Star Trek: Picard season 3 makes it abundantly clear that Star Trek's 25th-century timeline must continue after the final season of Picard concludes. Star Trek: Picard season 1 was set the very end of the 24th century, while most of Picard season 2 was a time-travel escapade set in 2024 Los Angeles. Picard season 3 is the first time the Patrick Stewart-led sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation is exploring the brand-new 25th century, and it has galvanized this era of Star Trek.
Star Trek's future on Paramount+ after 2023 is unclear. The franchise is bound to continue but perhaps not in the same way as it did when Star Trek reached its zenith in 2022 with five series streaming a new episode almost every Thursday throughout the calendar year. An overall belt-tightening across the TV industry is resulting in fewer streaming shows being developed, and this led to the disappointing cancelation of Star Trek: Discovery. Star Trek: Picard season 3 was always meant to conclude Patrick Stewart's series, but a funny thing is happening as TNG's cast passes the torch to the next generation: Thanks to Picard season 3, Star Trek has been creatively revitalized to become more exciting than ever in the 25th century.
Picard Season 3 Proves Star Trek's 25th Century Must Continue
There are currently no announced plans for a sequel or spinoff to Star Trek: Picard season 3. Showrunner Terry Matalas and his team have publicly stated on Twitter that no deals are in place to continue their Star Trek beyond Picard season 3. However, the critical and fan response to Star Trek: Picard season 3 has exceeded hopes; even embittered audiences who were not enamored with the prior seasons of Picard have happily come aboard for season 3's final voyage of Star Trek: The Next Generation's cast. Further, the reception to the new characters introduced aboard the USS Titan-A in Picard season 3 has been warm, and even the polarizing Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) is winning the fans over.
Star Trek: Picard season 3 ingeniously positioned itself as a sequel to not just TNG, but to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager as well. Picard's season 3 story brings back the villainous Changelings from DS9's Dominion War, which is both welcome fan service and a logical continuation of one of the TNG era shows' most galaxy-altering storylines. Meanwhile, new characters like Picard's son Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and Ensign Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) show that the TNG bloodline is strong, indeed. Star Trek's post-TNG timeline is now more alive and vital than ever, rewarding longtime fans and building out a new generation of Star Trek whose adventures deserve to carry on.
Strange New Worlds' 23rd Century Can Bring In New Star Trek Fans
Star Trek: Picard season 3 is the most celebrated Star Trek show since Star Trek: Strange New Worlds took Paramount+ by storm. Strange New Worlds was literally a show fans clamored for after Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) charmed audiences in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Strange New Worlds was lauded for bringing back Star Trek's episodic format and The Original Series' colorful New Frontier optimism - elements the darker, serialized Discovery and Picard were slammed for lacking - all smartly updated for modern audiences.
Strange New Worlds season 1 enjoys a 99% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes (more than Star Trek: Picard season 3's 90% Fresh), and it was the first Star Trek on Paramount+ series to receive wildly positive word of mouth along with critical acclaim that landed the prequel show on many mainstream Best of 2022 lists. Strange New Worlds is now being positioned as the flagship of Star Trek on Paramount+ as Discovery prepares to exit. Picard season 3 is a gift to longtime TNG fans but, with its fresh and inviting episodic format, Strange New Worlds is ideal for bringing new fans into Star Trek, especially since it contains youthful versions of the franchise's most enduring and recognizable icons like Spock, the USS Enterprise, and soon, Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley).
Star Trek's Animated Shows Celebrate The Post-TNG Era
Star Trek's animated series are thriving as well, and both are celebrations of the immediate post-TNG era. Preparing to launch season 4 in summer 2023, Star Trek: Lower Decks has been an unqualified success, winning over doubters with its reverence for Star Trek's TNG era while also proving to be irreverently funny. Lower Decks is a series of endless in-jokes for longtime fans while Star Trek: Prodigy, which is mounting its second season, is fulfilling its mission to bring fresh, young eyes to the franchise.
Equal parts thrilling and heartwarming, Prodigy has proven to be an ideal gateway to bring Star Trek's values to a younger audience while also pleasing longtime fans with its homages to classic Trek of years past. Meanwhile, Prodigy is a hyper-intelligent time travel show, and season 2 is poised to explore an alternate 25th-century timeline different from Star Trek: Picard season 3's. Prodigy and Lower Decks have successfully expanded the Star Trek franchise so that animation can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with live action.
What Happens To Star Trek's 32nd Century When Discovery Ends?
One of the biggest questions facing the Star Trek franchise is what happens to the 32nd century after Star Trek: Discovery ends with season 5. Discovery established the farthest known point of the Star Trek timeline, but after 2 seasons set in that far-flung era, the 32nd century still feels unexplored and bursting with potential. Discovery season 5's "treasure hunt" storyline could finally shed light on the nooks and crannies of the 32nd century, but it may also be the literal end of that era. The announced Starfleet Academy spinoff may be set in Discovery's 32nd century, but it's up in the air whether that show will actually happen given Paramount+'s changing business model.
Star Trek's Brightest Future Is In The 25th Century
The increasingly popular Strange New Worlds seems safe to continue on beyond season 2, which would assure the relevancy of the 23rd-century era building to Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) inheriting the Starship Enterprise from Captain Pike. But Star Trek: Picard has, at long last, given new life to the timeline after Star Trek: The Next Generation, which arguably remains the most important, complex, and fascinating era for generations of Star Trek fans who grew up on TNG, DS9, and Voyager. Strange New Worlds' 23rd century is actually yesterday's Enterprise compared to Star Trek: Picard season 3. Be it a spinoff about the USS Titan-A or some other series (hopefully run by Terry Matalas), there's an infinite amount of story yet to be told now that Star Trek: Picard has flung the doors to the 25th century wide open.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.