I forgot about Captain Picard Day this year, but so did Star Trek. June 16 is Captain Picard Day, which is one of the three holidays Star Trek celebrates in the real world, along with First Contact Day in April and Star Trek Day in September. Fans remembered Captain Picard Day, and it was commemorated by dedicated fan-run Star Trek websites. But the occasion came and went without fanfare from Star Trek on Paramount+ or me.
Captain Picard Day didn’t register for me as it did in the past because so much has recently happened in the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek: Discovery ended on May 30th after 5 successful seasons, and it was a lot to unpack. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 wrapped filming. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which is going into production in the fall, dropped two huge casting announcements, tapping Academy Award-winner Holly Hunter as the series lead and Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti as the next Star Trek series’ recurring main villain. Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 finally announced its July 1st release date on Netflix, and Star Trek received a Peabody Institutional Award. With so much happening, Captain Picard Day got lost in the shuffle.
Why Star Trek Celebrates Captain Picard Day
“I’m a role model!”
Captain Picard Day was introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7, episode 12, “The Pegasus”. It was a special occasion organized by Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) to allow the children aboard the USS Enterprise-D to celebrate their heroic Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Captain Picard Day was a memorable bit of whimsy in TNG that was later acknowledged by the older Admiral Picard in Star Trek: Picard season 1.
Star Trek recognized how fans took to Captain Picard Day and turned June 16th into a real-world occasion. In 2019, StarTrek.com marked Captain Picard Day with an entire week of festivities. Captain Picard Day was also a convenient tie-in for Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+ when the series bringing back Patrick Stewart in his iconic role premiered in 2020, running for three seasons. This year, however, Captain Picard Day celebrations ended up taking a back seat for a few reasons.
Why Captain Picard Day 2024 Went By Without Notice From Star Trek
Star Trek has new things to announce… but not yet.
Captain Picard Day fell on both a Sunday and Father’s Day in 2024, which helps explain why it didn’t receive its normal fanfare. In terms of Picard himself, the end of Star Trek: Picard in spring 2023 was followed by the celebration of Patrick Stewart’s memoir, “Making It So”, in the fall. Unfortunately, Paramount+ did not choose to develop Star Trek: Legacy as a continuation of Star Trek: Picard. In addition, Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas is moving on to executive produce Vision for Marvel Studios and write an Enemy Mine reboot for 20th Century Studios, so there is nothing to announce in terms of seeing more of Jean-Luc and the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Star Trek on Paramount+ opted not to use Captain Picard Day to announce any of its new upcoming projects. Most likely, announcing the full cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, revealing more details about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, dropping a trailer or release date for Star Trek: Section 31, and/or a trailer and release date for Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 is being saved for San Diego Comic-Con in July. There is also Star Trek Day in September that Paramount+ can use to hype upcoming projects, while Paramount Pictures is not ready to reveal anything about its theatrical Untitled Star Trek Origin movie. Hopefully, Captain Picard Day won’t be forgotten about in 2025, and there will be something exciting about Picard’s side of Star Trek worth announcing.
Where to Watch*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
- Cast
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Patrick Stewart
, Marina Sirtis
, Brent Spiner
, Jonathan Frakes
, LeVar Burton
, Wil Wheaton
, Gates McFadden
, Michael Dorn - Seasons
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7
- Streaming Service(s)
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Paramount+
- Franchise(s)
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Star Trek
- Writers
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Rick Berman
, Michael Piller
, Brannon Braga
, Jeri Taylor
, Ronald D. Moore - Directors
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David Carson
- Showrunner
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Rick Berman
, Michael Piller
, Jeri Taylor - Where To Watch
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Paramount+
Where to Watch*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
- Cast
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Patrick Stewart
, Jonathan Frakes
, Jeri Ryan
, Michelle Hurd
, Ed Speleers
, Gates McFadden
, Todd Stashwick
, Michael Dorn
, Brent Spiner
, LeVar Burton
, Marina Sirtis
, Amanda Plummer
, Isa Briones
, Alison Pill
, Santiago Cabrera
, Evan Evagora
, Orla Brady
, John de Lancie
, Whoopi Goldberg - Seasons
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3
- Streaming Service(s)
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Paramount+
- Franchise(s)
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Star Trek
- Writers
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Terry Matalas
, Akiva Goldsman
, Michael Chabon - Directors
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Jonathan Frakes
, Terry Matalas - Showrunner
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Michael Chabon
, Akiva Goldsman
, Terry Matalas - Where To Watch
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Paramount+
