It was hard on the Star Trek: Picard cast to lose characters between seasons 2 and 3

One of the most jarring, but successful gambits that Star Trek: Picard pulled off was the re-introduction of the Next Generation cast in season three. Every major actor returned to the franchise in either season two or three, save for Denise Crosby. While characters like Q, Wesley Crusher, and Guinan all returned in season two, most of the bridge crew returned in season three.

Will Riker, Data, and Deanna Troi popped up in season one, but all three returned in season three, followed by Beverly Crusher, Worf, and Geordi La Forge. Bringing together the core crew of the Next Generation, with Jean-Luc Picard at the center of it.

Yet, to bring in all of these characters as regulars and stars of the third season, means the core group of seasons one and two would have to go. Which is exactly what happened. Four key actors from the first two seasons, Santiago Cabrera, Allison Pill, Isa Briones, and Evan Evagora were all dismissed after season two.

The loss of so many core characters caused havoc with the emotions of the cast, namely Michelle Hurd, who had joined the cast in season one as Raffi. Hurd, who recently went on the D-Con Chamber Podcast with Star Trek: Enterprise stars Conner Trinneer and Dominic Keating, revealed that the change in the cast was a jarring experience, saying (via ScreenRant)

"Then we get to second season, and sort of about the last month or so, we’re just kind of sensing things are changing. You know actors don’t get any information. We know nothing… And we just started to sense or hear through the grapevine that there might not be everybody coming back… It started getting kind of sad and emotional on our set. And then when we started finding out who was staying and who was going, it was really… It’s awful. It was awful…"

It's worth realizing that all this was in the span of a week or two. Picard shot both of its final seasons back to back, meaning that one day Pill and Briones are on set, while the next you have Gates McFadden and Michael Dorn. It's a jarring experience.

It's worth noting that Hurd did praise the veteran Star Trek actors, who seemingly brought nothing but good energy and professionalism with them. Still, it's worth acknowledging that it's hard to see people you've grown close with over the years be replaced by others.