Could Jeri Ryan be getting her own Star Trek spinoff?
Star Trek: Picard made a big splash when the first season was announced by bringing back Jeri Ryan to reprise her role of Seven of Nine for the then-new series. Ryan starred in four seasons of Star Trek: Voyager and became so popular that the final Next Generation film, Star Trek: Nemesis, was originally going to feature her as a main character.
Ryan ultimately turned down the project and the role was re-written. Yet, Ryan was always seen as a popular actress in the fandom, and her character was deemed by many as “show saving”, though that may have been a huge stretch, as Voyager was doing well in the ratings at the time of her arrival.
So it’s fair to say that Ryan is a beloved member of the Trek community and it seems that she could be in line for her own show after Picard is over.
Why Star Trek may be set up for a Seven of Nine series
Firstly, there were hints at San Diego Comic-Con about this. When asked if the new shows could have a female lead, possibly with Ryan, series head Alex Kurtzman teased just that, saying (via TrekMovie.com);
"First of all, I’d say anything’s possible. And I’ll say–without revealing too much–you can certainly expect to see more Star Trek shows with female leads."
So we have a vague quote. Ok, what else points to this happening? Well, there was already a hint of a spinoff featuring Ryan and Picard star Michell Hurd, two of the only remaining Picard season one characters that aren’t affiliated with the Next Generation crew.
Then we got the latest teaser for season three of Picard, where in it we see Ryan’s Seven of Nine once again bearing the Starfleet Delta insignia, as well as wearing a command red Starfleet uniform, hinting at her status of being a Starfleet Captain in the newest season.
With the success of Strange New Worlds, it’s entirely possible that the show is shifting focus back to ship-based series, where the characters and not the gimmicks, are the focus of the series.
If that’s the case, then it makes total sense to see Ryan helm her own Starfleet vessel in a spinoff series. Though, how many fans would want to see it after the uneven run that Picard has had is anyone’s guess.