The Final Season Of ‘Picard’ Is Going To Bring (Most Of) The Old Gang Back Together

When it’s over, Star Trek: Picard will only have run three seasons. But in that time it took its time doing something big: bringing the old gang back together. What started out as a simple solo spinoff for Patrick Stewart’s weathered captain gradually added more and more cast members from the original Star Trek: The Next Generation. But when it’s over pretty much everyone (although not everyone) will be back.

As per Deadline, Paramount+ revealed the news on Tuesday: LeVar Burton and Michael Dorn will belatedly join the rest of the USS Enterprise’s TNG-era main crew for its third and last season. When and how they appear, they’ll board a show that’s already welcomed back, at various intervals, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and Brent Spiner, all dusting off characters they made popular starting in 1987.

Tuesday was a big day in the Trek-verse: April 5 is First Contact Day, aka the day, on April 5, 2063, when humans first meet the Vulcans — a pivotal day in sci-fi lore.

While Burton had yet to swing by the revamped future of Picard, he had a good excuse: He was busy. Following the death of Alex Trebek in late 2020, he became one of a number of the potential replacements to host Jeopardy! He was popular, too, and when the job went to the ill-fated Mike Richards, then split between Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings, he peaced out, soon finding his own gig. Now this. It’s a good time to be fan of the Reading Rainbow vet.