Star Trek: Picard fans are in for even more throwbacks to Star Trek: The Next Generation with the return of actors Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, and four others from the original cast in its third and final season.
In addition to Dorn and Burton making their debuts in the new show, Gates McFadden will also be making her first appearance on Picard. Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and Brent Spiner — three TNG alumni who all appeared in previous seasons of Picard — will also be returning for season three.
The announcement was made via the Paramount Plus official YouTube channel, in a video you can watch right here.
Though Stewart and other cast members of Picard have previously indicated the third season of the show would be legendary Federation captain Jean-Luc Picard’s final season, the announcement represents the very first time the streaming platform itself acknowledged it would be ending at the conclusion of season three, Deadline reports.
In a statement, Picard showrunner and executive producer Terry Matalas reminisced about how watching TNG for the first time, 34 years ago with his father, was the “spark that ignited” his love for science fiction.
“So, it’s most fitting that the story of Jean-Luc Picard ends honoring the beginning, with his dearest and most loyal friends from the U.S.S. Enterprise. It would be an understatement to say that giving these characters a proper send-off is an honor. The entire Star Trek: Picard team and I can’t wait for fans to experience this final, high-stakes, starship-bound adventure in season three!”
The CBS Studios-produced series is also executive produced by Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman, Terry Matalas, Patrick Stewart, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Doug Aarniokoski, and Dylan Massin.
You can watch the first season of Star Trek: Picard on Paramount Plus in its entirety, with season two currently underway and dropping episodes weekly each Thursday.