San Diego Comic-Con: Here’s what we learned about Star Trek: Picard on day one

Ahead of the Star Trek panel on Saturday, new details have emerged about the new Picard series, which sees Patrick Stewart returning to the role.

With San Diego Comic-Con already in full swing, this weekend is set to be a goldmine of new information about all three of Star Trek‘s TV series: Discovery, Lower Decks, and of course, Picard. While the Star Trek panel isn’t until Saturday, there’s already tons of information about Picard being released.

So, in preparation for Hall H, here’s everything we know so far about Star Trek‘s newest series.

It takes place 20 years after TNG.

Continuing the story of one of the most beloved characters in all of Star Trek, Picard chronicles the life of Jean-Luc Picard 20 years after the finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation. For those of you keeping count, that means that Picard will be the show set farthest in the Star Trek universe’s future, surpassing both Deep Space Nine and Voyager.

Aside from semantics, however, this 20-year time jump also signifies big changes when it comes to Picard’s character. While many may remember Picard as a diplomatic and steadfast man with a strict moral code, showrunners have hinted that the Picard we meet 20 years later is a very different person.

The creative team is full of old and new faces.

Author Michael Chabon will serve as the series’ showrunner, and the pilot is set to be directed by Hanelle Culpepper (which, by the way, will make her the first-ever female director of a Star Trek pilot). Though not every episode’s director has been announced so far, we do know that Jonathan Frakes, who you may know better as Commander Will Riker on TNG, will be directing at least two episodes.

Producer Alex Kurtzman has also confirmed that it’s not entirely out of the question for some familiar faces from The Next Generation to make appearances, should it meld well with the plot of the series, of course.

It airs on CBS All Access.

Much like its sister show Star Trek: Discovery, Picard will air exclusively on CBS All Access, an online paid streaming platform. The two shows also share another commonality as well: They’re both Syndicated, which means that as opposed to the episode-by-episode format that The Next Generation used, there will be a story arc that continues throughout the season.

The cast is made almost entirely of new characters.

While it may center around a familiar protagonist, the ensemble of Picard features characters not yet introduced into the Star Trek universe. The cast is set to include Michelle Hurd, Alison Pill, Santiago Cabrera, Harry Treadaway, Isa Briones, and Evan Evagro. But there’s one other (non-human) cast member that everybody’s talking about, Picard’s adorable new pooch named Number One.

We’re crossing our fingers for a full trailer, but sadly, we’ll have to wait until later this year for the full series to drop.

Are you excited to get more news about Star Trek’s upcoming television series? Tell us in the comments.