Patrick Stewart Reveals His Three Conditions For Returning In Star Trek: Picard

It's no secret that Patrick Stewart took some convincing before he'd agree to return to the Star Trek franchise as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+. Alex Kurtzman and other producers had to pitch Stewart passionately and convincingly before Stewart became interested in a return as Picard in the Star Trek universe. Stewart eventually acquiesced, but he had three conditions on which his return was contingent (while Marina Sirtis only had one), conditions that, as an executive producer of Star Trek: Picard, he had some power to enforce himself. Stewart lays out those conditions in his new memoir, Making It So.

The first condition was that Star Trek: Picard would not be a Star Trek: The Next Generation revival and that his former co-stars would not be a focus of the show. The second involved Picard's relationship with Starfleet. The final condition concerned how long the series would run. Stewart writes:

"1. The series would not be based on a reunion of 'The Next Generation' characters. I wanted it to have little or nothing to do with them. This was not at all a mark of disrespect for my beloved fellow actors. Rather, I simply felt it was essential to place Picard in entirely new settings with entirely new characters. Perhaps Picard might encounter Riker or Dr. Crusher in the second season, but such encounters were not to be the series' raison d'être.

"2. Picard would no longer be serving in Starfleet, and he was not to wear any kind of uniform or badges. 3. The series would run for no more than three seasons. It was clear to me that the writing team was not entirely thrilled with these conditions, but basically, they were all agreed to. The no-uniform rule was the toughest one for them to stomach, for some reason, and more than once, I was asked to reconsider my hard line. I stuck to my guns."

Patrick Stewart's Star Trek: Picard Conditions

Paramount+ stuck to Stewart's final condition. Star Trek: Picard ended with its third season (though not the way Stewart had hoped), which doesn't mean that Stewart is done with Jean-Luc Picard, as he still hopes to play the role again in another Star Trek movie.

The second rule – the one about Starfleet and uniforms – was infringed upon somewhat, but the show kept to its spirit. Stewart did appear in a Starfleet uniform in Star Trek: Picard Season 1 for a scene that flashed back to his final day in Starfleet, and again, briefly, in Season 2 when he gave a speech to Starfleet Academy cadets. However, he and his crew acted independently from Starfleet in Season 1. Although he was reinstated as Chancellor of Starfleet Academy in Season 2, the time-jumping plot meant his relationship with Starfleet had little to do with the story. By Season 3, Picard had retired again. Though Picard did wear badges for communication throughout much of the series, the uniforms mostly stayed in storage.

That first rule was stuck to during most of the series. Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, and Marina Sirtis had guest roles in Star Trek: Picard's first season, with John de Lancie and Whoopi Goldberg then appearing in Season 2. However, Star Trek: Picard Season 3 was very much the Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion that Stewart hoped to avoid when he signed up for the series. He explains how that happened in Making It So:

"For Season Three, our last, Terry Matalas, by then 'Picard's' showrunner, told me that the studio wanted a full 'Next Generation' reunion. Ugh, just what I had firmly said I didn't want. But that had been three years ago. Now I was less resistant, having enjoyed working with Jonathan, Brent, Marina, John, and Whoopi. As an executive producer, I had a say in how we might go about achieving such a reunion. I told Terry, 'I like the idea, provided that we don't bring them all back at once. Let's trickle them back in."

Stewart had his way there. Star Trek: Picard begins with Frakes' Will Riker again joining his old captain, Stewart's Picard, as they gently hijack the USS Titan-A to respond to a distress call from Dr. Beverley Crusher, played by Gates McFadden. More of the Enterprise's bridge gradually join the cast, but the whole group isn't back together – and back aboard the Enterprise – until the final act.

Star Trek: Picard is streaming in its entirety on Paramount+. Star Trek: Picard – The Final Season is now on Blu-ray and DVD, joining Star Trek: Picard – Season One and Star Trek: Picard – Season Two. All three seasons are available in a single Star Trek: Picard – The Complete Series box set and Star Trek: Picard The Legacy Collection – which will include all seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard, as well as all four Star Trek: The Next Generation movies – is set for release in November.