Star Trek showrunner reveals we will see a new side to Q in Picard season 2

CBS Studios/Amazon — (Image credit: Paramount)

John de Lancie’s Q is back in Picard season 2. Jean-Luc Picard’s eternal adversary will have a certain ‘capitane’ in his sights and, as co-showrunner Terry Matalas tells SFX magazine, is set to bring out a new side to the time traveling thorn in Picard’s side.

"He’s the first relationship on Star Trek: The Next Generation, really, that Picard had," Matalas says of Q’s history with Patrick Stewart’s iconic captain in TNG, which ran from 1987 to 1994.

Picard – which is coming back for a second season in March with a third season on the way – is veering off in a slightly different direction from Q’s usual hijinks, however.

As Matalas puts it, "It was about how you tell a story about Q that’s unexpected, and not the same Loki-esque shenanigans that we are used to. How does it have real dramatic weight? And that was our jumping-off point."

He adds: "You will definitely see a side of Q you’ve never seen before. There’s some things going on with Q that are definitely surprising, considering the kind of being he is. And how that would reflect on Jean-Luc Picard and what’s going on with his life at the moment. The first two episodes are a pretty wild ride."

Picard season 2 will debut on Paramount Plus in the US on March and Prime Video worldwide on March 4. For more from SFX’s blowout cover feature on Picard – including talk of more familiar faces returning into the fold – be sure to check out the new issue, available to buy now.

Star Trek: Picard on the cover of SFX issue 349. — (Image credit: Future)

I'm the Editor of SFX, the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine – available digitally and in print every four weeks since 1995. I've been editing magazines, and writing for numerous publications since before the Time War. Obviously SFX is the best one. I knew being a geek would work out fine.

With contributions from

Bradley RussellSenior Entertainment Writer