Star Trek: Picard (season 2)

The second season of the American web television series Star Trek: Picard features Jean-Luc Picard after he died and his consciousness was transferred into a new synthetic body. The season is produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout, Weed Road Pictures, Escapist Fare, and Roddenberry Entertainment, with Terry Matalas serving as showrunner.

Star Trek: Picard
Season 2
Promotional image
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Release
Original networkCBS All Access
Season chronology

Patrick Stewart stars as Picard, reprising his role from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as other Star Trek media. Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, and Santiago Cabrera also star. A second season of the series was in development for months before being officially announced in January 2020, with Matalas joining the series ahead of the planned departure of first season showrunner Michael Chabon, who remained as a writer and executive producer. Filming is expected to take place in California beginning once restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted.

The season is expected to premiere on CBS All Access in late 2020 or early 2021, and consist of 10 episodes.

Episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
111TBATBAMichael Chabon[1]Late 2020 or early 2021[2]

Michael Chabon is writing two episodes of the season,[1] and Jonathan Frakes will return as a director for the season.[3]

Cast and characters
Main article: List of Star Trek: Picard characters

Main

Notable guests

Production

Development

Executive producer Heather Kadin revealed in October 2018 that the series Star Trek: Picard was intended to be ongoing rather than a limited miniseries;[8] the producers of the series knew from the beginning of official development that star Patrick Stewart was signed on for at least two seasons, and that a second season would definitely be made.[9] Stewart reiterated this in February 2019, saying "we are set up for possibly three years of this show".[10] Co-creator Alex Kurtzman confirmed in October 2019 that a second season of the series was "already in the works" ahead of the release of the first season.[11] In early December, showrunner Michael Chabon signed an overall deal with CBS Television Studios to create several new series for the studio beginning with an adaptation of his novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Chabon was expected to remain with Picard as showrunner until he had to focus on Kavalier & Clay at some point in 2020, at which point he would still remain creatively involved in the second season of Picard as an executive producer.[12] A week later, the series was informally green-lit for a second 10-episode season after being allocated tax incentives to continue filming in California.[4][2]

Following the informal green-light, an official renewal was expected once a showrunner for the second season could be confirmed.[2] In January, CBS officially announced the second season renewal and revealed that Terry Matalas had joined the series as an executive producer to fill the void that would be created by Chabon's planned departure. CBS had moved Matalas from their series MacGuyver to Picard due to the latter being a high priority for the studio. Matalas had been working with the series' writers alongside Chabon on the second season for "some time" before the official announcement, and he was expected to take over as showrunner for the series once Chabon left. At the same time as the announcement, the series was also reported to have an informal green-light for a third season that would be developed at the same time as the second so the two could be filmed back-to-back.[13] Chabon expressed regret at having to leave the series, but said that he was "every bit as involved" in the development of the second season as he had been on the first and would be writing episodes for the second season as well as remaining an executive producer.[14] Chabon explained that the difference was he would not be running the series day-to-day once production on the second season began.[15] In March 2020, journalist Marc Bernardin, who interned on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, joined Picard as a supervising producer.[16]

Writing

Before the end of 2019, Chabon and Goldsman met with Stewart to pitch their story for the second season.[17] With the season order in January 2020, Kurtzman said the writers were confident in this "surprising" story, but he wanted to wait until the first season had begun airing before locking this down to allow the creative team to adjust the direction of the season based on the response of fans to the first. He felt this was an essential part of making a Star Trek series that he had learned during his previous work on the franchise.[18] In March, Chabon said the full story for the second season had been broken and the "writing portion" of the production was beginning, with Chabon writing two episodes for the season.[1] He added that the story of second season was true to the original ideas of the series and would not be affected by Star Trek fans who had criticized the ways in which the first season had not met their expectations. However, Chabon felt emboldened by the success of the first season to go in some new directions and said the second season would take advantage of lessons he learned during the making of the first season about television production and about Picard's cast and characters. He added that the second season would have more time to explore the personal lives of the series' supporting cast than the first did due to the amount of new characters and plot it had to introduce and cover.[15]

