Picard series will be ‘extremely different,’ Alex Kurtzman says
The upcoming Star Trek series centered on Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) will strike a much different tone than other entries in the series, both past and present. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, veteran Trek producer Alex Kurtzman says the new entry will be “different.”
“It’s an extremely different rhythm than Discovery. Discovery is a bullet. Picard is a very contemplative show. It will find a balance between the speed of Discovery and the nature of what Next Gen was, but I believe it will have its own rhythm,” Kurtzman explained.
Kurtzman, who produced the J.J. Abrams-led Star Trek big-screen revival, and serves as a producer on CBS All Access‘ Star Trek: Discovery, believes there is enough diversity in the types of stories they can tell that will allow the Picard series to stand on its own, while still being a relatable part of Trek’s larger world.
RELATED: Picard Star Trek Series Set to Debut at the End of 2019
“Without revealing too much about it, people have so many questions about Picard and what happened to him, and the idea we get to take time to answer those questions in the wake of the many, many things he’s had to deal with in Next Gen is really exciting. ‘More grounded’ is not the right way to put it, because season 2 of Discovery is also grounded. It will feel more… real-world? If that’s the right way to put it,” added Kurtzman.
Kurtzman will executive produce the new series alongside newly-appointed Discovery executive producer James Duff, former Discovery executive producer Akiva Goldsman (The Dark Tower), Michael Chabon (Spider-Man 2) and Star Trek: Voyager and Discovery writer Kirsten Beyer. Also executive producing are Heather Kadin of Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment President Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and Roddenberry Entertainment COO Trevor Roth.
RELATED: Alex Kurtzman to Develop More Star Trek TV Shows with CBS
Beginning in 1987, Patrick Stewart led the Star Trek: The Next Generation series for seven seasons before transitioning to movies movies with Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) as well as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s pilot “Emissary.” He also portrays Dr. Charles Xavier (a.k.a. Professor X) in the X-Men franchise.
In June CBS Television Productions announced a new overall deal with Kurtzman, extending his agreement with the studio to five years. As part of the new production deal, Kurtzman will supervise the expansion of CBS’ Star Trek franchise for television, developing new series, mini-series and other content opportunities, including animation.
The new Picard-centric Star Trek series is expected to debut on CBS All Access sometime in 2019.
