"As strong as we've ever been": When Star Trek: Picard's cast let their feelings be known about the sci-fi show's third and final season

Star Trek: Picard aired its last episode on 20 April 2023. Cast members LeVar Burton and Jonathan Frakes returned to the franchise for its third season. Frakes was a special guest on Star Trek: Picard season 1 as William Riker. He then returned for the third season in a recurring role. Burton also returned in a recurring role for Star Trek: Picard's third season as Geordi La Forge.

Prior to the release of Star Trek: Picard season three, the two actors, in an interview with Collider, spoke about their feelings regarding the science-fiction show's third and final season. Jonathan Frakes expressed his feelings about the third season, saying:

It's a privilege, obviously, and a blessing. I think, if anything, this Season 3 of Picard is as strong as we've ever been, as in terms of the writing, in terms of the acting, of the storytelling. Because we have not played these parts in a long time, it was fun to come back to them with the wisdom of some age and new confidence, and new experiences. I think it's thrilling.

What was it like for LeVar Burton and Jonathan Frakes to work on Star Trek: Picard Season 3?

Star Trek: Picard was released in 2020, and its third season ended in 2023. The series is set twenty years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis and fourteen years after Jean-Luc Picard retires from Starfleet. In Star Trek: Picard, we see Picard living a peaceful retirement life in his vineyard, Chateau Picard. He is then sought out by Dahj, a woman he does not know but who needs his help. Gradually, Picard realizes that there is more to her than meets the eye, and she may have connections to his past.

Speaking about which episodes of Star Trek: Picard season three they were most excited about, Burton said:

Well, I've seen five and six, and that's all.

Frakes said,

Six is awesome.

Burton, however, feels a little differently as he says,

Six is… Six doesn't suck.

Frakes continues,

Yeah, six is awesome. Four is awesome. 10 is awesome. One and two. Three is great. Five, excellent episode.

Burton agrees,

Yeah, five is really, really good.

Frakes seems to love almost all the Star Trek: Picard season three episodes and continues:

Eight… Nine.

Burton sums it up, saying,

I think it's pretty good all the way through. I mean, that's what I'm getting.

As the Collider interview continues, Frakes and Burton are asked if season three of Star Trek: Picard can be watched as a standalone. Frakes answers:

100%.

Burton elaborates,

Not only that, that hasn't really been true since [Star Trek: First Contact], which we all agreed that you don't have to have seen any Star Trek in order to enjoy First Contact. You can come to it fresh and new, and I think that's true for Season 3 of Picard as well.

Frakes agrees,

I completely agree with LeVar.

Burton and Frakes had last worked together on Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran from 1987 to 1994. They reunited in the third season of Star Trek: Picard when they returned to play their recurring roles.

Frakes and Burton also spoke about how it felt to work on a Star Trek series together again. Frakes said in the interview with Collider:

Well, it's probably a little different than you imagine because we get together. We have been friends for 35 years. We've stood up in each other's weddings and [are] godparents to each other's kids, and been through divorces. There's a lot of history. We have dinner and coffee and drinks, and we do conventions together.

Burton added,

And texts.

Frakes continues after that,

Yeah, we have a hysterical group text. So it wasn't a surprise, and we knew what everybody looked like. This, we just happened to be going to work together for the first time in a while. So there weren't any… there were no shocking reunions.

All seasons of Star Trek: Picard are streaming on Paramount Plus.

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