Exclusive Insider Scoop: Unveiling the Untold Journey of Picard's Near Miss with a Star Trek Musical!

Summary

Star Trek: Picard almost had a musical episode, but it never materialized, joining a list of failed attempts to create Star Trek musicals.

Picard's wife's musical cameo, along with Agnes Jurati's Borg Queen-inspired singing, may have sparked the idea for a Picard musical. After extensive efforts and meticulous planning, the team behind the new Star Trek series, Strange New Worlds, managed to deliver a remarkable musical episode that genuinely delighted fans.

Showrunner Akiva Goldsman has revealed that Star Trek: Picard came close to having a musical episode, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. Prior to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds introducing a musical spectacle, there had been past attempts, such as Ronald D. Moore's two attempts on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as well as Linda Park's attempt on Star Trek: Enterprise. Unfortunately, Picard now joins the list of failed attempts to bring a Star Trek musical to life.

In an interview with TV Line, Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers discussed the unsuccessful endeavor of creating a Star Trek: Picard musical. The details of where this episode would have fit into the show are unclear, but there were moments in Picard season 2 that hinted at the possibility of a musical episode. For example, actor Patrick Stewart's wife, Sunny Ozell, made a musical cameo and there was a scene where Agnes Jurati (played by Alison Pill) sang while influenced by the Borg Queen (portrayed by Annie Wersching). It is speculated that this may have sparked the initial idea. The interview also mentions how Lin-Manuel Miranda, known for his work on Hamilton, played a role in the demise of the Picard musical.

Goldsman, who is also an EP and co-showrunner on Strange New Worlds, reminisced about Chabon mentioning his acquaintance with Lin-Manuel Miranda. "We urged him, 'Get in touch with him!'" the EP revealed. Two days later, when they checked in with Chabon, he informed them, "Lin-Manuel didn't return my call."

"And that marked the end of that musical," Goldsman remarked. "However, it was such a brilliant concept. Once Henry and I began working on [Strange New Worlds], I constantly suggested the idea of a musical, especially since Henry had previous experience with musicals."

How Strange New Worlds Did The First Star Trek Musical

The TV Line interview highlights the immense effort put into producing the musical episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Drawing from his experience on The Magicians, Henry Alonso Myers warned Akiva Goldsman about the challenges of musical episodes. As a result, "Subspace Rhapsody" was strategically placed as the second-to-last episode of Strange New Worlds season 2 due to the extensive preparation required. Myers spent six months prior to filming sourcing lyricists, composers, and set designers for the Star Trek musical.

In a Screen Rant interview, director Dermott Downs revealed that the cast and crew dedicated their weekends to rehearsing the elaborate musical numbers for "Subspace Rhapsody." Their commitment paid off, resulting in a truly remarkable accomplishment. The musical episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds serves as a grand celebration of the starship Enterprise, a feat that may have posed challenges for the more serialized and darker-toned Star Trek: Picard.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' season 2 finale streams Thursday, August 10th, on Paramount+.

Source: TV Line