Photo : George Rose ( Getty Images )

There have been plenty of arguments over the years about the relative merits of the various Star Trek captains—Does Kathryn Janeway get a bad rap? Does Kirk’s blend of machismo and heart stand up? Why didn’t they let Sisko shave sooner?—but you’d be hard pressed to find a modern Trek fan without at least some affection for Patrick Stewart’s erudite, empathetic bad-ass, Captain Jean-Luc Picard. CBS is obviously counting on those decades of stored-up affection, announcing today that it’s bringing back Picard—and Stewart—for a new CBS All Access show, charting the post-Next Generation course of the great captain’s career.


Fans of the series last saw Picard at the end of the lackluster Star Trek: Nemesis, and caught glimpses of his unhappy future in the series’ final episode, “All Good Things.” Now, Deadline reports that the new series will follow him through whatever comes next, and will not—let’s be clear about this—be any kind of reboot or remake. Alex Kurtzman (who recently took over the lead showrunner role on Star Trek: Discovery) will executive produce the series, along with Michael Chabon and Stewart himself.

Here’s Stewart—who made a surprise appearance at the Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas today to break the news—on his decision to return to the iconic role: