Star Trek: Picard (season 2)

Executive producer Heather Kadin revealed in October 2018 that Star Trek: Picard was intended to be an ongoing series rather than a limited miniseries;[16] the producers knew from the time Patrick Stewart signed on to star in the series that a second season would definitely be made.[17] Stewart reiterated this in February 2019 and added, "We are set up for possibly three years of this show".[18] That September, Stewart said filming for a second season could begin as early as March 2020.[19] Co-creator Alex Kurtzman confirmed a month later that a second season was "already in the works" ahead of the first-season premiere in January 2020.[20]

Akiva Goldsman (pictured) served as co-showrunner for the season with Terry Matalas, and continued running the season when Matalas switched focus to the third during production.

In early December, co-creator and showrunner Michael Chabon signed an overall deal with CBS Television Studios to create several new series for them, 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 shift focus to Kavalier & Clay at some point in 2020, at which point he would still be creatively involved in Picard as an executive producer.[21] A week later, the series was informally green-lit for a second 10-episode season after being allocated $20.4 million in tax credits by the California Film Commission for the production to continue filming in California. This was the most any television series had been awarded by the program since its expansion in September 2014.[22][23] An official renewal from streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded Paramount+) was expected once a showrunner for the second season could be confirmed.[23]

In January 2020, 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 departure.[24] CBS had moved Matalas, who began his career working on Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise,[25] from MacGyver to Picard because the latter was considered a high priority for the studio. Matalas had been working with Chabon and the second season's writers for "some time" before the official announcement, and he was expected to take over as showrunner once Chabon left the series. Picard 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.[24] Chabon expressed regret at having to leave the series, but said he was "every bit as involved" in the second season's development as he had been on the first, and he would be writing for the second season as well as remaining an executive producer.[26] The difference, he explained, was that he would not be running the series day-to-day once filming began.[27]

Journalist Marc Bernardin, who began his career working as an intern on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, joined Picard as a supervising producer in March 2020.[28] By the end of that month, filming was set to begin in mid-June.[29][30] These plans were made before the COVID-19 pandemic began.[31] Executive producer and co-creator Akiva 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.[32] That September, after a deal was made between major studios and Hollywood unions regarding safety measures for productions during the pandemic, director Jonathan Frakes said filming could begin in January 2021 and added that Stewart was eager to begin as soon as possible;[33] filming began in February.[34] Goldsman and Matalas were confirmed as co-showrunners for the season that April,[4] working together on the production until around halfway through filming when Matalas switched focus to the third season and Goldsman continued running the second. Kurtzman provided additional producing support in his role overseeing all of the Paramount+ Star Trek series.[35]

The second and third seasons tell separate stories, despite being developed together,[36] with Matalas describing the second season's story as being more intimate than the third.[37] Matalas, who is known for the time travel-based series 12 Monkeys, suggested the time travel-heavy story for the second season which takes inspiration from the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).[36] Before the end of 2019, Chabon and Goldsman met with Stewart to pitch the season's story,[38] and Kurtzman said in January 2020 that the writers were confident in it. Kurtzman did want the option to adjust the story based on responses to the first season,[39] but Chabon said in March that the second season would not be affected by fans who criticized the first for not meeting their expectations.[27] The full story was broken by then and writing had begun.[40] One lesson learned during the first season, according to Goldsman, was to figure out the ending of the season before they began filming,[41] and production delays due to the pandemic did allow more episodes to be written than usual which meant earlier episodes could subsequently be revised.[32] Writing for the season was completed after filming began in early 2021, and Goldsman said it would not be clear if they were successful in crafting the full story until editing was done.[36]

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,[42] and it would further explore the personal lives of the series' supporting cast,[27] the first season's Romulan refugee storyline,[31] and the technology and culture of Starfleet.[43] Matalas said the season deconstructs Picard in different ways from the first, with an emphasis on his past relationships, romance, and "the puzzle-pieces of his past that are stopping him from embracing his future".[25] Goldsman said the season would continue to explore issues that come up in the last stage of a person's life,[41] with the Star Trek: The Next Generation characters Q and Guinan appearing in the season because of their deep relationships with Picard.[44] Matalas described Q as "the figure you introduce when your heroes need to face their truest selves", allowing the season to explore the "push-pull within all of us that tells us to either stay or leave, fight or flight, love or let go".[25] He added that Q's intentions are the overarching mystery for the season, and having Picard travel back in time to the 21st century forced him to confront his own history.[45] Following this adventure, the season's characters have to decide who they want to be moving forward.[25]

By June 2020, most of the main cast from the first season were expected to star in the second, including 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. Harry Treadaway, who portrayed Narek in the first season, did not return for the second.[2][22]

John de Lancie (left) and Whoopi Goldberg (right) reprise their respective roles of Q and Guinan from Star Trek: The Next Generation in the season.

