The huge success of Star Trek: Picard season 3 raises the question of whether the best sequel show would be Star Trek: Legacy or Picard season 4. Picard season 3 reached unprecedented levels of success, featuring in the Nielsen Top 10 three times, suggesting that Paramount should capitalize on this popularity. However, Picard season 3 set up such an exciting future for Star Trek with the brand-new USS Enterprise-G, commanded by Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), that it would be hugely disappointing not to continue that story.
It's undeniable that there are still stories to tell about each of the beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation characters. For example, after decades of pursuing what it means to be human, Data (Brent Spiner) can finally experience humanity in his synthetic body. However, Star Trek: Picard season 3 was billed as the final season and, while he did qualify it with a statement of "never say never", Patrick Stewart appeared content to step away from the character of Jean-Luc Picard. With that in mind, here are the merits of continuing the story of Star Trek's 25th century in Picard season 4 and Legacy, and which show would make the best sequel.
Why Picard's Sequel Should Be Star Trek: Picard Season 4
Nostalgia played a huge part in the success of Star Trek: Picard season 3, with viewers flocking to Paramount+ to revisit their favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation characters. Along with their undeniable chemistry, the TNG crew still has a lot of stories to tell by the end of Picard season 3. For example, Admiral Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) can use her decades of experience with frontier medicine to revolutionize Starfleet Medical. It would make sense, therefore, for Paramount to capitalize on the TNG/Picard brand and entice streaming subscribers with more adventures for these legacy characters.
While it's possible that Patrick Stewart would return as Jean-Luc for small cameos like his Professor Xavier appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it feels unlikely that he would return for another 10-episode Star Trek series. Star Trek: Picard season 3's end credits scene set up Jean-Luc's son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) as a new Star Trek protagonist, providing an easy workaround to justify the continued use of the Picard name. All that being said, Star Trek has always been a franchise about looking toward the future and embracing change, and anchoring the 25th century to a 36-year-old franchise character feels counterintuitive.
Why Star Trek Should Make Star Trek: Legacy Instead
Led by beloved fan-favorite character Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), there's already a great deal of support for more adventures for the crew of the USS Enterprise-G. An online petition to get Star Trek: Legacy made currently stands at over 55,000 signatures which would equate to over 3 million minutes streamed worldwide for a single episode. That's a strong core viewership to get the series going, allowing positive word-of-mouth to see Legacy potentially reach the heights of Star Trek: Picard seasons 1-3's 400 million minutes streamed in the US alone.
Star Trek: Legacy doesn't need the Jean-Luc Picard brand to flourish because it already has an enormous amount of goodwill behind it. By simply branding itself as the show that continues the story of the critically acclaimed Star Trek: Picard season 3, Legacy should attract the audience it needs to succeed. Matalas and his writing team have proved that they can ably balance fan service with exciting new Star Trek stories that push the franchise into new territory. Star Trek: Legacy is, therefore, the perfect sequel show with which to continue their great work.