We live in an era of reboots. It's like living in a bizarro rerun of the '90s and early 2000s. Just within the last year alone, we've seen reboots of Lost In Space, Little Women, Magnum P.I., Training Day, 24, Taken, Prison Break, Mystery Science Theater, Twin Peaks, Will & Grace, Tick, Dynasty and so many others.
It's easy to look at the TV lineup and feel a sense of existential dread, but this weekend marked some rare good news for the reboot field. Patrick Stewart is returning to the Star Trek franchise to play Jean-Luc Picard.
Stewart made the announcement at the Las Vegas Star Trek convention, where he surprised fans with the news that he'd be starring in a new series that tells the story of Picard's life after Next Generation. This series—which is not a reboot of TNG—is part of the expansion of a Star Trek universe at CBS. It comes from Alex Kurtzman, the co-creator and executive producer of Star Trek: Discovery, who has been hired to oversee all new Star Trek content at the network.
“During these past years, it has been humbling to hear many stories about how The Next Generation brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership,” Stewart said of the years since he made his final appearance as Picard in 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis. “I feel I’m ready to return to him for the same reason – to research and experience what comforting and reforming light he might shine on these often very dark times. I look forward to working with our brilliant creative team as we endeavour to bring a fresh, unexpected and pertinent story to life once more.”
Stewart is right: These are dark times. And the troubles of our social and political world have blurred with our entertainment, where disgraced former Roseanne star Roseanne Barr has the support of both US President Donald Trump and Last Man Standing star Tim Allen.
Yet, Picard—and Star Trek as a whole—have always existed in a future that has left the bullshit of our time behind us. Star Trek is escapism that represents the utopia that humanity could be—where sexual orientation, race, and gender, are issues of the past. It's a human society that has put aside their differences to look to the stars and what's beyond their own little planet. And Picard himself is the ideal leader—moral, brave, passionate. He's the man that kids growing up in the '90s hoped to be—he's the man that we should have all become.
Matt Miller is a Brooklyn-based culture/lifestyle writer and music critic whose work has appeared in Esquire, Forbes, The Denver Post, and documentaries.
