The cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation is set to return for Star Trek: Picard season 3, and it begs the question of where the crew of the Enterprise-D has been the past two decades. After seven successful seasons on television, the TNG crew graduated to the big screen, where they featured in four big-budget movies. Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: First Contact were box office successes, but Star Trek: Insurrection underperformed, and Star Trek: Nemesis was a critical and financial failure that abruptly ended the TNG crew's adventures.
To the shock of many, the TNG story resumed on the small screen in 2020 with Star Trek: Picard. The show centered on Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) two decades after Nemesis. Picard had retired from Starfleet years earlier and was haunted by the dissolution of the Romulan Empire and the untimely death of Data (Brent Spiner) in Nemesis. The first two seasons briefly revisited a few of the other TNG crew members, but season 3 is bringing back the entire surviving senior staff as they embark on one final mission together. Here's a handy guide to where we left off with the TNG cast.
Admiral Jean-Luc Picard
Audiences obviously know the most about Picard himself at this point, as Star Trek: Picard has chronicled his late life adventures. Admiral Picard resigned in protest when Starfleet withdrew from its plan to evacuate Romulus as it faced a devastating supernova. He returned to his family vineyard and lived a quiet, somewhat sad life until he was pulled back into action to help Data's android offspring, Dahj and Soji Asha (Isa Briones).
After succumbing to a terminal illness that was hinted at all the way back in the TNG series finale "All Good Things," Picard's consciousness was uploaded to a synthetic body. Having rejoined Starfleet as Chancellor of Starfleet Academy, Picard was confronted by his old rival Q (John de Lancie) one last time, transported to a dark alternate timeline where he was forced to time travel to the 21st century and confront his own childhood demons. After successfully resetting the timeline, Picard returned to the vineyard with the intention of beginning a romantic relationship with his Romulan confidante Laris (Orla Brady).
Captain Will Riker
After serving as Picard's First Officer aboard the Enterprise for 15 years, Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) was promoted to Captain and given command of the USS Titan at the end of Star Trek: Nemesis. Riker would serve with distinction for many years aboard the Titan, most notably portrayed on Star Trek: Lower Decks. Riker started a family aboard the Titan with his longtime love Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis); the couple had two children, Thad and Kestra (Lulu Wilson).
Thad became ill with a rare disease, mendaxic neurosclerosis. The Federation ban on synthetic life meant the cure to the disease was unavailable, so Riker and his family moved to the planet Nepenthe, which had restorative powers. Thad, unfortunately, succumbed to the disease, and the Rikers stayed on Nepenthe, effectively retired. Captain Riker was last seen coming out of retirement to lead a Federation fleet to assist Picard against a Romulan armada in the Picard season 1 finale.
Deanna Troi
Counselor Deanna Troi married Will Riker in Star Trek: Nemesis, culminating their long-simmering romance. Deanna joined Will on the USS Titan, also serving as that ship's counselor. She left the Titan with Will and her two children for Nepenthe when the Rikers' son Thad became terminally ill. After Thad's passing, Deanna and Will retired from Starfleet to devote themselves to raising their daughter, Kestra. Last seen in the Picard season 1 episode "Nepenthe," Deanna used her counseling skills to comfort Soji after the young woman learned she was an android. After Picard and Soji departed Nepenthe, Will and Deanna returned to their quiet, simple life.
Dr. Beverly Crusher
One of Jean-Luc Picard's oldest friends - and occasional romantic interest - Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) was last seen in Star Trek: Nemesis. Deleted scenes from that movie suggest she left the Enterprise-E to become the head of Starfleet Medical on Earth, but it's unclear if that's canon. Interviews and promotional material suggest Jean-Luc and Beverly haven't seen each other in many years, and that she's no longer part of Starfleet, now serving in a sort of Doctors Without Borders organization in the rougher corners of Federation space.
Geordi La Forge
Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) was one of the few core members of Picard's Enterprise-E crew who remained on the ship at the conclusion of Nemesis. Geordi has apparently done well for himself in the intervening years; he's still in Starfleet, having risen to the rank of Commodore. He also got married and started a family, with Geordi's two daughters Alandra La Forge (Mica Burton) and Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) joining him in Starfleet.
Worf
Where Lieutenant Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) left off is a bit of a muddle. The Klingon warrior was made the Federation's ambassador to the Klingon Empire at the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, yet Worf was back aboard the Enterprise-E manning the tactical station in his Starfleet uniform a few years later in Nemesis, his last canonical appearance. Promotional images suggest Worf has risen to the rank of Captain, and Picard showrunner Terry Matalas has suggested he has spent the last two decades dealing with the fallout from DS9's Dominion War. Worf has also embraced a newfound pacifism.
Lore
Data's evil twin brother Lore (Brent Spiner) is seemingly back from the dead in Picard season 3. Lore was last seen in the TNG season 7 episode "Descent Part II," where he was commanding a group of Borg who were damaged when they were exposed to the concept of individuality through the young Borg drone Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco), who had been rescued and deprogrammed by the Enterprise-D crew in the TNG season 5 episode "I Borg." Data was forced to shoot and deactivate Lore, which was suggested to be a permanent deactivation at the time. It's unclear how Lore has returned, but he's almost certainly up to no good.
Commander Seven of Nine
The one-time Star Trek: Voyager stalwart Seven Of Nine (Jeri Ryan) had a rough go of it after that ship made it home to Earth. The former Borg drone was denied entry to Starfleet, despite Captain Kathryn Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) protestations. Seven instead joined the Fenris Rangers, a peacekeeping organization on the outskirts of Federation space. At the conclusion of Picard season 2, Admiral Picard granted her a Starfleet field commission aboard the USS Stargazer. As of Star Trek: Picard season 3, Seven of Nine is officially a member of Starfleet, serving as the First Officer of the USS Titan-A.
Commander Raffi Musiker
Admrial Picard's caustic confidante from his post-Enterprise Starfleet career, Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) has dealt the substance abuse, the dissolution of her family, the death and rebirth of her young Romulan protégé Elnor (Evan Evagora), and a somewhat chaotic romance with Seven. She seemed to be in a fairly good place at the end of Picard season 2, serving aboard the USS Excelsior alongside Elnor. Promotional images and trailers suggest that relative peace may have been short-lived, as an angry looking Raffi is seen out of uniform aboard the unaffiliated freighter ship La Sirena once captained by Cristobal Rios (Santiago Cabrera). Perhaps the crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation can pull Raffi out of the darkness one more time in Star Trek: Picard season 3.