It's safe to say that this is going to be another enthralling farewell to "The Next Generation."
The final, full trailer for the final season of "Star Trek: Picard" dropped last night in the half-time commercial break during the AFC Championship Game on CBS and it has a little bit of everything.
The trailer revealed two new season three cast members, Ed Speleers ("Outlander," "Downton Abby") will appear as a series regular who – according to Paramount – aids Beverly Crusher's medical efforts on worlds that apparently Starfleet has forgotten and Todd Stashwick ("12 Monkeys," "The Last Thing He Told Me") will also appear in a recurring role as captain of the USS Titan.
Related: The 'Star Trek: Picard' Season 2 finale will leave you feeling somewhat shortchanged
- Want to watch "Star Trek" on Paramount Plus? Here's a free one-month trial
- Subscribe to Paramount Plus for $5.99/month
Paramount have been very clever of late, whipping Trekkies up into a frenzy over the third and final season of "Star Trek: Picard." In between the teaser trailer being released only a few days ago and now the full length trailer dropping, they sent out the first six episodes to selected members of the press and other influencers.
With such power comes great responsibility and thankfully, as per the terms and conditions naturally laid out by the studio, no one has posted any spoilers – but, they have been allowed to comment in a very, non-specific, generalized way. Consequently, there's quite the commotion. Factor in the teaser for the trailer, then the actual trailer itself ... and you have a lot of Trek fans foaming at the mouth.
It goes without saying that we too are excited. We're full of anticipation and trepidation from what to expect. To be honest, it's hard not to get a little giddy: we'll get to see many of our favorite characters, cool new starships, amazing sets, stunning visual effects, yet more new uniforms, explosions and so on.
The million quatloo question is, once the initial awe is over, will the plot once again descend into ridiculousness as, sadly, we've seen it do in the past two seasons of "Star Trek: Picard"?
It's also worth making a mental note that when a show is as heavily promoted as this, it's more often than not, a crashing disappointment. The Hype Engine for the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" live action "Star Wars" spin off was overloaded to the point of causing a rupture in sub-space. And it was dreadful. "Andor" on the other hand wasn't promoted with anywhere near as much intensity and turned out to be the best "Star Wars" live action show yet.
A big problem with "NuTrek" currently is that it doesn't benefit from multiple story arcs that stretch beyond one season. As such, it's not substantial enough to be able to take big swings, that either connect or do not, and bounce back effectively even if it does miss. Previous incarnations of "Star Trek" were able to do this, namely "Enterprise" and "Deep Space Nine" plus other science fiction properties and in particular "Stargate," which remains arguably the most rewatchable television sci-fi ever made.
In other, incredibly tragic news, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Annie Wersching – who played the magnificent Borg Queen in "Picard" Season 2, along with roles in "24" and Marvel’s "Runaways" – has died, following a three-year battle with cancer.
"Star Trek: Picard" will premiere on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 exclusively on Paramount Plus in the U.S. Every episode of every "Star Trek" show also currently streams exclusively on Paramount Plus in the U.S.
Internationally, the shows are available on Paramount Plus in Australia, Latin America, the UK and South Korea, as well as on Pluto TV in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland on the Pluto TV Sci-Fi channel. They also stream exclusively on Paramount Plus in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In Canada, they air on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and stream on Crave.
Follow Scott Snowden on Twitter. Follow us @Spacedotcom, or on Facebook and Instagram.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
