Posted in: Opinion, Paramount+, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: opinion, paramount, Picard, star trek, Terry Matalas, The Next Generation

Star Trek: Legacy: Throw Terry Matalas The Keys to The Franchise

Here's why Terry Matalas' Star Trek: Legacy concept needs to become a reality and how Picard Season 3 could be a "backdoor pilot" for it.

"In case you're wondering, [Star Trek: Legacy] is what I'd call a spin-off show from [Star Trek: Picard]. A 25th Century show that explores the Last Generation and the Next…" That was the tweet that Star Trek: Picard Showrunner Terry Matalas posted back in March, speculating in a "What If…?" fashion what his next franchise series would be if he had a choice post-"Picard." But after nine episodes of a season that many say has redefined the franchise in ways it hasn't seen in years, it's time for Paramount Global to turn that fantasy into a reality. Because not only does Matalas deserve to have the keys to the "Star Trek" franchise tossed to him, we know exactly what the series should be about – and we have Matalas and his creative team to thank for the idea because we're viewing the final season of the Sir Patrick Stewart-starring streaming series as an unofficial backdoor pilot.

While I'm more than happy to leave the canon heavy-lifting to Bleeding Cool's "Star Trek" point person, Tom Chang (check out his latest review here), here's the best way to describe the past nine weeks. "Picard" Season 3 is like the really loud, really fun-sounding party that you walk past as you head towards your probably-more-boring-than-you're-willing-to-admit, wishing you were doing shots with Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Worf (Michael Dorn) at the cool party, instead (I know we're going to hear it from The Mandalorian fans on that one). Why? Because Matalas, the creative team, the actors, and the rest of the team were committed to fan-servicing in the best way possible – by not fan-servicing.

Here's a question – what's the last episode or season of another series that you can think of that handled having so many familiar faces return in such an effective & meaningful way? And while some can debate whether or not certain characters should've gotten more screen time from a fan's standpoint, it's pretty tough to argue that Stewart, Frakes, Dorn, Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, and Marina Sirtis didn't have quality time on-screen that impacted the overarching storylines. That's a fancy way of saying that Matalas understood that they had so much more to offer than just a series of two-minute one-offs. And that's not taking into account the other great appearances (like Michelle Forbes' Ro Laren and Daniel Davis' Professor Moriarty) and enough meaningful easter eggs for five seasons' worth of holiday hunts. And yet, the focus on the franchise's history didn't come at the expense of new characters & storylines – just look at how quickly fans attached themselves to Todd Stashwick's Captain Liam Shaw.

So what do we want to see from Star Trek: Legacy? Having Matalas & his creative team helming an anthology series that has every corner of the "Star Trek" franchise universe as its sandbox to play in. Imagine the showrunner having the opportunity to follow up on just some of the easter eggs that were found on Daystrom Station, for example. And here is where we could revisit characters & storylines from "Deep Space Nine," "The Next Generation," "Voyager," and other series to see how things have turned out – and how they could still potentially threaten the 25th Century. Fans would have a chance to catch up on some of their favorites while returning actors wouldn't have to commit to season-long storylines. And it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that "Star Trek" has a pretty deep bench of familiar faces & characters that it could mine for chapters. But for now, we wait – and urge everyone to keep #StarTrekLegacy trending.

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