this licensing encompasses Star Trek: Picard , Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Lower Decks , and Star Trek: Prodigy . [63]

CherryTree Borg Cube ATX Limited Collector's Edition prototype

Related topics

  • PIC directors
  • PIC performers
  • PIC recurring characters
  • PIC studio models
  • PIC writers
  • Star Trek: Picard novels
  • Star Trek: Picard comics
  • Star Trek: Picard soundtracks
  • Star Trek: Picard on DVD
  • Star Trek: Picard on Blu-ray
  • Star Trek: Picard - No Man's Land (audio drama)

External links

  • Star Trek: Picard at Wikipedia
  • Star Trek: Picard at the Internet Movie Database
  • Star Trek: Picard at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
  • 1 Kenneth Mitchell
  • 3 Kol (Klingon)

Star Trek: Picard Series Finale Ending Explained And What The Post Credits Scene Means

What an ending and possible beginning.

The Enterprise D crew on the bridge

Star Trek: Picard has kept fans with a Paramount+ subscription entertained for years, but all good things must come to an end. The series decided to go out with a bang with a massive reunion of the cast of The Next Generation and brought back all of Patrick Stewart 's co-stars for a story that introduced Jean-Luc to his previously unrevealed son and a dastardly plot tied to Changelings and the Dominion War. In the end it set the stage for a final showdown between Picard and the Borg, but who came out on top? 

For those that want to know or just need a breakdown of all that occurred, we have you covered. Here's what went down in the Star Trek: Picard ending and that post-credit scene that absolutely threw into question one major event we saw in a prior season. 

The Borg Queen Was Defeated

The Borg Queen returned in the final episodes of Season 3 of Picard , though viewers soon realized she was behind the scheme all along. Through the use of Jack and a pact with the Changelings, she assimilated all Starfleet officers under the age of 25 and managed to take control of a bulk of the fleet on Frontier Day. It seemed she had finally found a way to punish humanity and restore the Borg empire until Jean-Luc and friends got involved. 

He, Riker, and Worf managed to sabotage the Borg Queen's cube and rescued Jack from being held by the Collective. Her plot was foiled, and she was blown to pieces along with the cube. I would like to think that this means the Borg threat is effectively gone from Starfleet, but can the Borg ever truly be defeated? Somehow, somewhere, they always seem to find a way back into the story. 

Jean-Luc And Crew Played A Game Of Poker

With the Borg threat behind them and Starfleet saved, Jean-Luc and the crew hit the bar to celebrate a job well done. After some words exchanged back and forth, Jean-Luc pulled out the cards, much to the delight of the rest of the Enterprise D crew. They all gathered around the poker table, and had a blast talking through each hand. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation fans should know why this is more or less the perfect way to end Picard , given how many times we've seen the crew gathered around a poker table. In fact, this scene seems like a direct homage to the series finale of TNG , which features a very similar overhead poker table scene. It might be one of the best nods to the series this season had, so it's fitting it came toward the very end. 

Seven Of Nine Became Captain Of The Enterprise G

Seven of Nine helped buy the Enterprise D time by navigating the Titan through the Borg-controlled fleet and distracting them, and played a key role in helping save the day. As her old crewmate, Tuvok, reminded her, however, she was complicit in a number of Starfleet violations throughout Star Trek: Picard Season 3. Seven accepted that perhaps her viewpoints weren't in line with that of Starfleet and handed in her resignation. 

Of course, Tuvok wasn't there to deliver news of her termination but to inform her of her official promotion to Captain. Later, we saw Seven assume command of the Titan, which was renamed the Enterprise G in honor of The Next Generation crew. With Raffi as her Number One, Seven sent out the opening orders of her run as captain. Unfortunately, the camera cut before we got her official catchphrase, but if there's a spinoff, I'm sure we'll hear it there. 

Jack Joined Starfleet As An Ensign

One year after being saved from Borg assimilation by his father, Jack Crusher decided that he, too, wanted to follow in his parents' footsteps and join Starfleet. Thanks to an expedited Starfleet Academy program and possibly some nepotism, the character was officially an ensign in the flash-forward scene. 

Jack is serving on the Enterprise G as "special council to the captain" and will sit next to Captain Seven of Nine on the bridge. That's quite a job for an ensign, though with Jack's level of experience traveling with his mother, not undeserved. 

Beverly And Jean-Luc Are Together? 

