When Star Trek sought to bring back the popular character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard for his own new series, fans of the Next Gen show would inevitably wonder if a reunion would ever follow. After two seasons of Star Trek: Picard, the showrunner would finally say, “Make it so.” Season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas talks about the incredible pressure that came with the undertaking to reunite one of the most beloved casts in sci-fi television history in a new interview from Variety.
Matalas, who would step in as the showrunner for Picard after season one’s Michael Chabon and season two’s Akiva Goldsman, told Variety it was “beyond an honor” to be a showrunner for the third season, but “there’s an incredible pressure to that, as well.” Matalas continued, “The second I had the story in my brain as sort of a final ‘Next Generation’ story — the moment it became a reality — I didn’t sleep for about nine months straight. I was just too terrified of screwing it up.”
He would go on to say that the different showrunners for every season would give the show “three very different stories from three different storytellers.” Matalas expounds, “I think Season 1 is Michael Chabon’s beautiful arc of reintroducing us to Picard and these characters. Then the second season is Akiva Goldsman, digging deeper into what makes Captain Picard Captain Picard, and going back into his past trauma and telling this beautiful story with Q. And this is a different kind of story, because it’s going back to the beginning. It’s the ‘Next Generation.’ It’s back out into space. It’s much more nautical.”
Former director of Next Gen episodes and movies, Jonathan Frakes, who also plays William Riker and already had appearances in previous episodes, returns once again to his role in front of and behind the camera as he will be directing a couple of important episodes for this season. Matalas talks working with the TV veteran, “There’s no better collaborator than Jonathan Frakes. I say to him over and over that I think Episode 4 [of Season 3] is the best thing he’s ever directed. There’s so much emotion and he nailed all those reveals.”
Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard is now available on to stream on Paramount+, with new episodes premiering weekly.