Star Trek: Picard–Go behind the scenes with the cast in new hardcover book

Now that the series has wrapped, a new hardcover book from Titan is taking a look at the long-awaited return of Patrick Stewart as beloved Star Trek Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Via a series of interviews with cast members and key crew, Star Trek: Picard–The Official Collector’s Edition provides fans of the CBS All Access streaming service show Star Trek: Picard with insight into the latest generation of Starfleet tales. Now a retired admiral, Picard sets off on what might be a lost cause, protecting a young woman who may have ties to Data, the android who gave his life to save Picard the last time we saw the characters on the big screen in 2002’s Star Trek Nemesis.

Written by Ian Spelling and Jay Stobie, this review of the production allows readers to watch the story take hold from its inception as an offer to Stewart through the writers room and post-production told from interviews with Stewart, Brent Spiner (Data), Jonathan Frakes (Riker), Marina Sirtis (Troi), Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh), and Jeri Ryan (Seven), plus new cast Isa Briones (Dahj/Soji), Michelle Hurd (Raffi), Harry Treadway (Narek), Alison Pill (Dr. Jurati), Santiago Cabrera (Rios), and Evan Evagora (Elnor). The book also includes sections focused on showrunners Alex Kurtzman, Michael Chabon, and director Hanelle Culpepper.

High points include Santiago Cabrera recounting his thoughts on playing multiple versions of his character via holographic characters, and director Hanelle Culpepper discusses the efforts of the production team to one-up the creators of the earlier Star Trek series in their designs. The book is more fanzine and souvenir than a look at the challenges of production or look at the artwork, designs, or stage, costumes, and prop prep work for the series. There are several references to discussions by the actors about appearing at San Diego Comic-Con, and working with others actors in past productions. The oddest factor is realizing a few key cast members weren’t born when Picard first stepped aboard the Enterprise-D. Readers will not find spoilers here–the book assumes readers haven’t seen the show yet.

Here is a look inside Star Trek: Picard–The Official Collector’s Edition: