‘Star Trek: Picard’ Cast And Crew Share Behind-The-Scenes Fun From SDCC19

| July 25, 2019 | By: Christine Rideout 70 comments so far

There was a lot of Star Trek news coming out of San Diego Comic-Con, but the biggest news was lifting the veil off of Star Trek: Picard, with a star-studded panel headed by Sir Patrick Stewart and the release of a trailer and images from the show. Over the weekend and this week, there have been some reactions to the news from well-known Trek luminaries along with panelists sharing more behind-the-scenes moments from SDCC. We have curated some of the highlights.

Cast reads fan tweets

Members of the cast gathered after the Star Trek Universe panel to read fan tweets for a CBS video released yesterday.

And today they posted more with the cast talking about what it’s like to be part of Picard.

Ryan confirms she is in multiple episodes

Jeri Ryan posted the fan reaction video to her Instagram yesterday, and when a fan commented he thought she was only in one episode, she replied he was wrong.

 

Frakes and Sirtis celebrate the return of Riker and Troi

One of the reveals from the SDCC Picard panel was that both Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker) and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) will appear in Star Trek: Picard. Both took to social media to celebrate with fans.

Behind the scenes with Sir Pat

Patrick Stewart shared behind the scenes videos of his visit to San Diego Comic-Con both before and after the event.

More Ryan and Spiner share their SDCC shenanigans

Brent Spiner and Jeri Ryan surprised the SDCC crowd by showing up in the Picard trailer and on the panel. The pair have also shared their appreciation about being part of the show and some behind-the-scenes shots on social media.

Spinning Picard

Amazon (who will stream Picard outside the USA and Canada) also shared fun videos with the cast.

View this post on Instagram

The journey is far from over. 🖖

A post shared by Prime Video UK (@primevideouk) on

View this post on Instagram

Seven of Nine, Hugh and Elnor 💫

A post shared by Prime Video UK (@primevideouk) on

View this post on Instagram

Welcome to the #StarTrekPicard family 🌟

A post shared by Prime Video UK (@primevideouk) on

Behind the scenes with the new cast

CBS released a brief video with the new cast talking about their experience on Picard and at Comic-Con.

They also talked about what it is like to work with showrunner Michael Chabon.

Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker) shared some fun behind-the-scenes photos of the Picard cast at SDCC, often expressing her love for her castmates.

Santiago Cabrera (Chris Rios) chimed in.

Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati) shared another shot of the new cast for the show backstage at SDCC.

View this post on Instagram

@comic_con crew. #sdcc @startrek

A post shared by Alison Pill (@msalisonpill) on

Isa Briones (Dahj) posted a picture of herself on stage, noting that she never stopped smiling all day.

Picard crew

Some members of the Picard team shared bits on social media as well, starting with showrunner Michael Chabon, who showed off his TNG LCARS design for his Apple Watch ahead of the panel.

View this post on Instagram

Almost time for the #startrekpicard panel! #sdcc #hallh

A post shared by Michael Chabon (@michael.chabon) on

And this week, Discovery composer Jeff Russo revealed how thrilled he is to be scoring Picard as well.

Creature/Alien designer Neville Page revealed that he is involved in Picard, expressing how fun it was to work on Seven.

Trek Celebs

A few Star Trek celebrities added their voices to the excitement over the new show.

Notable Treksperts weigh in

Also responding to all the Trek news were some well-known figures in Star Trek including writer Dayton Ward and Larry “Dr. Trek” Nemecek.

More SDCC 2019

Check out the rest of our San Diego Comic-Con 2019 coverage, and stay tuned to TrekMovie for even more.

Keep up with all the news on the Picard show here at TrekMovie.com.

SHARE TWEET PIN SHARE

Related Articles

70 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Yeah, Star Trek is making a HUGE splash in 2020 with likely 3 series running next year as well as the Short Treks likely starting this year. Very excited.

If only Paramount would stop with garbage like Transformers and Dora the Explorer, we might have had a Star Trek movie by now. I don’t care what timeline it is, Trek movies shouldn’t die out just because Paramount doesn’t understand why a film they barely advertised didn’t do as well as they thought it should.

Have you seen Dora yet?

I’m very OK with Trek living solely on my TV screen.

I’m cool with it too.

