Jonathan Frakes Wishes Star Trek: The Next Generation Had Continued

Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard is on the verge of a comeback, that much we can confirm, but what about his former crew?

Yes, as we all know by now, Picard will soon feature in a new Star Trek series from CBS and franchise architect Alex Kurtzman, with the premise of it being a standalone drama that’ll focus on Picard’s next steps in Starfleet now that The Next Generation has come and gone.

And that’s just it. With the aforementioned show still missed by fans across the world, folks are wondering if the likes of LeVar Burton and Gates McFadden will reunite with Stewart in the not-so-distant future? Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem likely, but we do know that the esteemed actor will still get to team up with at least one of his old colleagues.

And that’s because Jonathan Frakes, who played Will Riker on The Next Generation, will be stepping behind the camera for a few episodes of the Picard show to direct. But if you ask the man himself, he believes there’s still many stories to be told with the entire Next Generation crew, not just the captain, and wishes the series had continued.

Speaking to TrekMovie.com in a recent interview, here’s what Frakes said:

Marina [Siritis] and I have said – with no irony at all – we would still be doing the show if we had been asked. I believe the show ended as a television series so that Paramount could continue the movie franchise. I am not convinced [the series finale] “All Good Things…” is the end of stories we could have told with that family on the Enterprise. I am not sure it had the 21 seasons of [Law and Order:] SVU in it, but certainly it had more to come.

While Star Trek: The Next Generation certainly had a terrific run, it’s true that it probably could’ve lasted another season or two without overstaying its welcome. Then again, who knows? It’s always best to go out on a high rather than drag on needlessly, and TNG certainly went out on top.

Besides, while none of the cast from Star Trek: The Next Generation are confirmed to be appearing on the Picard show just yet, we imagine that down the road, if it continues on for a few seasons, we might see a familiar face or two pop by. After all, I think I speak for all TNG fans when I say that I really, really want to know where Worf ended up.