Alex Kurtzman, who is the overseer of the expanding CBS Trek on TV franchise, spoke with Entertainment Weekly today about the still-untitled Picard series and revealed some key details.

Picard show will be different from Discovery

In the past, the producers behind the expanding Star Trek television universe have told us that each of the shows will have its “own voice” and “tonal vision.” In the new interview with EW, Alex Kurtzman gets into more detail on what that means for the Picard show in particular:

“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.”

EW also quotes Kurtzman giving a bit more detail in contrasting the new Picard show with the second season of Discovery, saying:

“‘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.”

Writers have been busy

In August when the show was first announced, details were still being worked out and no scripts had yet been written. The writers’ room first assembled in September, but they have apparently been very busy. Kurtzman told EW:

“The writers’ room has broken about eight episodes and we’re moving quickly, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.”

There is no word yet on how many episodes will be in the first season of the ongoing series, but Kurtzman’s comment implies more than eight. Production on the first season is set to start in April of 2019. The show will be produced in California and not in Canada like Star Trek: Discovery.

Answers questions about Picard’s last 20 Years

When the show was first announced at Star Trek Las Vegas, Sir Patrick Stewart revealed it would take place 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, putting the show in the year 2399. He also noted that Picard “may be a very different individual” who has been “changed by his experiences” over those twenty years. In the new interview with EW, Kurtzman discussed how the new show will reveal what Picard had been up to during that period, saying:

“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.”

Stay up to date on all the Picard show news here at TrekMovie.com.