I agree with Kurtzman on this one. With the Vfx possible in streaming, and the quality of modern television, there is a serious question of what can a cinematic feature really do.

The franchise is growing in new directions on television. No need to have some unrelated movie confuse the brand.

Me too! I’ve always said that Star Trek works much better as a TV show rather than a film series.

I do enjoy the features but yes… Discovery not withstanding, Trek does work better as a TV show rather than a movie.

Hey! Don’t know Dora the Explorer. For all you know she’s Dora exploring the Gamm Quadrant

I DO CARE WHAT TIME LINE IT IS.I WANT THE TIME LINE THAT GENE RODDENBERRY STARTED IF YOU DO NOT LIKE IT START YOUR OWN FRANCHISE.

The new “Golden age” of Trek :)

It could be. But for now let’s maybe go with Silver Age, just to be safe. :)

Agree about this period being called Star Trek Silver Age.

Come on Amazon in the UK (and CBS)…. and for everyone else outside the USA… give us all access to all the clips!
Why the regional ban when we will get the series the next day anyway!
It will save us time searching about on Youtube to find them.. which we can anyway!!

Jeff Russo scoring Picard is a bit fo disappointment. Two seasons of Discovery and nothing really stands out.

Really, right? It’s bad enough they have ONE composer for an entire show, and now it’s even two that are meant to be “vastly different”! You don’t achieve that by sharing key behind the scenes people (those blocky Star Warsesque Romulan ships look like another Eaves job, too). Seems like a cost saving measure more than anything else, it’s not like there are no qualified composers for Trek out there. This is certainly one area of regression since early TNG. Bring back Ron Jones!

I was curious what someone like Ramin Djawadi (Game Of Thrones) or Bear McCreary (The new BSG) could have done with scoring Star Trek. I agree, I was also not too fond of Russo’s music in Discovery. He reminds me a bit of Dennis McCarthy, always doing the same melodies again and again without much variation.

Season 2 was a huge step above season 1 and season 1 was good. His themes have more emotion to them in my opinion but to each their own.

This show needs more people of color.

They were going for realism rather than propaganda. Chapeau, Chabon! Don’t follow the lemmings off the cliff, do what you think is right for this show.

There are plenty, stop your trolling.

Funny how both A34 and VS are wrong in their statements here.

Yep. Funny how the internet works that way.

So you guys don’t agree that the Picard cast is perfectly alright as it is and just reflects divurrrsity in a more subtle, lets say, less “black and white” manner? ;)

I agree nobody should follow you off a cliff.

How am I wrong? Just look at the cast. When you’re a person of color you notice these things.

Good to see Jeri Ryan “getting the last laugh” after the unnecessarily unwelcome treatment she received got from Mulgrew on Voyager.

Karma has a funny way of paying back.

Mulgrew has been spending her time on “Orange is the New Black,” a show with far more critical cachet than Trek at present. Somehow, I think she’s doing just fine.

LOL Sure, let’s go with that.

With this being OITNB’s final season, I’m looking forward to Janeway in Season 2!

I sure she could do two shows at the same time.

No, they won’t want to mess with Jerry Ryan by doing that. We’ve seen the last of Janeway.

Wow great article TM! You really captured the spirit and fun the Picard cast seem to have had at CC. Its just really exciting with so much build up with this show and to finally see where they are going with it was well worth the wait! I love the cast reading the tweets of long time fans reaction to the trailer. When Spiner read his I couldn’t stop laughing. I could’ve written those, it really reminded me why I’m such a fan of this amazing franchise in the first place. TNG and Trek in general has given much so to fans over the decades and why it continues to LLAP.

I’m really excited for all of it next year (yes, even Discovery ;)) but its clear the Picard show is going to be the one that will reignite fandom. I have not seen so much positivity over Trek in years! I don’t expect it to stay this way lol, but for now it feels really nice and a lot of fun to talk about. If the first season does turn out to be a huge hit critically and viewer wise (this certainly won’t be an issue now) it will open up so many possibilities for future seasons. I can’t wait to see who else shows up and how the 24th/25th century will be shaped going forward.

P.S. Love Michael Chabon’s watch! This guy does seem to really love Star Trek. I hope he really does make Picard a return to Trek many people loved and missed.

It’s not that difficult to make Picard a success with both fandom and the wider public. Stay out of Discovery style controversy and division, provide something meaningful and unifying that we can ALL get behind. TNG set a high mark for this and I hope Picard follows suit :)

Yeah this show can be a huge success and much bigger than Discovery since its going forward again after nearly 20 years and with a few iconic characters to boot in the first season. I’m happy this won’t be a TNG sequel per se but more a sequel to the era in general which Patrick Stewart himself implied. It opens the door for any past story lines and characters out there, but it all just revolves around Picard.

I think it’s very smart to make this a 24th century Trek sequel rather than specifically TNG 2.0 in that sense, in that they can appeal to all the fan groups at once which back in the time were NOT always on the same page: TNG fans of course (and most fans who were not TOS purists liked it), Niners, Voyager fans. It can be a big reunion that helps us to forget the “swan song” atrocity that was “These are the Voyagers” ;)

I wonder who could they bring in from DS9? Anyone volunteered already? Certainly not Avery Brooks :p

From DS9 I could see Miles O’brien appearing or Bashir. It is obvious from the tweet above that Nicole De Boer also wants to appear. I wonder if they would want to show the Ferengi? How would they even upgrade their makeup?

I suspect someone from DS9 will be brought in eventually, just probably next season. We DO have to remember this season only has 10 episodes and they have accommodate all the new characters with the old, so they are probably bringing in characters that align closely with Borg story lines like obviously Seven and Hugh. No one on DS9 even came across the Borg except for Sisko and as you alluded to, both the character and actor seems unavailable. ;)

I can’t remember who I had this argument with here a few months back, but it was in another Picard thread with another long time poster who said the Picard show would never focus on stories or characters from Voyager and DS9 because they weren’t as popular as TNG and TOS which I thought was a pretty absurd statement at the time because its ALL canon, fans still watch all the shows loyally even though they all been off the air for decades and most of those characters are just as iconic and popular in the fanbase (as the fan orgasm with Seven’s appearance in Picard is proving) so OF COURSE you are going to show them if you can. I mean if anything, you bring those guys in so people who might be watching Star Trek for the first time through Picard can now get interested in not just TNG down the line, but VOY and DS9 as well. That’s just smart business.

But obviously this is really done for old fans because so many of these story lines have crossed into other shows and films as the Borg threat has, so fans want to see those connections. What’s even more funny is he said that we shouldn’t even see the Borg at all anymore when I was 100% positive we were going to see them again pretty soon and even for me this is sooner than I thought lol.

But its been obvious for a LOOOOONG time now they wanted to bring the Borg back and my guess is would’ve had them on Discovery if they could’ve done it without fans complaining about it. But this is why prequels SUCK…and apparently for them. They couldn’t wait to hop on the Borg train literally the minute they could use them again lol.

But they are playing it right. The 24th century is not just TNG like the way the 23rd century was about the TOS for 50 years. It represents a multitude of characters and shows that built up 21 seasons of mythology into it and countless crossovers with all the various story lines, species and groups.

I suspect we will always have more TNG characters around but with the inclusion of Seven and Stewart saying we will see more non TNG characters (maybe even this season) they realize this show could be an appeal for the fans who looks at Star Trek like fans of MCU do and sees at it as one big entity and not just a line of separate shows and films in the franchise. In all reality Star Trek has been doing a shared universe for 40+ years before MCU made it cool. And it was smart to anchor with one of the most iconic characters to lead it and represents the 24th era of Star Trek.

It is weird though its called Picard after seeing how big the story will be but I guess he pushes the entire story and a big catalyst for what’s to come. Get here already 2020!!!!!

Bringing Picard and Seven together, the two former Borg drones, in a Borg storyline is a stroke of genius that should’ve been done way earlier! Imagine what Nemesis could have been if it was a true sequel to FC and featured Seven in a major way vis à vis Picard (Jeri Ryan only declined Nemesis because obviously her role in there was going to be minor and completely gratuitous). Following up the major and only TNG movie success with the bore Insurrection and the atrocity of Nemesis always seemed like a head-scratcher. Ah, the roads not taken!

VS… According to the people involved, Ryan’s potential Nemesis involvement was merely a back up plan in the event they could not get McFadden and/or Sirtis under contract for the movie. Ryan claimed she declined mainly because she did not want to get involved in such a thing as well as the idea that she would have felt out of place with the rest of that cast.

Tiger2, if the plan is that the show will be anchored from Picard’s point-of-view and his personal journey, I’m glad that they’ve chosen the title Picard.

That way, we as fans will understand and accept that this show is built around a principal character rather than a ship, station or bridge crew.

Having a strict idea (and perhaps contract) that Discovery is built around Burnham and she always has to have the most scenes and lines has been very hard for many of us to accept after the 90s series where every principal cast member got to star in a couple of episodes per season.

It sounds like Picard will not be creating expectations for an ensemble that won’t be met.

“Having a strict idea (and perhaps contract) that Discovery is built around Burnham and she always has to have the most scenes and lines has been very hard for many of us to accept after the 90s series where every principal cast member got to star in a couple of episodes per season.”

My thoughts! They should have called it” The Burnham Chronicles” and called it a day. That explains why even the time period doesn’t matter – we will follow her wherever anx whenever she goes. Btw, Gene Roddenberry made it clear in the 1986 writers bible that TNG and in fact, Star Trek, should not be about a singular hero or heroine, so in a way both shows are violating that principle. Still Picard will be more interesting simply because it’s centered around such a well established and complex character where we can buy why he would have had major ezperience and authority (as the former captain of the flagship). Ironically, Picard seems to contrast that by showing him as underdog without his former resources, so its kind of rhe opposite of Discovery and its Burnham magic, much more credible.

Hopeful the catsuit has been retired….unless Data is wearing it.

She’s just wearing regular clothes in the trailer. I have a feeling thats the only thing she will be in.

I regret they aren’t trying to be a bit more enterprising (tee hee!) with the clothing anymore, trying to project a potential future and not just reflecting hip contemporary standards (how that ends up: see Wesley’s baggy sweaters) Sure this risks making the show look ridiculous rather than dated in a few decades, but really it’s all a completely hypothetical future anyway and not going to happen, so they might as well take a stab at showing some futuristic clothing. Picards venture beyond the world of the Starfleet uniform would be an ideal occasion. They use 3d printing now for uniforms and Klingons costumes, why not for some everyday attire of the late 24th century?

This is so heartwarming. I have missed them so much.
It is good to see them back on Trek together

Must have a crossover movie with Discovery, Pike, Picard, Section 31, and Lower Decks!!

I remember reading every word that was released in the press in the year leading up to STD. I delighted in SGM’s statements about how STD would strongly continue on Star Trek’s optimistic and hopeful vision of humanity and tolerance. I posted on FB and told anyone who would listen that something wonderful was coming. And my heart was broken.
In one TOS episode, Scotty says the quote “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.”
Although my favorite character in the franchise is Kirk, I believe that the one character who embodies Roddenberry’s hopeful vision more than any other is Picard.
I am not being a naysayer. I find myself excited and hopeful about this show. And I do understand this will be darker than TNG, and I can handle that. But in my opinion, not shared by everyone but by many, is that STD is really a product of today’s dystopian sci-fi era and the dark times we live in, and it is Star Trek in name only. I hope that the Picard show retains Trek’s optimistic soul. If all of this turns out to be empty words like those that preceded STD, I won’t be shocked this time, just very disappointed.
I would love to feel a sense of relief that Picard is still Star Trek.

I find different parallels between Picard and STD. Leading up to the release of STD they pumped out a lot of videos and pictures of extremely happy actors being best friends with each other, quirky and fun, intermixed with homages to honoring the Gene Roddenberry’s vision. But when it arrived on screen…..
It just feels fake. I can’t believe these actors are suddenly best friends and just like family…it took YEARS for that to happen with TNG and it NEVER happened with TOS. Referring also to the interviews where some of the new actors were in “awe” of Patrick Steward and “almost crying” when Patrick and Johnathan Frakes were re-united…I mean, really? Half those actors/actresses weren’t born when Picard and Frakes were on the bridge of the Enterprise…
CBS just needs to focus on writing and producing a tight coherent story and enough with the schlock.

Hate to be cynical, but I got the same feeling. Great if true, but I have a hard time buying it too. Guess we won’t know the truth until they write tell-all bios (or, hopefully, not).

These “make believe” stories are a result of the social media age. Everything must be heart-warming and beautiful, can’t have any potentially “toxic” truth on there! That said, the cast looks much more promising to me than Discovery’s plus the writing team is different, so for now I’d give them the benefit of doubt!

I hope you’re right. I want to Star Trek to be at least as enjoyable as Expanse and Orville… something in between. Serious & sicentific like Expanse and not too dark and dour like Orville. But so far, it looks like Clutzman is using the same playbook of pouring emotional and feelings over an incoherent story. The first bit of dialogue in the trailer “have you ever felt a stranger to yourself” oh….lord…. the old Picard would roll his eyes at that one, but I guess modern Picard needs to be in touch with his feelings and be suffering from some sort of emotional crisis.

Sean, I get that you have a view, but I really have to take exception to playground namecalling.

The name is Kurtzman.

And whatever points of agreement we may have about Discovery leaning too hard into melodrama, you lose me completely with your disrespect.

Oh c’mon, that’s not fair… it took me 2 1/2 mins to come up with that one! And no, I didn’t steal it from Redlettermedia, it was original content!

Personally, I have no problem with Picard suffering from some sort of crisis. If he didn’t we would be relying on the sci-fi story element alone to carry the show and we wouldn’t care about the main character. It would be TNG all over again. And everyone involved said they didn’t want that. And I agree.

I understand the point and I can see the merit in approaching the character from a different place, but in the context of the entertainment industry splashing emotion over everything I had personally hoped that Picard would literally rise above it

The thing that I find curious is that while it seems to be well known that the TNG cast seemed to have bonded together like no other, even from the shows that came after them, that none of that camaraderie was transmitted on screen. Every other series the characters on screen felt more like they had a certain vibe that TNG lacked. And yet those shows, of camera, the casts were not as close. (save for Shatner and Nimoy who did forge a friendship). Then look at all the apparent camaraderie among the Discovery cast and THAT doesn’t translate on screen at all either. Makes one wonder how important it is for the shows that the cast get along swimmingly. It really looks like it’s not important at all.

“I would love to feel a sense of relief that Picard is still Star Trek.”

While I DO consider Discovery Star Trek as the other shows, it is missing something the others had: a sense of fun, family, optimism and adventure, especially lacking in season one. They brought those elements in more with season 2 but it still felt a bit cold compared to stuff like TOS, TNG, VOY and even DS9.

So yes, while I know Picard won’t be TNG obviously, I’m hoping it will feel more like Star Trek again out the gate and where I hope Discovery gets to by next season.

I realize it’s a cliche to say this, but Jeri Ryan really does look amazing — she hardly seems (as compared to Stewart and Spiner) to have aged at all.

I thought that too! Those nanoprobes do wonders ;)

Same with del Arco. She’s 51. He’s 53.

51! Most of us want to look like this at 31 ;)

Ryan is 51.
This is Stewart at 51 in 1991. Looks good! https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=patrick+stewart+1991&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNrevYoNjjAhXkShUIHXkaBlwQ_AUIESgB&biw=1280&bih=606#imgrc=Ugg1xvlJbETzwM:
Spiner aged a bit more by 50 but not badly.

See, I love the genuine reactions from both the older and newer cast members here. It is apparent that they are enjoying the work and the reaction they are getting. The older guys especially look like they are having tons of fun being back together. Their enjoyment is infectious.

Haha it looked like they wheeled on Spiner at the last minute because the test screenings were a disaster according to leaked reports last month. The interview where he was perched at the back, looking slightly bemused and bored, eating crisps and with not a lot to say kind of confirmed this. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make him a re-occuring cast member in Season 2 a-la Neo-Spock.

So true! I can only imagine what it was like with Stewart, Spiner and Frakes possibly all on the same set (when he was directing). I can’t imagine they got through the day without a ton of laughs and talking about the old days. Its still crazy any of this is even happening lol.

I am most excited to see Sir Patrick Stewart of course, but I am also thrilled for Jeri Ryan. I hope she has a much more positive experience with this crew than she did with Kate Mulgrew. I am very excited to see her again … even without the “catsuit” ;-)

Let’s face it, Jonathan del Arco has won the equivelant of the lottery, not really any major acting credits but gets called up to star in a primetime show he was in nearly 30 years ago as a guest. I don’t think even he can believe it!

He was in the Closer and Major Crimes for years

Erm, type his name in Google and he’s all over it. I think this qualifies as: He’s made it!

Very exciting!