The cast of Star Trek: Picard beamed down an awesome surprise at this year's New York Comic Con: a new trailer! Stars Sir Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Harry Treadaway, and Evan Evagora assembled at Madison Square Garden on Saturday to offer up an exclusive new look at the forthcoming CBS All Access series, along with an official premiere date. Mark your calendars: Star Trek Picard arrives Jan. 23, 2020.

The thrilling sneak peek offered up several surprises for hardcore Trekkies, including Jonathan Frakes reprising his role as William Riker, along with never-before-seen footage of Brent Spiner as Data and Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine.

Set about 20 years after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation, this newest addition to the franchise will boldly go where previous iterations haven't and present a very different Picard, deeply affected by an unknown event that radically altered his life. A new Star Trek: Short Trek will serve as a teaser to the upcoming series, providing a backstory about what Picard has been up to in the 15 years since he left Starfleet.

"Tonally, it's a little bit of a hybrid," Akiva Goldman, an executive producer on the series, said of the new show. "It's slower, more gentle, more lyrical, more character-based."

Although Picard won't serve up exactly what you remember about The Next Generation captain, the series will tap into that familiar hope for a better future that has become emblematic of the Star Trek franchise. "He's still standing up for what matters," said fellow executive producer Alex Kurtzman. "He's still standing up for what he believes. Age hasn't changed his resolve. Picard has to soul-search."

Everything We Know About Star Trek: Picard

Previously, Kurtzman said of the series, "Patrick was very clear to us in the beginning. He did not want to repeat what he had already done. And by the way, it's been 20-plus years, so he couldn't possibly be that same person anymore. And so the question becomes: What has happened to him in that period of time? Have there been occurrences that force him to reckon with choices that he's made in his life? How do you hold on to being the person everybody loved when the circumstances around you may have changed so radically? Those are the big questions that we're asking."

Star Trek: Picard is expected to debut on CBS All Access in early 2020. (Don't have an account? Subscribe to CBS All Access here.)

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Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes, Star Trek: Picard Photo: CBS

Patrick Stewart and Michelle Hurd, Star Trek: Picard Photo: Trae Patton, CBS

Evan Evagora and Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: Picard Photo: CBS

Evan Evagora and Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: Picard Photo: Trae Patton, CBS

Santiago Cabrera, Star Trek: Picard Photo: Trae Patton, CBS