Michael Chabon reveals he puts Star Trek Easter eggs in his novels

Star Trek: Picard show runner Michael Chabon

Star Trek: Picard showrunner Michael Chabon has given a new interview in which, among other things, he discussed his personal involvement in the show. He spoke over the weekend in a video interview with Gold Derby, the same website who spoke to fellow producer Akiva Goldsman last week. 

Speaking to Gold Derby, Chabon gave insight into how his role as Picard showrunner differed from his life before, as a novelist. He explained that his temperament was definitely suited to a solitary lifestyle. “Nobody becomes a novelist because they want to sit, you know, with a huge group of people and engage in this kind of collaborative enterprise,” he said. “If you become a novelist, I think typically it’s because you like to be by yourself.”

But what about being the showrunner for a television show? A writer’s room is very different from what Chabon refers to as the solitary life of a novelist. He explained that while it was a change of pace, it was welcome. “I’ve worked on some movie projects, I’ve done some collaboration in other fields, like in writing music and lyrics and so on,” he said. “But to the extent and for the length of time that it took to make the first season of Picard you know, it really was a totally different experience. And I think that’s part of what made it so fun for me. [...] I’ve been working alone for a really long time. It was really a nice change for me and it was very stimulating creatively to be in this different environment.”

Chabon later went on to explain that his Star Trek fandom didn’t start with Picard, or even with Short Treks, which he worked on before Picard. He became a fan when he was 10 years old, he said, and it has stayed with him. There are even Easter eggs in his novels! He explained, “I was a huge TNG fan when that show was on, and I've stuck with Star Trek through all the various series and the films and, you know, it never left my life. There are references to Star Trek, hidden like Easter eggs in not all of my novels, many of my novels, or there are overt references to Star Trek in my books. So it's always been a part of my creative imagination unquestionably.”

You can catch up on the first season of Star Trek: Picard, and on Chabon’s Star Trek Short Treks episode, “Calypso”, both now streaming on CBS All Access.