The Doctor is in, and his director appreciates it.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will take place some 800 years after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, there are still some familiar faces from that time period working on the campus/bridge of the USS Athena ahead of the new streaming series' premiere next year. For instance, Voyager and Prodigy’s Doctor (Robert Picardo) is holding down the fort on screen in the 32nd century, while Jonathan Frakes of Next Gen fame will be behind the camera directing again.
Frakes is best known for playing William T. Riker in The Next Generation, but he’s done plenty of work sitting in the director’s chair over the years helming various Treks, including everything from Deep Space Nine to Discovery to Strange New Worlds. And in a brand-new social media post from Picardo, the two Star Trek icons can be seen sharing "a special moment" on the set. The post reads via Instagram:
“A special moment as @jonathansfrakes welcomes me back to the @StarTrek family at a rehearsal for #StarfleetAcademy [ premiering 01/15/2016 on @StarTrekOnPPlus ] At this point, his hug has clocked 20 minutes and I'm calling HR.” (Continued...)