Star Trek: Picard named one of the best shows of 2023 so far

Audiences still aren’t over the final season of Star Trek: Picard.

And it’s no wonder. Star Trek: Picard brought back the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation without turning the final season into just a reunion movie filled with heartwarming stories and schmaltzy flashbacks. Instead, showrunner Terry Matalas reunited the cast for a strong reason, a dangerous, disastrous situation that couldn’t have been resolved without everyone’s help. The Wrap agreed, listing the series as one of the best TV shows of 2023 so far.

Matalas responded to the site’s headline by tweeting that he was honored to be in such incredible company as The Wrap had also added shows like The Diplomat, Beef, Queen Charlotte, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to its list.

The Wrap calls Star Trek: Picard one of the most entertaining pieces of the Star Trek universe.

Picard struggled to satisfy fans in its first two seasons, and there were many viewers who weren’t happy with the direction the series took from the beginning. A retired Admiral Picard (Patrick Stewart) wasn’t his usual powerful self, and there seemed to be something missing. While I personally still liked the show, I understand why people had a difficult time associating the Picard of seasons one and two with the Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The third season, under Matalas’ guidance, righted all of the perceived wrongs from the first two seasons and put Picard squarely in the “we want more” category, which has even led to a cry for a spin-off series about Captain Seven of Nine commanding the newly minted Enterprise.

So this is definitely an honor Picard deserved as much as it does the effusive praise from The Wrap writer, Drew Taylor.

"In the third and final season of “Picard,” the show transformed into what it had always threatened to become – a full-on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” sequel series. And it’s easy to see why star Patrick Stewart was resistant to the idea. If improperly handled it would not only tank the goodwill of the previous two seasons, but it could sully the memory of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” arguably the most beloved series in the entire franchise. Mercifully, this didn’t happen. Showrunner Terry Matalas knocked it out of the park. He skillfully deployed fine-tuned nostalgia, particularly in the final stretch of episodes, while delving deeper into the “Next Generation” characters we’ve seen before. Big swings like giving Picard a secret son didn’t backfire; instead they gave the characters even more nuance and humanity. Full of world-class visuals (there are some genuine jaw-droppers in the finale) and a swashbuckling adventurousness, these last “Picard” episodes were enough to make you wish the show wasn’t ending. “Picard” went from being an interesting footnote to one of the most profound, moving and entertaining pieces of the “Star Trek” universe. Boldly go. — DT"