JUNE 2, 2023 – Way back when, Sir Patrick Stewart announced at a convention that “Picard is back!” It wasn’t long afterward, when we had learned about the upcoming Star Trek: Picard, that Stewart made it clear that he had not been interested in doing it unless the story warranted it and wouldn’t be a rehash of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now we have completed all three seasons of Picard, and Stewart is reflecting on the experience.

He sat down with The Wrap to talk about genre television in general as well as his own most recent series. While such storytelling is no longer outside awards conversations, for example, back in the late 80s and early 90s, according to Stewart, “We knew there was going to be no acknowledgment…until the very last season.” At that point TNG received its only Best Drama Series Emmy nomination, and Stewart was nominated for a SAG Award.

Picard, however, and genre TV more broadly, are more likely to receive the recognition they deserve. Stewart said, “What is happening is long overdue. And there are now acknowledgments for work—actors, directors, as well as designers and writers. And it’s exciting. I watch a lot of television in the evenings. And the roads that some of these series go down are extremely adventurous, dangerous, shocking, even upsetting. I think that’s good for my industry. And certainly it’s good for my profession, because it has brought people in to center stage. Diversity of color, of background, of language is just transforming the industry. I’m 100% in favor.”

Stewart got what he hoped for in Picard, seeing how the characters had developed over the years since the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, and not relying on inside jokes and romance about TNG. “I was always a little uneasy that it would just be thought of as cashing in on the success of an earlier series,” he said. “But it was more than that. And that was the work of my fellow producers and directors and showrunners—Terry Matalas in particular for what he created for us.”

For more from Sir Patrick Stewart, including video of part of his interview, head over to The Wrap. (And stay for comments from other cast members.)

A warning, though: Things get a bit spoilery.