There were some hard and fast rules on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and one was no improvisation. What was written in the script was what the actors had to say onscreen. That didn't leave any room for flexibility. Terry Matalas, the showrunner for the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard, changed all of that with one scene in the series finale, "The Last Generation."
The third season was the first time all of The Next Generation characters had worked together onscreen since Star Trek: Nemesis. They all easily slipped back into their familiar roles, and part of those roles included the poker game at the end of a lot of episodes of the seven-year series. While the action and commentary was scripted for The Next Generation, that wasn't the case for "The Last Generation."
In a Zoom panel in April 2023 [via Whatculture], Matalas shared his way of creating the scene that is one of the most touching in the finale. He simply let the actors just be themselves. He told the panel, "I just rolled the cameras and let them play because I wanted the audience to really feel what it's like to hang out with these actors, and to really feel like the jokes and the smiles were genuine […] I wanted the audience to feel that for a few minutes before we said goodbye."
We've known for years that The Next Generation cast were and still are good friends, but rewatching this final scene and knowing it was just a part of their camraderie with one another makes is that much more special. There was no script. No rehearsals. It was just friends getting together for a friendly poker game while saying goodbye to grateful fans who were happy to have had the opportunity to watch them in action one more time. This was one of the best gifts Matalas could have given to the fan community.