Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 4 - "No Win Scenario"Star Trek: Picard season 3 isn't even halfway done, but it's already apparent that a spinoff featuring Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) and Commander Seven Of Nine (Jeri Ryan) aboard the USS Titan-A would likely be a winner. Seven has been a Star Trek icon since she debuted in Star Trek: Voyager season 4, and fans have long clamored for a spinoff featuring the former Borg drone. Shaw made his debut in the Picard season 3 premiere "The Next Generation," seeming like a cold, heartless man until more was revealed about him as the season progressed.
Long planned as the final season, Star Trek: Picard season 3 has gone back to basics, telling a story set on a Starfleet vessel and reuniting Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) with his beloved senior staff from Star Trek: The Next Generation for one last adventure. While some TNG cast members have suggested their characters' stories could continue on past the end of Picard, it seems likely a new generation will soon pick up the baton from their USS Enterprise-D predecessors. The seeds of such a show have already been planted in Picard season 3.
Picard Proves A Titan Spinoff Would Be Awesome With Seven AND Shaw
It's become something of a running joke that the initially unlikeable Captain Shaw should have died early in the season, but that would have been a mistake, as Shaw has proved himself to be a complicated, interesting, weirdly funny character. Shaw's traumatic experience at the Battle of Wolf 359 makes his distaste for former Borg like Picard and Seven seem much more sensible, even if his anger at Picard and coldness toward Seven are unwarranted. Shaw is also developing something of a feisty rapport with Seven, not unlike the contentious relationship between Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley) in Star Trek: The Original Series.
Seven's credentials to lead a Titan spinoff mostly speak for themselves. She's an all-time favorite Star Trek character, and her journey from a struggling Fenris Ranger to First Officer of the Titan has been one of Star Trek: Picard's most satisfying character arcs. Jeri Ryan has never been better in the role, squeezing humor, rage, and sadness from extremely restrained reactions. An evolution of Seven's relationship with Shaw, where they both respect and accept each other, would be a classic Star Trek story of empathy and understanding overcoming prejudice.
Will Picard's Titan Spinoff Show Happen?
While early reactions to Star Trek: Picard season 3 have largely been extremely positive, there's been no official word yet on a spinoff. Picard showrunner Terry Matalas has expressed enthusiasm for a follow-up project featuring Seven and the Titan crew, but so far Paramount appears to be taking a wait and see approach. Reports suggest Paramount+ is looking to reduce its spending on original content in 2024, which likely led to the surprise cancelation of Star Trek: Discovery.
While they may be cutting back on spending, it's highly unlikely that Paramount would cut their live action Star Trek output down to one show, the already-renewed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. There are also other Star Trek live action series in development, such as the long-gestating Section 31 show starring Michelle Yeoh's Mirror Universe Philippa Georgiou, as well as a rumored show set at Starfleet Academy. Those projects have their charms, but Star Trek: Picard has clearly set the stage for a spinoff that honors the past while embracing the future of the franchise.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.