Skip to main content

Star Trek: Picard season 3 brings back Next Generation cast

Today, April 5, is First Contact Day to fans of Star Trek. It stems from a pivotal event in the film Star Trek: First Contact, which was one of four feature films to utilize the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. That’s why it’s fitting that Paramount+ used today as the occasion to announce that the entire TNG cast will return for the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard.

Picard launched in 2020 as a showcase for Patrick Stewart’s beloved Jean-Luc Picard, two decades after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. In the first season of Picard,  Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis reprised their roles as Will Riker and Deanna Troi in guest appearances. Brent Spiner also appeared as the android Data and Dr. Altan Inigo Soong. But in the video below, Paramount+ confirmed that Michael Dorn’s Worf, LeVar Burton’s Geordi La Forge, and Gates McFadden’s Dr. Beverly Crusher will also take part in this onscreen reunion in the upcoming season.

Star Trek: Picard | Season 3 Cast Announce | Paramount+

Terry Matalas is the showrunner for Picard season 3, and he acknowledged the Next Generation reunion with a statement of his own.

“I remember watching the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation almost 34 years ago with my father like it was yesterday. It was the spark that ignited my love for science fiction. So, it’s most fitting that the story of Jean-Luc Picard ends honoring the beginning, with his dearest and most loyal friends from the U.S.S. Enterprise. It would be an understatement to say that giving these characters a proper send-off is an honor. The entire Star Trek: Picard team and I can’t wait for fans to experience this final, high-stakes, starship-bound adventure in season three!”

The cast of Star Trek: Nemesis.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The third season of Star Trek: Picard is filming now, and it will likely premiere in 2023 on Paramount+.

Editors' Recommendations

Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
Spock takes command in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 teaser
Ethan Peck as Spock in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

With Star Trek: Picard coming to an end this week, and Star Trek: Discovery slated to conclude next year, the future of the franchise now rests in the hands of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. This series is a spinoff of Discovery and takes place a decade before the original series, with Anson Mount's Christopher Pike as the captain of the Enterprise. But as seen in the first teaser trailer for Strange New Worlds season 2, Spock (Ethan Peck) is also going to get his first chance to sit in the captain's chair.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Second Season Teaser Trailer | Paramount+

Read more
The Mandalorian season 3 episode 2’s legendary Star Wars beast, explained
the mandalorian season 3 episode 2 mythosaur explained a ray of light shines on an old helmet in

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3 episode 2, The Mines of Mandalore.

Coming off its lackluster season 3 premiere, The Mandalorian has returned with an episode that helps put the Disney+ series back on track. The episode, titled The Mines of Mandalore, sends Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu to the surface of its eponymous, destroyed planet. His journey to the planet’s living waters takes a dangerous turn, however, when he is captured by a malevolent alien lurking deep beneath Mandalore’s surface.

Read more
Suck it, Picard. The Orville is Star Trek: The Next Generation’s true spiritual successor
The crew of The Orville on the bridge

Seth MacFarlane's sci-fi small screen epic, The Orville -- now streaming its third season on Hulu as The Orville: New Horizons -- is one of the strangest experiments on television. It's a virtual copy of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a loving homage to that series, and a strong show in its own right. It shouldn't work, but not only does it work, it has become more intricate and compelling over time (one of many things it has in common with TNG).

There are currently no plans for a fourth season, which is a shame because MacFarlane's universe is as rich as any sci-fi universe going. As with Star Trek, a wealth of satisfying stories can be spun from this material. The Orville could have easily been a flop, but it's destined to become a classic in its own right, and one that embodies more of the Star Trek spirit than the officially sanctioned TNG successor Picard ever could.
How The Orville channels The Next Generation
USS Orville officers on the bridge 20th Television

Read more