Star Trek: Picard is serving as a sequel series of sorts to Star Trek: The Next Generation but fans should get more than just TNG characters returning.
Star Trek: Picard brought back classic Star Trek characters like Jean-Luc Picard, Data, William Riker, Deanna Troi, and Seven of Nine. It also brought back less-classic characters like The Next Generation’s Hugh, a former member of the Borg much like Seven of Nine. While fans expected, or for a better word hoped, that past Next Generation characters would pop up, the introduction of Seven of Nine has opened up the door to other show’s characters on.
Seven of Nine starred on Star Trek: Voyager for four seasons and never crossed over into the Next Generation side of things, despite some hoping she would. Her appearance on the show made sense when you factor in the use of a Borg cube by the Romulans but outside of that she, doesn’t have the same dynastic namesake as Riker who both appeared in every series that aired from Next Generation and all the way through Star Trek: Enterprise.
There are plenty of fan-favorite characters that should pop up in the series. Deep Space Nine’s Jake Sisko for one makes all the sense in this new, grittier, Star Trek. If there are secrets and mysteries in the universe, don’t you think a reporter would be looking for the answers? Someone like Chakotay could also be a real value for the series, especially if he’s fallen back into his old terrorist (“freedom fighting”) ways. Perhaps he could even serve as the antagonist for season two, after all, Chakotay was debuted and created to be just that. So why not bring him back to his roots?
You could even do an episode where Picard interacts with Jonathan Archer. Be it in a holodeck program, time travel, or just some weird bit of science fiction-mumbo-jumob. The two captains having a scene together could be exactly what this series needs to leave its mark. Kinda like how Picard and James Kirk met in Star Trek: Generations.
Hell, we’d even take Quark at this point.
As long as he brought Nog.