In February 2019, Whoopi Goldberg stated that she would like to reprise her Star Trek: The Next Generation role of Guinan in Picard.[46] That July, Robert Picardo, who portrayed the holographic doctor in Star Trek: Voyager, said CBS had expressed interest in him returning for the second season of Picard.[47] 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.[11] Chabon rewatched several key episodes of The Next Generation that feature Guinan in preparation for writing new scenes for Goldberg whom he called "an amazing actor".[48] 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,[49] while Gates McFadden said in June that there was a "good chance" she would be reprising her Next Generation role of Beverly Crusher in the season.[50] 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.[51] In May 2021, McFadden said "things have changed a lot on different levels" and she would no longer be appearing in the second season, expressing her disappointment at this,[52] though in April 2022 she was revealed to be reprising her role in the third season of Picard instead, alongside Burton and other members of the Next Generation cast.[53]

After reprising his 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 as Dr. Altan Inigo Soong, who he began playing in the first season two-part finale,[54] and Goldsman later admitted that Altan Soong was created in part so Spiner could return following Data's death.[43] 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.[31] Ryan confirmed in May 2020 that she was returning for the second season,[29] and she, Brady, and Spiner were revealed to be main cast members in April 2021.[4] Zhaban is revealed to have died since the end of the first season, with Laris becoming a love interest for Picard in the second.[12] Brady also plays Tallinn, who is a Supervisor like the Star Trek: The Original Series character Gary Seven.[5] Spiner's contract stipulated that he not portray Data again,[55] and he instead plays a new Soong ancestor in 2024 named Adam.[56][57] Briones portrays his daughter, Kore.[6]

Also in April 2021, John de Lancie was announced as reprising his Next Generation role of Q, an extra-dimensional being, in the season.[4] To explain de Lancie's older appearance, Q initially appears the same as he did in The Next Generation (with de Lancie being digitally de-aged) before choosing to age himself to match the older Picard.[44] In September, Annie Wersching was revealed to be cast in the recurring role of the Borg Queen, taking over from Alice Krige who portrayed the character in the film Star Trek: First Contact (1996) as well as the Voyager series finale. Susanna Thompson also portrayed the character in several episodes of Voyager.[8] Wersching's first television role was as a guest star on Star Trek: Enterprise, and Goldsman considered bringing this "full circle" by having this version of the Borg Queen be the same character.[58] Later in the season, the Borg Queen enters the mind of Agnes Jurati and becomes a new Queen that Alison Pill portrays.[3] The season also introduces a younger version of Guinan in 2024 who does not yet know Picard. The original version of Guinan first met Picard in 1893 during the events of the Next Generation time travel episode "Time's Arrow", but Matalas explained that these events do not happen during this season's altered timeline because the Federation does not exist. A long-time Next Generation fan, guest star Ito Aghayere revisited Goldberg's episodes and studied her mannerisms. She intended for her version to start as more aggressive and grow into Goldberg's calmer performance.[10]

With the season delving further into Picard's family, his mother Yvette appears several times via flashbacks. The character was portrayed as an old woman by Herta Ware in the Next Generation episode "Where No One Has Gone Before", but a younger version is portrayed by Madeline Wise in this season,[59] in which she is shown to have struggled with mental health issues and died by suicide when Picard was a child. Picard explains that he has been supressing this memory all of his life and Ware's older version of the character was a vision that he had imagined of his mother getting to live a long life.[3] James Callis, who had a recurring role in 12 Monkeys, appears as Picard's father Maurice (who was portrayed by Clive Church in The Next Generation).[14] A new member of the family, Renée Picard, plays a key role in the season's 2024 events, portrayed by Penelope Mitchell.[5]

When serving as an associate producer on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Kirk Thatcher briefly appeared in the film as the "Punk on the Bus". He reprises this role for another brief appearance in the second season of Picard, which was one of the first things that Matalas pitched for the season as a way to reference the film and acknowledge its influence on the season's story. Thatcher was excited to return to the role, which he said was what he was best known for, and he had suggestions for the character's appearance including a similar red mohawk as he had in the film.[13] April Grace, who previously portrayed Maggie Hubbell in episodes of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, portrays Admiral Sally Whitley in the season premiere,[12] while Jay Karnes plays FBI agent Martin Wells after previously portraying the time travelling Starfleet officer Ducane in Star Trek: Voyager.[15] Additionally, Sol Rodríguez has a recurring role as Teresa Ramirez, a doctor who treats those without identification or money and helps Rios;[9] Briones's father, Jon Jon Briones, portrays the Confederation Magistrate in the alternate timeline; Patton Oswalt voices a virtual cat named Spot 73;[57] Brian "Q" Quinn makes a cameo appearance as Dale, a character that he also appeared as in Matalas's previous series 12 Monkeys and MacGyver;[60] director Lea Thompson appears as Dr. Diane Werner, the chairman of a committee who remove Adam Soong's license to research and funding;[5] and Stewart's wife Sunny Ozell has a cameo appearance singing in a bar that Jurati goes to.[61]

Matalas said each season would be differentiated visually, and he wanted to return to the visual style of the Next Generation era while incorporating some elements from the Original Series-era films which were his personal favorites. He said new production designer Dave Blass was a long-time Star Trek fan who also wanted to return to that aesthetic,[25] and they both insisted on bringing back several creatives from earlier Star Trek series such as Michael and Denise Okuda, who designed the LCARS computer system for The Next Generation, long-time Star Trek concept designer and visual effects artists Doug Drexler, and frequent Star Trek starship designer John Eaves.[25][62] The design team included a lot of references to previous Star Trek projects, which Matalas said was partially "cheeky, nerdy fun", but also about honoring the history and legacy of the franchise.[25]

The existing Starfleet uniform designs from the first season were merged with those from the Original Series-era films,[63] with one of the actual uniforms used for Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) being used for reference.[64] Picard's Starfleet Academy assignment badge in the season was inspired by the badge worn by Admiral James T. Kirk in that film.[65]

The Borg Queen is intended to be a new character that has access to the same information as the previous Queens,[58] with a new design by creature designer Neville Page and prosthetics by Glenn Hetrick and Alchemy Studio that were applied by head of prosthetics James Mackinnon.[66][67] These consisted of a crown piece that Page sculpted digitally, based on scans of Wersching's head, which was 3D printed and had built-in lighting. 10 other silicon pieces were also used to cover Wersching's face, neck, and shoulders, with built-in magnets where the Queen needed to link to the metal hoses that connect her to the containment vessel she is in.[66] Page initially wanted to match the original Borg Queen silhouette of just a head and neck, but ended up giving the character shoulders and arms as well due to logisitical concerns. He approached the character as being an evolution of the prosthetics that were already used for Seven of Nine.[67] It initially took four hours to apply all of the prosthetics to Wersching for filming, but by the end of production the team had got this down to two-and-a-half hours.[68]

For Picard's home at Chateau Picard, the design team wanted to expand beyond the study set that was primarily seen in the first season,[69][70] introducing a library and a solarium, the latter being a special place for the young Picard and his mother.[71][72] Art director Joe Comeau described the chateau as "a kind of reflection of the psyche" of Picard,[71] and it is seen during three different time periods in the season: in 2401 at the beginning of the season, in 2024 for much of the season when it is abandoned, and in flashbacks to 2315 when young Picard and his family first move to the chateau.[73][74] Matalas and the designers wanted to bridge the look of the chateau from the first season with its depiction in the Next Generation episode "Family".[69][70] Establishing shots of the chateau in 2024 include two wings of the building that are not seen the first season or 2401 scenes in the second season which match the parts of the building seen in "Family", suggesting that they burned down during the fire that is mentioned in the film Star Trek Generations (1994).[75] Evidence of fire damage was also included in the 2401 solarium design,[76] while the general style of the 2315 sets were meant to align to the "Family" designs compared to the "tuscan look" of the first season and 2401 sets.[77] The design team originally intended for the 2024 sets to have more major damage, including a "busted ceiling", but some of those more expensive and time consuming set changes were ultimately cut back in favor of more set dressing such as cobwebs and general aging.[73]

