Jonathan Frakes first gained notice among fans for starring as Commander William Riker on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, but eventually transitioned to directing, first with episodes of ‘TNG’, before moving on to episodes of ‘Deep Space Nine’ and ‘Voyager’ and even the movie ‘Star Trek: Insurrection’. He has returned to the ‘Trek’-verse by helming episodes of the current series ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, which he indicates that he will continue to do, and recently revealed that he is also taking a crack at episodes of the new series starring his ‘TNG’ Captain, Patrick Stewart, which will also air on CBS All Access. And that’s not all.
While appearing on the Writer Experience podcast, he stated:
“Now my season looks like Star Trek: Discovery – the new wonderful Star Trek series, the Picard show – which Patrick [Stewart] is launching, and The Orville, which is some people’s new Star Trek. And I just finished The Gifted, which is a sort of X-Men Marvel origins show. So, I am back in that world.”
The Picard series, which doesn’t have an official title yet, is expected to begin production in April to premiere on CBS All Access later this year. The first season is expected to consist of ten episodes.
That isn’t the only new ‘Trek’ series on its way. The brand appears to be undergoing something of a renaissance, and Frakes offers an overview of what fans can expect. He also revealed that he has seen a bit of perhaps the most experimental new project, the comedic animated series ‘Lower Decks’, and it gets his stamp of approval.
“My understanding is that Alex Kurtzman and Secret Hideout are creating a Star Trek œuvre that will hopefully allow fans of Trek to have something fresh to see all the time. That is why Discovery, now that it is a hit, will continue, and they have announced Sir Patrick’s show, which is not titled, that will air after Discovery. And they have announced they are developing a show for Michelle Yeoh, so Empress Georgiou who is a character on Discovery will have her own stories. They have hired the guy from Rick and Morty – [Mike McMahan] – to write an animated show called Lower Decks, which I have seen parts of that are hysterical. So you have one, two, three, four. They’ve got a Nickelodeon connection for a little kid’s Star Trek, so that’s five. So, there is a world that is being created by Kurtzman and his team that will hopefully continue for many years and provide entertainment, and obviously conversation, about Star Trek for decades.”
Unfortunately, ‘Lower Decks’, which was announced in October and received a two-season order, won’t be premiering anytime soon, simply because it is animated and requires a longer time for production.
You can learn a lot more about Frakes, ‘Trek’, and more in the full podcast.
But in the meantime, Frakes’ work can be seen later this year, when ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ returns and the Picard series debuts.
Source: Trek Movie