A lot can happen in a year, including Jean-Luc going from being happily in love with Laris to possibly being back with Beverly Crusher. A picture Jack placed on his nightstand showed Picard and Beverly smiling and walking together, and they appeared to be in formal attire. Apparently, it's open for interpretation, but I'm leaning toward them reconciling. 

If that's the case I can't help but feel a little sad for Laris,  who helped push Jean-Luc out into space in order to find Beverly! I guess she could've figured something was up when he wasn't making calls home after being gone for so long, but imagine worrying about him during the Borg invasion only for him to come home with that news. If Picard and Bev are together it's rough stuff for those who were excited that Orla Brady returned to play Laris , but a tremendous payoff for Star Trek fans who wanted to see Picard and Bev together all these years . 

Q Returned In The Post-Credit Scene, Despite His Death In Season 2

The post-credits scene cut to Jack in his quarters on the Enterprise G , unpacking his belongings for his long mission. He was interrupted by a familiar face and one that viewers were likely not expecting. Actor John De Lancie was back as Q, but like, how? He died in Season 2 of Picard , right? 

The only clue that Q gave was that he was dead in a linear sense, suggesting that the version talking to Jack in the future was a younger version of the Q that died. It didn't make a ton of sense, but all things when it comes to the Q Continuum are confusing, so that bit isn't too surprising. It seems like we'll eventually get more answers on Q's return in some form or another, whether that's through a spinoff series, comic, or novel. 

Star Trek: Picard is over, but viewers will be able to binge it to their heart's desire over on Paramount+ . The future is bright for Trek on the whole, so I would encourage anyone who enjoyed this season to stick around for all the upcoming shows on the horizon. 

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Mick Joest

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Star Trek: Picard Season 4 - Everything we know so far

R umors speculating about the possibility of Star Trek: Picard season 4 began circulating shortly after the conclusion of the show's third season on April 20, 2023. Across its three seasons, the series has centered around Sir Patrick Stewart's fictional character, Starfleet Retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard.

Despite its successful three-season run, the chances of Star Trek: Picard season 4 happening appear to be thin. And there are several reasons behind that. Fans think one of the signs of the show ending in season 3 is what Sir Patrick Stewart said in an interview back in 2018.

While attending the red carpet for his movie The Kid Who Would Be King , Sir Stewart revealed to Red Carpet News the plans for Star Trek: Picard . He said:

"Oh lord, we are set up for possibly three years of this show."

Is Star Trek: Picard season 4 happening?

As of now, there has been no official confirmation regarding Star Trek: Picard season 4, and the current indication suggests that such an announcement is unlikely. Fans are convinced that a fourth installment of the show is improbable unless there is a sudden change of events. And there is much reason for them to believe so.

The most prominent reason among them is Sir Patrick Stewart 's deteriorating health since the show's third season came to an end on April 20, 2023. Stewart has not been keeping well in the past couple of years. He has been in and out of the hospital multiple times in the past year. This complicates plans for Star Trek: Picard season 4, as the series centers around Stewart's character.

Additionally, it is plausible that the creators never planned for Star Trek: Picard season 4. As mentioned already, Stewart had loosely mentioned in a conversation with Red Carpet News that the show is all geared to enjoy a three-season run.

Is Star Trek: Picard a good show?

The premiere episode of the first season of Star Trek: Picard debuted on CBS All Access, now known as Paramount+, on January 23, 2020. Following its release, the show garnered widespread recognition, receiving praise from critics and audiences alike.

The show's executive producers had already revealed their plans for the show at the New York Comic Con hosted back in 2018. Speaking to TrekMovie, executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin expressed their intention to make the new Picard show an ongoing series rather than a limited one.

This meant that there would be subsequent seasons of the show, and that is exactly what happened. Paramount+ released two more seasons of the show, the first on March 3, 2022, and the second on February 16, 2023.

The first two seasons of the show were averagely successful among critics and audiences. The third season, on the other hand, was a massive success. All three seasons of the show hold an impressive average rating of approximately 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes .

Speaking about the third season of the show, which received the highest rating on the platform, Nicola Austin from We Have a Hulk says:

"Weaving together a fantastic culmination of years of storytelling, with a brilliant mix of beloved legacy cast & fantastic new additions, Star Trek: Picard will certainly unite both old and new Trek fans with a gripping final frontier."

Viewers can stream episodes of Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+ .

Star Trek: Picard Season 4 - Everything we know so far

Screen Rant

All 34 star trek ships in picard's anomaly mission.

Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 1 saw Jean-Luc Picard's anomaly mission supported by a vast fleet of Starfleet ships - here's all of them.

