Posted in: Netflix, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: netflix, Robert Picardo, star trek, star trek: prodigy, star trek: voyager

Star Trek: Prodigy S02: The Doctor More Than Comic Relief: Picardo

Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Picardo promises The Doctor's return in Prodigy will remain faithful to the character beyond comic relief.

There's always a concern when an actor returns to a beloved legacy role, as there were plenty of cases in the Paramount+ era of Star Trek. None of the new shows in Discovery, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, Prodigy, and Picard have disappointed any actor who's appeared in a legacy series which now includes Voyager alum Robert Picardo, who's returning to the role of The Doctor for the animated series Prodigy for season two. For a while, the Dan and Kevin Hageman series faced an uncertain fate with its cancellation and subsequent removal from Paramount+ despite wrapping production on season two. Fans petitioned for the likely landing spot with Netflix, which the streamer obliged, becoming the series' new home and a new life as fans will finally see Picardo's return It also saw other Voyager alum Kate Mulgrew and Robert Beltran reprise their roles as Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay.

Star Trek: Voyager Star Robert Picardo on Reprising The Doctor for 'Prodigy'

"I am on season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy. I started recording almost two and a half or three years ago. So it's been a long time. Animation moves slowly. It's a secret I had to sit on forever. I had a lot of fun doing it," Picard told the panel at the ST-SF: Trek to San Francisco convention on how long he had to hold his role on Prodigy a secret (via TrekMovie.com). When asked what it was like to return to the role after two decades, "For some reason, the pitching of the character's voice and the cadence and the speed at which I spoke as that character is still relatively easy to do. I don't think it was difficult to sound like I was still a hologram in his mid-40s. And it was great."

Picardo promises a balance with The Doctor and credits the Prodigy writing team. "What's wonderful about the writing of the show is that they maintain what I love most about doing 'Voyager' itself, which was I could be a comic relief, but on a dime, I could turn, and it could get quite serious when it was a dire situation," he said. "[Prodigy] used me for comic relief, believe me, in a lot of scenes, in a lot of episodes. But there are some dramatic moments which was really a pleasure to do as well."

For more on whether Picardo recorded his lines in a booth or with his Voyager co-stars in a group setting and when he thinks it will premiere on Netflix, you can check out the interview here. Season one of Star Trek: Prodigy is available to stream on Netflix.

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