Though the series hasn’t even debuted yet, Star Trek: Picard has already been renewed by CBS All Access. Today, during an executive presentation at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, the streamer announced that a second season had officially been green-lit.
Julie McNamara, the streamer’s Executive Vice President of Original Content, said that the “energy and excitement around the premiere of Star Trek: Picard has reached a magnitude greater than all of us at CBS All Access could have hoped for. We’re thrilled to announce plans for a second season before the series’ debut, and we are confident that Star Trek fans and new viewers alike will be captured by the stellar cast and creative team’s meticulously crafted story when it premieres on January 23.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, Terry Matalas, late of Syfy’s 12 Monkeys and—though not for long—CBS’s MacGyver reboot, will take over as showrunner from Michael Chabon for the second season.
CBS All Access showed only slightly more restraint in renewing Star Trek: Discovery, the show that kicked off the franchise’s return to TV in 2017, waiting a whole month after it premiered to order a second season. But neither show is really much of a gamble for All Access, which has built its brand around the beloved sci-fi property—in addition to the three Trek series that are currently airing (or, in Picard’s case, are about to), there’s also a spin-off and two animated series in the works.
Premiering January 23, Star Trek: Picard isn’t a sequel to The Next Generation, even though multiple cast members are reprising their roles, including Sir Patrick Stewart as the eponymous Captain (now Admiral). But tonally and structurally, it will mark a significant departure from TNG, and really, any other Star Trek show. Set your phasers and expectations accordingly.