The Season 3 premiere of Star Trek: Picard set phasers to stun almost immediately when Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) made her long-awaited return. A distress call, sent out to her trusted friend Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), not only reunited Crusher with Picard and Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), but also introduced us to a shocking new character: her son. Played by Ed Speleers (Outlander), Crusher’s son’s role in this upcoming season is shrouded in mystery, though showrunner Terry Matalas did promise fans that “you’re certainly going to get to know the young gentleman at the end of that episode right away…” during a sitdown with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt.
COLLIDER VIDEO OF THE DAY

After the divisive first two seasons of Picard, Season 3 is being hailed as a fantastic tribute to fans, bringing back beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation characters with new storylines and continuations. Also reprising their roles alongside Stewart, McFadden and Frakes are Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, Michael Dorn as Worf, LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge, and Brent Spiner as Lore. They join Season 2’s Jeri Ryan as Star Trek: Voyager’s Seven of Nine and Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker. Picard Season 3 not only reunites The Next Generation but introduces the next, next generation with new talent including Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut and Mica Burton as Sidney and Alandra La Forge, Amanda Plummer as the villainous Vadic, and Todd Stashwick (12 Monkeys) as Captain Shaw of the USS Titan.

As we gear up for Picard Episode 3, premiering on Paramount+ tomorrow, Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke with Speleers about his new role on the final frontier. During the interview, Speleers teases his “multifaceted” character’s voyage throughout this season and discusses working with some of Star Trek’s legacy characters. He also talks about how Season 3 gets better with each episode, how it can be a “stand-alone moment” within the franchise and teases how the story ties things up for well-loved characters. You can check out our conversation with Speleers in the video above, or read the full transcript below.

Image via Paramount+

COLLIDER: How are you doing today sir?

ED SPELEERS: Very good, Steve. I love the car in the background. My son just declared to me recently that Back to the Future is his favorite film. He’s only eight, and I got him a smaller version of that for his birthday.

I recommend getting this except he might be a little too young.

SPELEERS: Okay, okay, okay, okay.

So I’ve seen the first six episodes of Picard Season 3, and I’m just going to say they’re fantastic. I think fans are going to be very, very happy. What are you allowed to say about Season 3?

SPELEERS: That everybody should come and watch it. [Laughs] What can I say? I think this is the perfect send-off for The Next Generation cast. For me personally, I can say that I go on a huge voyage as a character, no pun intended. A guy that is desperately trying to work out who he is. He thinks he’s got quite a thick skin, and he’s quite head-sure and smart, and I suppose fearless, but there’s something that’s driving that fear, and we don’t know what that is yet. We don’t know what is eating away at him, but something isn’t quite right with his character. So he is discovering who he is, both in terms of his relationships to others, but also the bigger picture.

Image via Paramount+

You really do have an arc in the first six episodes and get to do a lot of different things. How much did Terry [Matalas] tell you when you got cast what this was all going to be, and how much was it you finding out script by script?

SPELEERS: So Terry, who has become such a dear friend, he made it very clear to me early on what was in store for this character. I was quite… I suppose I was gobsmacked because to be given an opportunity to join such a wonderful franchise like this and be a part of that, in a role that [was] so multifaceted and had so much scope, it was a real honor.

I think I’m going to struggle being able to do any other role on the back of this one because, as you said, I got to do everything. I really was given free rein to do everything, and he’s involved in every episode, and quite significantly, and I relish that. I really, really loved every minute of it.

The season is 10 episodes. Do you have a favorite episode of the 10, and why?

SPELEERS: No, I mean, I do think the finale’s pretty special for many of our cast members. I think what I love about the season as it goes along is I keep watching episodes, actually, and going, “Oh, that’s a good one. That’s a good one…” Because it just builds in crescendos, and I feel that Terry’s achieved what he set out to do. He wanted to create a cinematic moment. He wanted these 10 episodes to feel like one long movie and I think that’s what it is.

So rather than picking one episode, I think [there are] so many great stories in there and the characters are so well thought out. Even the new Bridge Crew, I think they’re so on point with everything they do. You know, the score is on point, the way it looks, the way it’s shot. That’s completely juxtaposed to what’s going on with the relationships and the family drama, and then the big scale of what might be around the corner. So I can’t pick one episode. I think it just builds as a whole piece.

Image via Paramount+

Yeah, as I was watching all six it’s been getting better and better because you get more invested. One of the things I think about Season 3 is – and I’ve seen all of the first two seasons – I do think you could watch Season 3 without having seen the first two seasons. Do you feel that way?

SPELEERS: I actually do, I do. I feel that, of course, it would be great to have an understanding of who the other characters are if you’re not familiar already. But I think that what’s quite intriguing about Season 3 is it toes the line between a stand-alone moment. So you don’t have to necessarily have watched anything related to this before, but it is still also tying things up in a wonderful way for so many well-loved characters.

When you think back on the filming of Season 3, is there a day or two that you will always remember, whether it be because you messed up on set really badly or you got something in one take? You know, just one of those days.

SPELEERS: I mean, I let the props department down quite a lot because I kept breaking the phaser. I think I missed the holster a couple of times and the nib of the phaser broke off. That was kind of memorable for the amount of grief I took for that, but also, I had some pretty lovely scenes both with Gates [McFadden] and with Patrick [Stewart], certainly later on in the season as well. I mean, I was very lucky because I feel that I was given the opportunity to bounce around many storylines, and worked quite closely with many of the cast. I really enjoyed the stuff I got to do with Seven of Nine, as well, with Jeri [Ryan]. I thought we had some really nice little moments, as well.

New episodes of Star Trek: Picard Season 3 premiere every Thursday on Paramount+. In the meantime, check out our interview with Matalas below.