Star Trek: Picard season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas explained why it was "terrible" to lose Picard's original actors to make way for the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Santiago Cabrera, Allison Pill, Isa Briones, and Evan Evagora were Star Trek: Picard season 1 series regulars alongside Patrick Stewart, Michelle Hurd, and Jeri Ryan. However, only Ryan and Hurd joined Stewart for Star Trek: Picard season 3, which reunited Admiral Jean-Luc Picard with his crew from the USS Enterprise-D.
Appearing on The Sackhoff Show to discuss his career, including Marvel Studios' Vision Quest and 12 Monkeys, Terry Matalas explained how he joined Star Trek: Picard as co-showrunner for season 2 with Akiva Goldsman. As sole showrunner for Star Trek: Picard season 3, Matalas told host Katee Sackhoff about having to convince Stewart to bring back the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but that season 3's budget required the "sacrifice" of losing the actors from Picard seasons 1 and 2. Check out Matalas' quote below:
We got to the end of [Picard season 2], and Akiva’s like, ‘It’s your turn. What do you want to do?’ And I was like, ‘I want to bring back the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation…’ And they said, ‘Look, if you can convince Patrick, then we’ll consider this.’ And it was tough because there was a whole cast in season 1 and 2 that were wonderful, but there was not the budget to carry them all. So there were sacrifices. It was terrible. It was a terrible place to be in.
Why Terry Matalas Says Losing Star Trek: Picard's Original Cast Was "Terrible"
Picard Season 3 Couldn't Fit Everyone In
Terry Matalas regrets that Star Trek: Picard season 3 didn't have the budget to include Allison Pill, Isa Briones, Santiago Cabrera, and Evan Evagora, and also bring in Star Trek: The Next Generation icons Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Michael Dorn. Since the focus had to be on TNG's reunion, as well as Seven of Nine and Raffi Musiker joining Picard season 3, losing the actors from Picard's previous seasons was an unfortunate "sacrifice" that had to be made.
Star Trek: Picard season 3's ambitious plan also included creating new characters like Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), and Vadic (Amanda Plummer), and bringing back other TNG characters like Professor Moriarty (Daniel Davis), Commander Ro Laren (Michelel Forbes), the original Borg Queen (Alice Krige), and Q (John de Lancie). While fans of Picard seasons 1 and 2 missed the absent characters, Star Trek: Picard season 3's acclaim from fans and critics speaks for itself.
Our Take On Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Not Having Season 1 & 2's Actors
Maybe Star Trek: Legacy Can Reunite Everyone Someday
In a perfect world, Star Trek: Picard season 3 would have had a larger budget and more episodes to be even grander than it was. Still, Terry Matalas and his writing team crafted one of the finest seasons of Star Trek since the franchise's 1990s golden age, paying homage to what was great about Star Trek: The Next Generation while building upon it with new characters to carry TNG's legacy into the future.
Appearing in Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2 did raise the profile of its original cast, especially Isa Briones, who now stars in Max's hit medical drama, The Pitt. Allison Pill was recently in M. Night Shyamalan's Trap, and Santiago Cabrera joined Fox's The Cleaning Lady. It's also possible that Star Trek: Picard season 1 and 2's actors can reprise their characters if Star Trek: Legacy happens someday.