This article contains spoilers for  Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 1.

Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 1 featured a dramatic confrontation with a Borg anomaly - and here's all you need to know about the 34 Starfleet vessels that confronted the Borg.  Star Trek: Picard season 2 moves even further forward in time, with Picard summoned to an anomaly that turns out to have been created by the Borg . Soon a vast fleet of Starfleet vessels has arrived to support the USS Stargazer.

Most of the designs seen in  Star Trek: Picard season 2 are actually new to viewers, although several originate in  Star Trek Online . That means the capabilities of these starships are unknown, but they're presumably significant. Fortunately, none of these designs were put together at random; the show's producers have put an incredible amount of time and effort into thinking them through, and several of them contain smart Easter eggs.

Related:  Star Trek: Picard Just Destroyed Burnham's Captain Catchphrase

In the wake of  Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 1, production designer Dave Blass took to Twitter to unveil the 34 starships present during this confrontation with the Borg. He also revealed gorgeous artwork of each ship, giving a better look at them all. Here's everything you need to know about all the participants in this latest battle with the Borg.

The USS Avalon Discovers Star Trek: Picard's Anomaly

Star Trek Picard USS Avalon

The Borg anomaly is initially discovered by the USS Avalon, one of the few vessels to actually be named in  Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 1. The second starship to bear this name, the Avalon is an Akira-class vessel; according to Blass, it has the registry number NCC-63887. Viewers may well recognize the basic profile from  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , where Akira class starships fought on the front line of the Dominion War . Artwork of the USS Avalon was created by Geoffrey Mandel.

Star Trek Picard Akira Class Starships

Several other Akira-class starships joined the growing fleet in Star Trek: Picard , including the USS Thundercloud (NCC-63549), the Helios (NCC-63284), and the Rabin (NCC-63293). Artwork of the USS Helios and the USS Rabin is by Thomas Marrone; the image for the Rabin was reused for the USS Thundercloud.

The USS Stargazer Arrives On The Scene In Star Trek: Picard Season 2

Star Trek Picard USS Stargazer

The USS Stargazer was Jean-Luc Picard's first command, and it's appropriate the new Stargazer is captained by Chris Rios, a man who was drawn back into Starfleet. The first of the new Sagan-class starships, the Stargazer (NCC-82893) is equipped with technology derived from research on the Borg Artifact . Unfortunately, this proves to leave the ship vulnerable when the Borg Queen transports aboard and uses the Borg components to begin a process of assimilation. The illustration of the USS Stargazer is by John Eaves.

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The USS Excelsior & USS Eureka Respond To The Stargazer

Star Trek Picard USS Excelsior

Another responder is the USS Excelsior (NCC-42037). Cadet Elnor and Commander Raffi Musiker serve aboard this Excelsior-class starship, and their vessel took the Stargazer's flank during the confrontation with the Borg Queen's vessel . The first Excelsior-class ship was introduced in  Star Trek III: The Voyage Home , and they've served as the backbone of the Federation since the days of Captain James T. Kirk. Artwork of the USS Excelsior is by John Eaves.

Star Trek Picard USS Eureka

Appropriately enough, the USS Excelsior is accompanied by another of its class, the USS Eureka (NCC-42023). This is not the first vessel to bear this name - at least in the wider lore, with an earlier USS Eureka going up against the Borg in  Star Trek games. Artwork of the USS Eureka is by John Eaves.

The USS Rustazh & Inquiry-Class Starships In Star Trek: Picard Season 2

Star Trek Picard USS Zheng He

The Inquiry-class starships were actually introduced in  Star Trek: Picard season 1, with William Riker captaining the USS Zheng He (NCC-86505) when he arrived to help Jean-Luc Picard out. He described it as " the toughest, fastest, most powerful ship Starfleet ever put into service, " although only five ships of this class joined the fleet action against the Borg.

Star Trek Picard Inquiry Class

The five Inquiry-class ships seen in Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 1 were the USS Rustazh (NCC-86503), the USS Magellan (NCC-86509), the USS Nathan Hale (NCC-86501), the USS Shackleton (NCC-86517), and the USS Zheng He itself. Artwork is by Tobias Richter.

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The USS Gilgamesh & Other Sovereign-Class Vessels Join Starfleet's Fleet

Star Trek Picard Sovereign Class 1

Named after the Sumerian monarch, the USS Gilgamesh (NCC-74669) is a Sovereign-class starship - the same model as the USS Enterprise-E . They've always been heavily armed, and have been at the front lines of many clashes with the Borg. The Enterprise-E went through several refits over the years, so it's reasonable to assume the Gilgamesh and her fellow Sovereign-class vessels have up-to-date Starfleet weapons.

