'Star Trek: Picard': Patrick Stewart on his 'Star Trek' legacy, and new CBS All Access series
Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard in the new CBS All Access series, "Star Trek: Picard." (Photo: James Dimmock/CBS)
By Kristi Turnquist | The Oregonian/OregonLive
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA -- The key to the "Star Trek" universe, says Patrick Stewart, is "hope." That's the "dominant emotion behind everything we did on 'Next Generation,'" he says, and it's a tradition Stewart predicts will continue with "Star Trek: Picard," the hotly anticipated new series in which Stewart again plays Jean-Luc Picard, the role he made famous in "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Stewart was on hand to discuss "Star Trek: Picard," which premieres on the CBS All Access streaming service on Jan. 23, during the Television Critics Association 2020 winter press tour. The show has already excited fans of the "Star Trek" universe, and In a vote of confidence, it was announced at today's press tour that the series has been renewed for a second season, even before its premiere.
Stewart and his fellow panel members emphasized that the new show will honor "Trek" traditions, without being a retread of the "Next Generation." Though playing Picard for nearly a decade has left Stewart feeling like he and the character have "melded," it was important, Stewart said, to put some distance between "The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Picard."
As the show's description says, "Star Trek: Picard" is set at the end of the 24th century, 14 years after Picard's retirement from Starfleet. When the series begins, Picard is living on his vineyard, with the help of staff members and the company of his pet pit bull dog, named "Number One."
Asked about including the pit bull in the new series, Stewart alluded to his own "passionate" advocacy for pit bulls, and suggested he might have had a role in giving Picard a pet pit bull in the series
When viewers meet Picard in the new show, Stewart said, he's "troubled" and "disturbed" and "lonely," with feelings of "strange, unnatural guilt."
Joining Stewart on the panel were executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Michael Chabon, Akiva Goldsman, Heather Kadin and Kirsten Beyer, along with cast members Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, and Santiago Cabrera.
Stewart said that he was "absolutely thrilled" to continue playing the role of Picard, a character who has become so close to him that "he's always been there." That made resuming the role easier than he anticipated, Stewart said.
Though the "Trek" universe, with its futuristic vision and technology can be complicated, Chabon said that "Star Trek: Picard" is "very much character-based, and character-driven."
With storylines that touch on such subjects as refugees, aliens and questioning government, "Star Trek: Picard" continues in the franchise tradition to reflecting what's going on in the present day, but filtering it through the "Star Trek" lens, which emphasizes trying to build a better world.
The first season of "Star Trek: Picard" will include guest appearances by some "Next Generation" cast members, including Brent Spiner (Data), Jonathan Frakes (William Riker) and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi).
Stewart said that by the time two seasons of the show are completed, every principal actor from "The Next Generation" cast will appear on "Star Trek: Picard." They're all "very, very close," Stewart said.
When asked how he felt about becoming the face of the "Star Trek" universe, Stewart got a laugh when he said that there's someone else -- whose "initials are Bill Shatner" -- who might disagree with Stewart being described that way.
"I'm very content to stand on Bill's shoulders," Stewart said.
The first season of "Star Trek: Picard" will premiere on CBS All Access on Jan. 23. Following the premiere, new episodes of the 10-episode first season will be available weekly on Thursdays, for CBS All Access subscribers.
Check Oregonlive.com for more news and coverage of the TCA Winter 2020 press tour.
-- Kristi Turnquist
kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist