Jeri Ryan Turned Down Captain Seven ‘Picard’ Spin-off Pitch That Wasn’t ‘Star Trek: Legacy’

The idea of a spin-off for Star Trek: Picard began before the series wrapped up in the spring of 2023. Cast members and fans rallied around the Star Trek: Legacy concept envisioned by showrunner Terry Matalas, which would carry on the adventures of the USS Enterprise-G under the command of Captain Seven, played by Jeri Ryan, continuing the role she originated in Star Trek: Voyager. Despite the buzz around Legacy, no development work was ever done for the proposed show in earnest, so it should come as a surprise that there was a different Star Trek series pitched to Jeri Ryan after her celebrated run on Picard.

The other Captain Seven pitch

Jeri Ryan made the revelation at Spacecon in San Antonio, TX, held in the last weekend of October. The event reunited many of the cast members of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard, and Ryan was a headline guest, participating in several panels. At a Voyager panel, she along with Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill fielded pre-screened questions, and unsurprisingly, Ryan received many inquiries regarding the future of Seven of Nine. One question was: “Has there ever been any talk of a Captain Seven show?” and Ryan told the audience:

“There has been talk. And there was an idea that was actually pitched to me after Picard ended, which was not the Legacy show that I know the fans are asking for, that I want to do. But it just wasn’t me… It didn’t feel like the right kind of thing… But there has been talk. And if there is one thing I have learned with this franchise it is: never say never. You never know.”

Ryan didn’t offer any more specifics during the weekend about the Captain Seven show that was pitched to her. Like other members of the Picard cast, Ryan has been vocal in her support of the Star Trek: Legacy concept, which could carry pick up the story from the series finale that showed her in command of the USS Enterprise-G with Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd), Ensign Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), and Lt. Sidney La Forge (Ashley Sharpe Chestnut) returning on her crew. Jonathan Frakes’ William T. Riker would recur with other legacy Star Trek stars expected to pop in and out.

In a recent TrekMovie All Access Star Trek podcast interview, Picard (and TNG) actor Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh) described a Borg-focused show concept that would have included Jeri Ryan. That concept, spearheaded by executive producer James Duff, eventually morphed into Star Trek: Picard when Patrick Stewart was brought into the project, and Duff exited the franchise. That was quite a few years ago, so this more recent pitch described by Ryan appears to be something different. It also likely doesn’t involve Terry Matalas, who had already mapped out some plans and even some dialogue for his Legacy concept. After the success of Picard season 3, Matalas moved on from Paramount to work on several other projects, notably as showrunner for the upcoming Disney+ MCU series Vision.

As for Paramount+, the streaming service has stuck with their original plan (set in motion ahead of Picard season 3) to make Star Trek: Starfleet Academy their next new franchise series, and that show has already been picked up for two seasons while the first season is currently in production. With all the belt tightening at Paramount, it has appeared there isn’t room for any more Trek series, especially with Strange New Worlds also already set for two additional seasons. It’s unclear if this other pitch Ryan referenced had an implicit greenlight. Earlier this year, the executive producer in charge of Star Trek for Paramount said he would be happy to give Legacy the greenlight, but it was out of his hands.

Other Picard actors ready for Legacy

As Ryan said, “You never know” when it comes to the future of Star Trek. Based on the volume of questions raised at various Spacecon panels, it’s clear many fans continue to wish for a Star Trek show with Captain Seven of Nine. Picard’s Michelle Hurd also fielded quite a few questions about the possibility at Spacecon, and she told a fan:

“Girl, I’ve got every single part of my body crossed that this day happens. Jeri and I both want Legacy so badly, and I gotta say thank you to you, and thank you to all of our communities that are trying to get that forward and signing petitions and kicking it out there. That’s the way that things happen, is you guys, your voice actually does impact the studios.”

Michelle Hurd’s optimism is rooted in Star Trek’s long history of responding to fan feedback. Creating Strange New Worlds as a vehicle for fan favorite Anson Mount as Captain Pike is just one example, and with the way the audience has embraced the idea of Seven of Nine commanding the Enterprise-G, history could repeat itself.