Star Trek Picard Sovereign Class 2

Gilgamesh isn't the only Sovereign-class starship at this latest encounter; there is also the USS Arsinoe (NCC-75307), the USS Hrothgar (NCC-74975), the USS Hutchinson (NCC-74957), the USS Okuda (NCC-74107), the USS Pachacuti (NCC-74181), the USS Valkyrie (NCC-74877), and the USS Venture (NCC-75306). Artwork of the USS Gilgamesh is by John Eaves.

Star Trek: Picard Establishes The Luna-Class

Star Trek Picard Luna Class

When Will Riker first became a captain, he took command of the USS Titan - which was described as a Luna-class starship in one official quiz. The class was then made canon in  Star Trek: Lower Decks , and  Star Trek: Picard features a shot of the USS Luna (NCC-80101) itself, along with the USS Oberon (NCC-80103). The design for the USS Luna was created by Sean Tourangeau, while the artwork is by Tobias Richter.

The USS Uhura Is A Wonderful Star Trek Easter Egg

Star Trek Picard USS Uhura

The USS Uhura (NCC-90214) is, of course, a wonderful Easter egg to the original  Star Trek series - and to Nichelle Nichols' unforgettable portrayal of Nyota Uhura, one of Kirk's bridge crew. It's a Reliant-class starship, and like several of the new designs seen in  Star Trek: Picard episode 1 it originates from an unprecedented collaboration between the show's production team and  Star Trek Online 's designers.

Related:  Star Trek: Picard's Backstory Completes Patrick Stewart's Character Change

Star Trek Picard Reliant Class

There are two other Reliant-class ships present during the confrontation with the Borg; the USS Clark (NCC-90206) and the USS Reliant (NCC-90200). Artwork is by Thomas Marrone.

Four Sutherland-Class Starships Join Star Trek: Picard's Fleet

Star Trek Picard Sutherland Class

There are four Sutherland-class starships among the fleet; the USS Almagest (NCC-91870), the USS Huygens (NCC-91814), the Ibn al-Haytham (NCC-91965), and the USS Sutherland (NCC-91800). This class was designed for the  Star Trek Online game, where it was described as a variation of the 24th-century Nebula class. Artwork is by Thomas Marrone.

The USS Gagarin Joins Star Trek: Picard's Fleet

Star Trek Picard USS Gagarin

The USS Gagarin (NCC-97930) is presumably the prototype of a new Gagarin-class starship in service during  Star Trek: Picard 's time perio d. In common with the Sutherland, this design originates with the  Star Trek Online game, incorporating elements of that into main canon. Artwork of the USS Gagarin is by Donny Versiga.

Two Vanguard-Class Vessels Are Seen In Star Trek: Picard Season 2 As Well

Star Trek Picard USS Vanguard

Named after celebrated Native American engineer Mary Golda Ross, the Ross-class starship was also developed for  Star Trek Online - this time as part of its 10-year celebrations. These ships are similar to the classic Galaxy-class, but with aspects of more modern designs.

Related:  Picard Finally Shows The Borg's Potential Star Trek Has Always Ignored

Star Trek Picard USS Yi Sun-Sin

Two Ross-class ships join the fleet, the USS Vanguard (NCC-75148) and the Yi Sun-Shi (NCC-76545). It's interesting to note modern  Star Trek  starship names are drawn from a wider range of historic Earth cultures; the Yi Sun-Shi is named after a celebrated Korean admiral and warlord from the Joseon Dynasty. Artwork is by Thomas Marrone.

Star Trek: Picard season 2, episode 1 ended with Q rewriting history, launching Jean-Luc Picard into an alternate timeline for his own inscrutable reasons. Given that's the case, it's likely this is the only Starfleet armada that will be seen in season 2 - although it's quite possible Picard will see a fleet from this altered timeline as well. When the timeline is presumably reset, it will surely mean history is rewritten and this fleet doesn't suffer the fate of Borg control.

More:  Star Trek: Picard Confirms Q & Guinan Age Theories

Star Trek: Picard   Season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Published Feb 27, 2024

First Look at Star Trek: Picard: The Art and Making of the Series

Everywhere books are sold now!

Star Trek: Picard: The Art and Making of the Series book cover

StarTrek.com

From Joe Fordham, get an inside look behind Star Trek: Picard , with the release of Star Trek: Picard: The Art and Making of the Series — a must-have for all Star Trek fans.

