Star Trek: Picard season 2 has commenced filming, according to new showrunner Terry Matalas. The show's first season took place twenty years after Star Trek: Nemesis, the final film to feature the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, with Picard quietly mourning the death of Data after a crisis caused him to resign from Starfleet. A young woman with a direct connection to Data brings Picard out of his self-imposed exile to hop around the galaxy once again.
The show's second season has been delayed multiple times due to the pandemic. Unlike the other current Star Trek shows, which shoot in Toronto, Star Trek: Picard is produced and shot in Los Angeles, which has been ravaged by the virus over the last few months. Series star Jeri Ryan recently hinted that production would finally get underway soon, buoyed by the news that Patrick Stewart has been vaccinated.
On Twitter, the series' new showrunner Terry Matalas confirmed filming has begun on Picard season 2. Matalas may have jumped the gun on the announcement, though, because he quickly deleted it and provided a cheeky update that stated, "Last tweet redacted by Section 31." Check out both tweets below.
Matalas replaces Michael Chabon as Picard's showrunner; Chabon will stay on as a writer and producer for season 2. Matalas was the co-creator of the critically acclaimed television adaptation of 12 Monkeys and was in charge of CBS's MacGuyver reboot before moving over to Picard.
Little is known about the plot of the upcoming season; the debut season ended with Picard's consciousness transferred into a synthetic body after his "death." The first season also seemed to close the book on Data's story, as Picard and the beloved android finally got to acknowledge their love for each other and say a proper goodbye.
Star Trek: Picard is arguably Paramount+'s biggest original series, and getting season 2 in front of cameras has to be a relief for the burgeoning streamer. After 23 straight weeks of Star Trek content rolled out over the back half of 2020, this year is likely to see a considerable lull in Star Trek output, due largely to the pandemic. Star Trek: Lower Decks will likely be the one exception, since animation production isn't as affected by the pandemic. Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are also underway in Toronto, though neither figures to bow this year. Star Trek fans will have to be patient, but the wait will be worth it when Picard and the crew of La Sirena make their way back to television screens.
Source: Terry Matalas