Why Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard will rarely appear in uniform in 'Star Trek: Picard'

Bill Keveney | USA TODAY

PASADENA, Calif. – The authoritative voice and face are familiar, but it's a very different Jean-Luc Picard viewers will see in the CBS All Access drama "Star Trek: Picard" (Jan. 23).

Picard (Patrick Stewart), the always able captain of the USS Enterprise-D in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" TV series (1987-94) and films, is back 20 years later, nursing regret and far from the helm of a starship as he fritters away an unsettled retirement on a French vineyard estate.

"I only appear quite briefly in my uniform. … I didn't want to wear a uniform in this because I felt it very important that we put a lot of distance between 'Next Generation' and what we are seeking to do here," Stewart told the Television Critics Association Sunday.

That said, he's "delighted" to revisit Picard, a role he last played in 2002's "Star Trek: Nemesis" for CBS All Access, which also is home to "Star Trek: Discovery." He promised the "Next Generation" connection will not be ignored.

"As far as the character is concerned, by halfway through Season 3 of 'Next Generation,' I no longer knew where Jean-Luc Picard started and where Patrick Stewart left off. We became melded," he said. "There was nothing strange to be stepping into 'Star Trek: Picard' because he's never actually left me."

Picard will be teamed with a new ensemble, but "Next Generation" stars Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes will make appearances.

At the beginning of the 10-episode first season, which the streaming service renewed for a second season Sunday, Picard is having a difficult time in retirement.

"He's troubled, disturbed, lonely and with feelings of strange, unnatural guilt" relating to a Romulan refugee rescue mission that went bad, Stewart said.

Fans shouldn't be too worried about a sidelined Picard, however. He will become a man of action again after a mysterious young woman, Dahj (Isa Briones), enters his life and propels him on a new mission. Along the way, the season also will fill in details of Picard's life since the end of "Next Generation," including the Romulan tragedy.

"The interesting question for me is: What happened in those 20 years? I have a very clear vision and little snippets of that back story will creep into the series," Stewart said. "It's important for the audience to get to know why we are living in the world we are."