A new starship, the USS Stargazer (NCC-82893), is introduced in the season. It is based on an earlier Stargazer (NCC-2893), the first starship that Picard captained, which was introduced in the Next Generation episode "The Battle".[78] Goldsman said they wanted to revisit the Stargazer as part of the season's theme of looking back at the past, with Picard having a deep emotional connection to the ship.[79] Blass explained that the registry for the new version was not "NCC-2893-A", following the pattern used for the USS Enterprise of denoting the version with a letter, because the Stargazer "does not hold the status in the Federation that the Enterprise had... the Stargazer didn't have that legacy." The set for the Stargazer's bridge is 10 feet (3.0 m) wider than the bridge set for the USS Enterprise-E in the Next Generation-era films to allow for multiple widescreen cameras to film inside the set at once, though it is not as wide as the bridge set of the USS Discovery from Star Trek: Discovery. For the fleet of starships that appear in the season premiere, Blass wanted to address fan criticisms regarding the fleet from the first season finale in which all of the ships looked very similar. Though he knew this was done due to practical limitations in modelling that many different ships, Blass looked for a viable solution for this season and contacted the creators of the Star Trek Online video game about using some of their starship models.[78] He specifically wanted to use the most popular ships from the game, as long as none of them had four nacelles like the Stargazer so it could stand out.[62] Star Trek Online designer and associate art director Thomas Marrone and his team provided their digital models of existing Next Generation-era ships (including the Akira-class from Star Trek: First Contact), their own original models of potential 25th-century ships, and some new models created specifically for the season.[78] Marrone updated the models with more detail to match the higher quality expected for a television series,[62] and the Picard visual effects team then used these models for the final sequence. This meant that fan-favorite starships from the game were now franchise canon (including the Ross-class exploration cruiser and the Reliant-class light cruiser) which Marrone said was a "dream come true". Blass praised the Star Trek Online design team as being "people who know how to design Star Trek ships and that [know] a Star Trek ship is not a Star Wars ship".[78]

The series received tax incentives to film in California and location filming for the second season took place around Los Angeles, including at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Wilshire Grand Center, MacArthur Park, and Fox Village Theater.

Filming was scheduled to begin in mid-June 2020,[29][30] but was delayed to January 2021 by the COVID-19 pandemic.[33][80] In December 2020, Ryan said filming would begin on February 1,[81] but on that date she revealed that it was delayed again.[82] Principal photography began on February 16,[34] in California where the series received tax incentives to continue filming after the first season.[22] Doug Aarniokoski directed the first two episodes,[83] with Crescenzo Notarile serving as cinematographer after doing so for the third season of Discovery.[84][85] Location filming took place later in February at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, to portray Starfleet Academy in the first episode and the Confederation Presidential Palace in the second.[86][87] SoFi Stadium in Inglewood was also used to depict part of Starfleet Academy in the premiere.[88] In April, de Lancie said scenes for the second and third seasons of Picard were being filmed simultaneously, and the production was following strict guidelines due to the pandemic, with cast and crew members being regularly tested.[89] The two seasons had one of the largest television series crews at the time with more than 450 crewmembers.[90]

Lea Thompson directed the third and fourth episodes,[91][92] including the sequence where the main cast travel back in time to 2024. This was not initially in the third episode's script when Thompson joined the series, but it was moved from the second episode to the third following rewrites.[84] Thompson noted that she has experience working with time travel stories after starring in the Back to the Future film trilogy, and also acknowledged that there were existing time travel sequences in Star Trek that they wanted to be consistent with. The crew still wanted to put their "own spin on what it would look like going back in time", and specific visuals that Thompson added to the sequence include falling sparks "suddenly rising off the ground", a tear on Jurati's cheek moving in reverse, and footage captured by moving a camera dolly forward while zooming out which was a technique popularized by Alfred Hitchcock.[93] Thompson spent a lot of time discussing how to light the set of La Sirena with Notarile due to its large size and the complex lighting needed for the time travel sequence, including flashing lights, sparks, strobes, and a representation of the ship flying close to the sun. They also had to light the set with the Borg Queen's "signature green hue" for the scene where Picard and Jurati attempt to extract information from the Borg Queen.[84] The Markridge Industrial Tower that Raffi and Seven visit in the third episode was filmed at the Wilshire Grand Center, the tallest building in Los Angeles. The name "Markridge" is a reference to 12 Monkeys.[94] While at the tower, Raffi detects an alien signal coming from MacArthur Park, which is where Picard's meeting with Tallinn in the fourth episode was filmed.[94][95]