Following the first-season finale, Chabon and Goldsman said the second season would not ignore the fact that Picard's consciousness is now in a synthetic body, with Chabon stating "we definitely don't want to pretend like these events never happened".[19] Chabon said the Romulan refugee storyline from the first season would be further explored in the second "in a way",[20] and added that the USS Enterprise had not been revisited in the first season because the writers did not want to include it in a throwaway moment. He said a full appearance of the Enterprise was being considered for the second season, but a final decision on this had not been made by the writers by the end of March 2020.[21] In June, Goldsman said the technology and culture of Starfleet would be explored more in the second season after the first season was about "somebody who is outside of Starfleet".[22]

Casting

Returning from the first season to star in the second are Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati, Isa Briones as Soji Asha, Evan Evagora as Elnor, Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker, and Santiago Cabrera as Cristobal "Chris" Rios.[4][5] Harry Treadaway did not return for the second season as Narek.[4][5]

In February 2019, Whoopi Goldberg stated that she would like to reprise her Star Trek: The Next Generation role of Guinan in Picard.[23] That July, Robert Picardo, who portrayed The Doctor and Lewis Zimmerman in Star Trek: Voyager, said CBS had expressed interest in him returning for the second season of Picard.[24] In January 2020, while promoting the first season of the series on the talk show The View, Stewart officially invited co-host Goldberg to appear in the second season, an invitation which Goldberg accepted.[6] Chabon rewatched several key episodes of The Next Generation that feature Guinan in preparation for writing new scenes for Goldberg who he called "an amazing actor".[21] By April, LeVar Burton had discussed reprising his Next Generation role of Geordi La Forge on Picard, and said there was a possibility he would appear in the second season.[25] In July, Picardo praised the series and expressed interest in guest starring in it in the future, but said there were "absolutely no plans" for him to appear in the second season.[26]

After reprising his The Next Generation role of Data in the first season, Brent Spiner said in March 2020 that he would not do so again as he felt that story was a fitting end to the character. He expressed interest in returning for the second season as Dr. Altan Inigo Soong who he began playing in the first season two-part finale,[27] and Goldsman later admitted that Soong was created in part so Spiner could return for future seasons following Data's death.[22] Chabon expressed interest in first season recurring guest stars Jeri Ryan, Orla Brady, and Jamie McShane returning for the second season, respectively as Voyager's Seven of Nine and Picard's Romulan staff-members Laris and Zhaban. He said a relationship between Seven and Raffi that was teased at the end of the first season would be explored in the second.[20] Ryan confirmed she was returning for the second season in May 2020.[7]

Filming

In December 2019, the series was granted $20.45 million in tax credits by the California Film Commission for the production to continue filming in California for the second season. This was the most any television series had been awarded by the program since its expansion in September 2014.[4] As of January 2020, filming was expected to take place back-to-back with production on a potential third season.[13] Stewart stated in September 2019 that filming could begin in March 2020,[28] but by the end of that month filming was set to begin in mid-June.[29][7] These plans were made before the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] Goldsman said in May 2020 that if filming could not begin in June due to the pandemic, it would begin as soon as possible after pandemic restrictions were lifted and preparation for filming could be completed. He noted that any delays in production would allow more of the season to be written before filming begins, and therefore allow earlier episodes to be revised based on the finished scripts for later episodes, to help tell the season's serialized story.[30]

Marketing

CBS announced in June 2020 that it was participating in the "All In Challenge" to raise money for COVID-19 relief. Money donated to the campaign would go to charities including Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, World Central Kitchen, and No Kid Hungry, and fans who donated could win the chance to visit the series' set, meet Patrick Stewart, and have a walk-on role in an episode.[31]

Release

The season is expected to premiere in late 2020 or early 2021 on CBS All Access in the United States,[2] and run for 10 episodes.[4]

