FEBRUARY 13, 2023 – Well, this is the week. It’s T-3 days until the premiere of Star Trek: Picard season three (which we reviewed last week), and showrunner Terry Matalas is still holding forth on the development of the season and his conversations with the cast.

This time, he spoke with Entertainment Weekly and offered more details on his conversations with the cast members about their characters and their stories. Matalas met with each legacy cast member individually and says, "I was fortunate that, creatively, we were very aligned. They know their characters better than I do."

Geordi La Forge, for example, has two daughters (one of whom is played by LeVar Burton’s actual daughter, Mica) , and by the time Matalas finished telling Burton the story he had in mind for La Forge, “there were tears in [Burton’s] eyes. It dawned on me that I just made Geordi La Forge cry with this story. And then I started to cry."

Matalas also talked about Amanda Plummer as the new villain, Vadic, who is “a bit more theatrical by intention. We wanted someone who would chew the scenery a bit more, someone who was fun to watch.”

In addition to more from Terry Matalas on his approach with the Picard cast, you’ll find new images of our heroes (and villains) over at Entertainment Weekly.

Star Trek: Picard season three premieres Thursday, February 16, on Paramount+.