Michelle Hurd says Star Trek: Picard is still the same show

Star Trek: Picard will premiere its final season in February 2023.

By now, we all know that Star Trek: Picard is bowing out next year as its final season will premiere in Feburary. That season will be very different from the first two in that it will include most of the original cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation and only two regular cast members from Picard, in addition to Patrick Stewart, will join its third season. Both Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd are returning to reprise their characters.

While the next season has been defined as a movie to wrap up thirty year old arcs that originated in The Next Generation, Michelle Hurd, in an interview with Trekmovie, said that, even so, Picard doesn’t feel like a different show. It’s still Picard.

So how has the addition of The Next Generation cast not changed Star Trek: Picard?

Hurd explained that, for her, the three seasons were almost standaline as dictated by the showrunners. Michael Chabon, who is a novelist, ran the first season so it was like reading a really good book. Akiva Goldsman, who won an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind, was showrunner for the second season so it was more cerebral. And Terry Matalas, who Hurd calls “an OG Trekkie,” is leading the third season which means it will be a love letter to fans.

"I mean, I have to say that what I found during the three seasons is that our three seasons are almost standalone seasons. And they’re very much dictated by our showrunners. The first season was Michael Chabon, who’s a novelist. So it was almost like reading a really rich book. The second season is Akiva Goldsman, who you know won an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind so it’s all sort of cerebral stuff and time travel. The third season is Terry Matalas who is an OG Trekkie. I mean he was a PA on the set for Jeri Ryan’s first day as Seven of Nine on Voyager! And now he’s a showrunner for the last season of Star Trek: Picard. So it’s literally a love letter to our fans and our family. I think everybody’s going to be really happy about it."

It’s difficult to think Picard will be the same show considering the massive amount of changes that will take place in its final season. Most of the original cast is gone so the focus will have to shift from those who started with the series. Still, bringing in The Next Generation crew is going to infuse the show with a new energy and probably be one of the best ways to wrap up a Star Trek series. At least they’re not using the holodeck like Star Trek: Enterprise did for its final episode!