4 names that may not appear on Star Trek: Picard who should

Not everyone from Star Trek: The Next Generation will be returning for Star Trek: Picard’s final season.

The majority of Star Trek: The Next Generation stars are returning for Star Trek: Picard, helping send of the titular character, Jean-Luc Picard, and the man who played him for nearly 40 years, Patrick Stewart, off with a bang. We’re talking everyone from Jonathan Frakes’s Will Riker to LeVar Burton’s Geordi La Forge and everyone in between.

Yes, apparently, even Denise Crosby’s Tasha Yar will be returning to the series. We also saw huge secondary names like Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan, John de Lancie as Q, and even Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher.

Yet, that doesn’t mean every major name is returning to the franchise for one final go around. So what five names would we like to see in Picard’s final season that likely won’t be returning?

Four names we don’t expect to see in Star Trek: Picard’s final season

Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur)

Dr. Kathrine Pulaski was brought in as a replacement for Dr. Beverly Crusher after Gates McFadden was fired. Pulaski was more brash and combative than McFadden, and while she only lasted a season, Diana Muldaur made the most out of her time on the show. Muldaur hasn’t acted in years, and it’s unlikely she’ll appear on the show but it would be nice to see her get some screen time in some way.

Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz)

Dwight Schultz’s Reginald Barclay was the resident Eeyore of this era of Star Trek. He appeared in just five episodes of The Next Generation and First Contact, but had more involvement with Voyager, appearing in 11 total episodes across the two series. He’s most known for his lack of confidence and indecisiveness but he showed a lot of growth as a character, especially in the Voyager series. It’d be nice to see how he ended up all those years later.

Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney)

Colm Meaney got more out of Miles O’Brien than anyone thought possible. He was a recurring figure on The Next Generation before getting a top billing role on Deep Space Nine. He was someone that fans glommed onto for his every-man attitude and never wavering spirit. Meaney is still a fixture on the Trek circuit and has an interest in returning if there was an opportunity to, but Meaney’s O’Brien is now more associated with Deep Space Nine, and not The Next Generation these days so it would be a tad forced to find a spot for him.

Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes)

Michelle Forbes was supposed to follow Meaney to Deep Space Nine, reprising her Ro Laren character. She opted to leave the franchise instead and left a dangling plot arc behind in doing so. While it’d be pointless now to fully explore that arc to its conclusion, it would’ve been nice to see Ro in some capacity in Picard. She could still be used in some form, but considering her angle was more connected to Riker and the Bajoran occupation, it doesn’t make the most sense to shoehorn her character into the series at this point.