Jonathan Frakes Has The Receipts Of Success To Get Star Trek: Legacy Rolling
There's one pressing question on the minds of every Trekkie out there: What do we have to do to convince Paramount to give the "Strange New Worlds" writers 20+ episodes so they can fully wild out and throw every zany concept they have at us for as long as possible? Okay, maybe there are two questions, the second of which might be even more important: When are we finally going to get a "Star Trek: Legacy" series?
Season 3 of "Picard," which turned into an extended reunion special with Patrick Stewart and almost the entire cast of "The Next Generation," quickly led to calls from fans who wanted to experience more adventures of the crew of the USS Titan-A. With Picard and his Enterprise-D crew sailing into a(nother) well-earned retirement, the finale left us on the tantalizing note of Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine, Picard's son Jack (Ed Speleers), and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) in charge of a new crew and set for a whole new mission ... with John de Lancie's Q tagging along to wreak some havoc, too. Coined as "Star Trek: Legacy," the most vocal supporters have made their opinions known on social media until they've reached the cast and crew.
While there hasn't been any official developments on that front just yet, at least one franchise veteran that's on board with the idea is Jonathan Frakes – and he has the numbers to back him up.
'That will, in fact, come to fruition'
Showrunner Terry Matalas has been vocal about his desire to shepherd "Star Trek: Legacy" after leading season 3 of "Picard" to such success and now we can safely consider Jonathan Frakes a staunch supporter of #TeamStarTrekLegacy. Having reprised his role as William Riker on "Picard" and even lent his talents behind the camera as director on the "Lower Decks" crossover episode of "Strange New Worlds" (among many, many other "Trek" productions over the years), Frakes has a unique perspective on the franchise in general and specifically the fan-driven movement to see "Legacy" become a reality. In a recent interview with Variety, the actor admitted that he's "very interested in the idea of it." As he put it:
I think [Paramount] can't deny not only the fan reaction, but the fact that the numbers put the show at the Top 10 on the streaming charts. And that season of 'Star Trek: Picard' was arguably among the best seasons of any 'Star Trek' — I think we all agree on that. I mean, 'Star Trek' fans are loyal. It's not millions and millions of people, and it's not the youngest fandom in the world. But I am an eternal optimist, and I believe in a perfect world, they will find the assets and the energy and hire Terry to put together this 'Legacy' show and that will, in fact, come to fruition."
If Frakes is to be believed, this spin-off show is only a matter of if, not when. The circumstances surrounding the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions in trying to fight for a fair deal with the producers likely throws doubt on any exact timeline of when "Legacy" might be given the green light. But until then, Trekkies, stay tuned to /Film for any updates.