“Star Trek: Picard” was hailed as a return to the world of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” which, in many Trekker’s minds, is the franchise at its very best. Patrick Stewart is up there with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy as faces that are synonymous with the sci-fi institution that has spanned generations. However, it’s clear from watching CBS All Access’ ‘Picard’ series, the show isn’t your dad’s ‘Next Generation.’ And that has had some fans a bit…upset.
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But according to a new IndieWire interview with Michael Chabon, the showrunner of ‘Picard,’ the purpose of the show isn’t to recreate ‘TNG.’ Instead, ‘Picard’ is its own story, and even though fans had certain expectations coming into the series, the new ‘Trek’ spin-off was never meant to be ‘TNG Part 2.’
“We had a commitment to telling the story of how time changes people and how 20 years can put you into a completely different place that you never would have imagined,” Chabon said.
He later added, “As a fan, I share that desire to go back, and to have it be the same and to want more of what I already know I love. That sort of inherent conservatism — not in a political sense — I just meant there’s a lower-case ‘c’ conservatism in a fan’s heart that says if you already know you love something, why would you want it to be different?”
That being said, ‘Picard’ has been enough of a hit for CBS All Access that a second season has already been ordered. And while the details and story haven’t been locked in, Chabon does hint that there could be some familiar faces coming back to the world of ‘Trek,’ which might be enough to sway the diehard fans that are thinking about bailing on the series.
“‘Oh, we can bring back this, we can bring back that, and we’ll have Ferengi,’ and we’ve mentioned Janeway and all these things that fans are continually asking me about now,” Chabon said about the possibilities of a second season.
“Star Trek: Picard” is available now on CBS All Access, as part of the streaming service’s various ‘Trek’ series governed by Alex Kurtzman, including the popular “Star Trek: Discovery.”