This beautifully illustrated hardback, available now everywhere books are sold , features behind-the-scenes and on-set photography, and a range of production art, is an in-depth exploration of a hugely popular and seminal Star Trek character.

Alongside interviews with showrunners, writers, cast, and crew, discussing concepts and character arcs, "Spotlight" features explore makeup, costumes, art, and visual effects. A final section features reflections on the much-beloved character from its original incarnation in Star Trek: Next Generation through to its final satisfying conclusion.

Star Trek: Picard: The Art and Making of the Series book cover

Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart, reprising his role as Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation . The book explores each of the three separate season-long narratives, which tell the story of Picard in later years, as he is brought out of retirement on his family château to face old enemies such as the Borg, take command of a new starship, and ultimately reconcile with his past.

New characters such as Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), Dr. Jurati (Alison Pill), Cristóbal Rios (Santiago Cabrera), Soji (Isa Briones) and Elnor (Evan Evagora) feature alongside appearances by old enemies and friends, such as Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching), Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg, Ito Aghayere), Data (Brent Spiner), and Q (John de Lancie). Season 3 sees a full-scale Next Generation reunion, featuring Worf (Michael Dorn), Dr. Beverley Crusher (Gates McFadden), and Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton).

Thanks to our friends over at Titan Books, StarTrek.com has an inside look at Star Trek: Picard: The Art and Making of the Series!

Vadic

VADIC CHANGELING AVENGER

The Shrike captain announces herself as Vadic (Amanda Plummer), leader of a rogue faction of Changelings, liquid-based shapeshifters from the Gamma Quadrant. "Amanda Plummer was the only person I ever thought of for this role," states Terry Matalas. "Early on, I didn’t know that she would do it. I knew that Amanda had Star Trek lineage as her father, Christopher Plummer, played General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

To our delight, she said ‘yes’ and she brought so much to the character. She made Vadic one of the great Star Trek villains."

Vadic

Vadic’s tortured history sprang from a clandestine operation, an offshoot of the Dominion War against the Federation. "They were held captive on Daystrom Station by a nefarious group within Starfleet, Section 31," Matalas explains. "They were trying to make Changelings that were undetectable down to an organ level in a way that Changelings had not been before. Vadic and her people escaped from that lab with their new abilities, and they found a like-minded dying species, the Borg, who teamed up with them to put an end to Starfleet once and for all."

The makeup team explored designs for Vadic and her Changelings that acknowledged their genetic origins, as seen in Deep Space Nine ’s amorphous shapeshifting security chief Odo (René Auberjonois), with a twist. "We tried a variety of prosthetic designs for Vadic," recalls Vincent Van Dyke. "We ended up creating scars as a design element on her face. They were quite symmetrical, even beautiful. The idea was these were scars that had injured her, symmetrically, on each side of her body. Technically, they were quite simple for us to create, not extensive makeup. But what a wonderful actress."

Vadic

"Amanda was fantastic," concurs James MacKinnon. "Talking to her about what we were going to do, she was very particular, and quiet. But when she started talking about how she was going to play the part, it was awesome to watch. We ended up taking the color out of her eyebrows. We gave her a pale face and some cheek scars as silicone transfers. The idea was that, as a Changeling, she’d been partway through forming into another character when she stopped and that left subtle scarring on her face. We gave those scars a natural lip color."

"Changelings loyal to Vadic carry disruptor weapons illicitly acquired on their travels through the Delta Quadrant. Vadic brandished a femme-fatale-style smoking device. "Terry and Amanda wanted her to be wreathed in smoke sitting on her bridge," recalls Jeff Lombardi. "We’ve not seen many aliens smoking cigarettes before in Star Trek . Amanda does smoke, which helped. We got her blend that she was comfortable with, and we designed an alien cigarette holder and different papers. It was a simple device, the end of the holder held a rolled joint and the two melded together as a smoking apparatus. We also gave her some old French lighters and a Romulan knife — one of the Reman blades that Picard’s clone, Shinzon, had used in Star Trek Nemesis ."

Vadic

Go behind-the-series with Star Trek: Picard: The Art and Making of the Series , on-sale now!

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In addition to streaming on Paramount+ , Star Trek: Picard also streams on Prime Video outside of the U.S. and Canada, and in Canada can be seen on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. Star Trek: Picard is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Illustrated collage featuring Star Trek Explorer Presents 'The Mission' and Other Stories

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