Star Trek: Patrick Stewart Was Shocked by Swear Words in Picard

Patrick Stewart returned to the Star Trek universe in Star Trek: Picard. While fans were happy to have their beloved Enterprise captain back, some were startled by the language in the series, beginning with the head of Starfleet cursing out Jean-Luc. Those fans aren’t alone. Stewart was also taken aback by the first curse word he came across while reading scripts, as he explains to TV Guide. “When I came across the first swear word in the first script, I can honestly tell you, I was deeply shocked. I grew up in a family where swearing was second nature. Every other word was a swear word, and yet when I read… it might have been the F-word that I read and I was shocked and unsettled by it. I think I did have a conversation with Michael [Chabon] about this use of language and how comfortable were we with it. It was something that had never been a part of previous Star Trek.”

While swearing is a part of Star Trek: Picard, Stewart says fans shouldn’t expect to hear such colorful language coming from the man himself. “I think that Picard had actually taken an active decision not to abuse language that would be unpleasant for people to hear whether it is abusive or offensive in some way, and he stuck to it,” Stewart says. “Even if he wanted to say, ‘Damn, blast,’ or whatever, he would, for the most part, manage to deny himself that pleasure.”

In another recent interview, Stewart said he expects to push the envelope even further in Picard‘s upcoming second season. “There was no socializing [between the actors] for the first five months — we were shooting,” Stewart said. “When we came to the end of the series, we had promotional activities to engage with, and we were traveling together on airplanes and got to know one another so much better. This is going to be a new element in Season Two, that there is a lot of mutual respect everywhere. If you know you can take risks, and there is a network around you that if you crash land, they will catch you, it’s a wonderful feeling. That’s how I feel now. I feel safe.”

How did you feel about the curse words in Star Trek: Picard? Let us know what you thought about it in the comments. Star Trek: Picard‘s first season is streaming now on CBS All Access.