Star Trek: Picard started off as mostly its own thing, but folded in characters like Seven of Nine and Q along the way. Now, for its third and season, they are going all in and bringing back a whole host of characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The returning stars – Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd – appear alongside Sir Patrick Stewart in a brand-new promotional video with strong 'X Factor wind tunnel makeover' energy.
Related: Picard boss teases major star as season 3 villain
Speaking about why it took so long for Picard to bring the TNG cast back – especially in a time when streaming services are using nostalgia to draw in potential subscribers – showrunner Alex Kurtzman told the audience at San Diego Comic-Con, which included Digital Spy, about the thinking behind it.
"When we first started, of course the first instinct is to bring back the entire crew of TNG, and Patrick was amazing because he said to us, 'If we're going to do this, what I don't want to do is repeat old things. If we're going to get to the crew, then we have to earn it.'
"I think we took two seasons to earn that return. What we didn't want to do was have the crew return and do sort of cameos, we actually wanted everybody to have really significant roles and whet appetites a bit to see them together.
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"At the beginning of the season, the crew is in different places around the galaxy and slowly we see them come together. These are such beloved characters, we wanted to take the time to see what they're up to now."
The promotional video gives every character a little bit of voiceover, and while some reminisce on their time on the Enterprise fondly, other former crewmates seem to be living with a lot of angst at the moment.
Star Trek: Picard season 2 airs on Paramount+ in the US and on Amazon Prime Video in the UK. For all the news from Comic-Con, you check out this landing page.
![Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 1-7 [Blu-ray] [Region Free]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1568037652-51748LgoZAL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 1-7 [Blu-ray] [Region Free]")
Paramount Home Entertainment Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 1-7 [Blu-ray] [Region Free]
Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
