OCTOBER 26, 2020 - Star Trek: Picard’s Michelle Hurd has given a new interview about Trek’s progressive vision...and with it, she’s given us an update on Picard season two production.

In an interview with Inverse this weekend, in celebration of the recent release of Star Trek: Picard season one on Blu-ray, Hurd was asked about the shooting schedule for season two. We’ve already heard that Star Trek: Discovery will be shooting season four starting on November 2nd, and Strange New Worlds is expected to start in Toronto in February. But with COVID-19 restrictions still in place in California (where Picard filmed season one), its fate was less certain.

In response to Inverse’s question, Hurd said, “I believe we are going to be going back in January. That’s the last thing I heard. So we’re really excited about that. We just want to make sure that everybody’s safe, and the protocols are in place so that we can keep our captain as safe as we possibly can.” Sir Patrick Stewart, the 80-year-old star of Star Trek: Picard, is in one of the highest-risk groups for complications from COVID-19. The WHO advises that people over 60, as well as those with underlying health conditions, are more likely to experience severe symptoms of the disease.

Hurd went on to explain that while filming is theoretically on the horizon in the next couple of months, she doesn’t know what’s coming in terms of the plot, and whether it’s been changed at all by the pandemic. “We haven’t gotten any of the scripts yet,” she said, “but it’s a testament to the world of Star Trek, and to Gene Roddenberry, that our writers and our producers are always influenced by what is going on around us and how it impacts us as a society. So I don’t know that they’ve changed anything they had already written. But they were writing this next season during this pandemic, and I can’t imagine that they haven’t been influenced by what we’ve all experienced during this time.”

In the Inverse interview, Hurd also discusses Raffi’s addiction, her relationship with Seven of Nine, and how Star Trek addresses injustice. It’s definitely worth a read.

Pick up Star Trek: Picard season one on Blu-ray and DVD now, or watch it streaming on CBS All Access.