Jeri Ryan has a brand new favorite character in the Star Trek canon

Star Trek: Picard has come and gone without ever living up to the lofty expectations many had for the show. Once pitched as a Patrick Stewart-led series about the struggles of Picard aging, and with next to no involvement from his prior castmates, that changed by season three into becoming a full-blown reunion of the Next Generation cast; something Stewart never wanted.

While the show did alright creating new characters, it wasn't until season three that characters fans actually liked were created for the show. And we're talking about Todd Stashwick's turn as Captain Liam Shaw. Shaw was brought in as a foil for Picard and Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine characters, someone who steadfastly despised the Borg, and for good reason.

And as Picard and Seven were both members of the Borg at one point, he was paranoid that they could betray Starfleet, an unfounded but accurate fear. He may have started prickily at the start of the final season but as the show continued on, he quickly became everyone's favorite character, including Ryan.

Ryan was with Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michelle Hurd, and Gates McFadden at a Q&A for the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles and Ryan revealed that she was enamored with Stashwick's Shaw, saying (via Screenrant);

"I think [Picard season 3 showrunner] Terry [Matalas] was caught by surprise how huge [Captain Liam Shaw] ended up being, how popular. But I was not surprised. I told [Todd Stashwick] on that very first day ... you are my new favorite Star Trek character ever. You are genius, you are perfect. And the fans agreed."

Ryan isn't alone in her love of the new captain, as many fans were enamored with him throughout the show, and up until the end of his run on the series. While no one knows what's going to happen next for Stashwick and his character, many are hoping that the writers are able to find a way to write him back into the franchise in any new shows going forward.