References
  1. Patten, Dominic (March 5, 2020). Star Trek: Picard Podcast: Reunion With Riker & Building The Borg. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  2. Porter, Rick (December 16, 2020). "'Star Trek: Picard' Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere on CBS All Access". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  3. "Jonathan Frakes Talks 'Discovery' And 'Picard' Critics, And His Future Directing Two New Star Trek Shows". TrekMovie.com. April 14, 2020. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  4. Patten, Dominic (December 16, 2019). "'Star Trek: Picard' Renewed For Season 2 Ahead Of Series Debut On CBS All Access Next Month". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  5. "Patrick Stewart Is Ready To Take More Risks For 'Star Trek: Picard' Season 2". TrekMovie.com. June 10, 2020. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020. The main cast is all expected to be back, with the exception of Harry Treadaway (Narek).
  6. Evans, Greg (January 22, 2020). "Patrick Stewart Invites Whoopi Goldberg Back To 'Star Trek' Universe For 'Picard' Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 23, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  7. "Watch: Jeri Ryan Talks Plans For 'Star Trek: Picard' Season 2 During 'Voyager' Reunion Panel". TrekMovie.com. May 26, 2020. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  8. Ulster, Laurie (October 6, 2018). "Exclusive: Star Trek Executive Producers Reveal Picard Series Production Details". TrekMovie.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  9. Collura, Scott (March 29, 2020). "Star Trek: Picard Showrunner Michael Chabon Explains the Season Finale's Big Moments". IGN. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  10. "Patrick Stewart Says Star Trek Picard Series Is Set Up To Run Three Seasons". TrekMovie.com. February 4, 2019. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  11. Reilly, Ken (October 7, 2019). "Exclusive: Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin on that Nickelodeon Star Trek Show, If We'll See a Discovery Movie, Picard Season 2 (!), and Much More". TrekCore.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  12. Andreeva, Nellie (December 10, 2019). "'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay' Limited Series Set At Showtime As Part Of Michael Chabon & Ayelet Waldman CBS TV Studios Overall Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  13. Goldberg, Lesley (January 12, 2020). "'Star Trek: Picard' Renewed for Season 2 at CBS All Access". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  14. Sepinwall, Alan (January 18, 2020). "'I Heard Patrick's Voice in My Head': Michael Chabon on Making 'Picard' and Being a Fanboy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 18, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  15. Vary, Adam B. (March 25, 2020). "'Star Trek: Picard' Is Divisive — and Showrunner Michael Chabon Doesn't Mind at All". Variety. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  16. Pitt, Alison (March 10, 2020). "Writer Marc Bernardin joins Star Trek: Picard as a supervising producer". Daily Star Trek News. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  17. Holloway, Daniel. "'Star Trek: Picard': Patrick Stewart on Why He Returned to the Final Frontier". Variety. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  18. Reilly, Ken (January 12, 2020). "Star Trek's TV Universe Still Expanding; Kurtzman Reveals Two More Live-Action Series in the Works". TrekCore.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  19. Pirrello, Phil (March 26, 2020). "How 'Star Trek: Picard' Pulled Off Game-Changing Finale Scene". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  20. "Michael Chabon Answers Fan Questions About 'Star Trek: Picard' Finale Loose Ends, Season Two, And More". TrekMovie.com. March 28, 2020. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  21. Pirrello, Phil (March 27, 2020). "'Star Trek:' Burning Questions for 'Picard' Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  22. Blauvelt, Christian (June 15, 2020). "Akiva Goldsman Analyzes That Big 'Star Trek: Picard' Farewell and Teases More Starfleet in Season 2". IndieWire. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  23. "Whoopi Goldberg Interested In Returning To Star Trek For Picard Series". TrekMovie.com. February 7, 2019. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  24. "Voyager's Robert Picardo in Talks to Appear in Star Trek: Picard". TrekkieGirls.com. July 29, 2019. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  25. LeVar Burton on Guest Star Discussions for ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season Two (Exclusive). Entertainment Tonight. April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  26. Lovett, Jamie (July 8, 2020). "Star Trek: Picard: Robert Picardo Says "Absolutely No Plans" For Him to Appear (Exclusive)". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
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  28. Shaw, Martin (September 17, 2020). "Sir Patrick Stewart visited Huddersfield after filming 'shocking' new Star Trek spin-off". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  29. Patten, Dominic (March 26, 2020). The Star Trek: Picard Podcast: Sir Patrick Stewart On Today's Finale, Season 2, Mortality & "Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  30. Reimann, Tom (May 18, 2020). "When Will 'Picard' Season 2 Start Filming? EP Akiva Goldsman Weighs In". Collider. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  31. "Walk-On Role on CBS Series Star Trek: Picard + Meet Sir Patrick Stewart + Set Tour". All In Challenge. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
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