There are several good reasons why fans couldn't get enough of Star Trek: Picard. The new CBS All Access series focuses on Jean-Luc Picard and follows his life after he decided to leave Starfleet. In addition to bringing back Patrick Stewart to play the former Enterprise captain, the show also features Star Trek: The Next Generation actors Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan, Jonathan Del Arco, and Marina Sirtis. However, Frakes has revealed that Will Riker was not supposed to return in the new series.
The first season of Star Trek: Picard has already explored Jean-Luc Picard's life after he left Starfleet following the destruction of the planet Romulus as well as the android Data being destroyed. Needless to say, the former captain of the Enterprise is already trying to move on with his life when he is approached by a woman named Dahj who is somehow being hunted by Romulan assassins. This leads to Picard learning that Dahj is actually a synthetic being created from Data's parts and that she has a twin sister named Soji Asha.
Not surprisingly, Picard's return leads to other Star Trek: The Next Generation characters being brought back in the series. For instance, Brent Spiner's Data shows up in the premiere episode of Star Trek: Picard. In addition to that, the latest episode titled 'Stardust City Rag' focuses on Seven of Nine, who is played by Jeri Ryan. While all of these cameos are welcome ones, some of them happened at the last minute. Amazingly, Jonathan Frakes confirmed that Will Riker's comeback was not part of the plans in the original scripts.
Jonathan Frakes, who directed Star Trek: Picard Episode 4 and 5, recently spoke to IGN where he admitted that he was allowed to see the first scripts for the series. Interestingly, Frakes stated that "the series was broken," explaining that "the first 10 episodes were broken in terms of story" and that "there was no Riker" in the screenplay. However, the writers continued to work on the second half of the first season and "found a way to include" Will Riker.
This is welcome news indeed, especially for Jonathan Frakes, who was already aware that his other Star Trek: The Next Generation castmates will be brought back in the new series. Needless to say, he was happy to not just direct two episodes of Star Trek: Picard but to reprise his role as Will Riker.
The first season of Star Trek: Picard airs on CBS All Access every Thursday nights.