Frequent Star Trek director Jonathan Frakes helmed the fifth and sixth episodes,[96] with filming on them beginning by the end of June 2021.[97] He did not discuss changing his directorial style for the season from his approach to the first season or other previous Star Trek media with Matalas and Goldsman, but they did talk about the intended change in tone for the season.[98] Frakes noted that there were several parallels between the episodes and the film Star Trek: First Contact, which he directed,[99] and also acknowledged the similar approach that Picard took to portraying 2024 compared to the Deep Space Nine two-part episode "Past Tense" which he directed half of. Elaborating on the latter, Frakes said both depictions had "a lot to do with immigration and the mistreatment of brown people... being set in 2024 serves as a cautionary tale to all of us."[96] Frakes was excited to be working with Stewart, Spiner, and de Lancie again after he starred with them on Next Generation,[98][99] particularly highlighting the scene where Soong and Q meet in a diner which Frakes praised for the two actors' performances, feeling that they "have gotten better with age. There is a real confidence in the way they embrace their characters."[99] For the scene where Q pretends to be Renée Picard's therapist, Frakes and de Lancie decided on set that the latter should use a Sigmund Freud-inspired Austrian accent. Frakes acknowledged that this was "a little on the nose" and something that Matalas and Goldsman had questioned, but they ultimately felt that it was fun for the scene.[98] The gala in these episodes was primarily filmed at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, with exteriors filmed at the Fox Theater in Westwood Village.[100]

Joe Menendez directed the seventh and eighth episodes,[15][101] and Michael Weaver directed the ninth and tenth.[102][103] Filming for the season ended on September 2, with production segueing fully into the third.[102]

Composer Jeff Russo said in December 2020 that he was beginning to think about the score for the season.[104] The season features an "up-tempo rearrangement" of the series' main theme.[105] In Thatcher's first appearance as the punk on the bus in The Voyage Home, the character listens to a punk rock song titled "I Hate You" that Thatcher wrote and performed with members of the film's crew. For this season, Thatcher wrote and performed a new song for the character to listen to, titled "I Still Hate You". The Voyage Home sound editors Mark Mangini and Aaron Glascock returned to record the new song, respectively performing guitar and drums.[13] For Ozell's cameo appearance, she and her band perform the song "Take You Down" from her album Overnight Lows. Episode director Joe Menendez chose the song, which Ozell called a "strong, sassy, bluesy powerful anthem".[61]

Russo had begun recording the season's score with an orchestra at the Sony Pictures Scoring Stage by December 2021, and completed recording for the season finale on January 12, 2022.[106][107] A soundtrack album was released digitally by Lakeshore Records on April 29, 2022, featuring Russo's score along with Alison Pill's version of "Shadows of the Night" from the episode "Two of One". All music by Jeff Russo except where noted:[108][109]

Whip Media, who track viewership data for the 19 million worldwide users of their TV Time app, ranked Picard in the top 10 original streaming series for U.S. viewership each week the season was released except for the week of the season premiere.[125] Parrot Analytics determines audience "demand expressions" based on various data sources, and the company calculated that Picard was the third-most in demand U.S. streaming series for March 2022. This was the first time a Paramount+ series appeared in the company's monthly rankings in nine months, and they said the series was 32 times more in demand than the average U.S. streaming series.[126][127]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% approval score with an average rating of 8.15/10 based on 71 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Picard gets some backup from franchise fan favorites in a sophomore season that charts a course towards recapturing more of the classical Star Trek spirit and makes it so."[128] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 69 out of 100 based on reviews from 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[129]