Star Trek: Picard shuts down production after COVID outbreak

Star Trek: Picard has one of the largest crews in show business, and a lot of them have COVID. (Not Patrick Stewart, if you’re wondering.)

The COVID-19 pandemic came along just as TV studios were really ramping up their output and creating some expensive, complicated shows. This meant that a lot of series were delayed in the last two years as the virus disrupted productions like The Witcher, Stranger Things and more. And with the Omicron variant currently sweeping around the world, those delays aren’t over.

The latest show to get hit with one is Star Trek: Picard, which catches up with Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) decades after The Next Generation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Paramount+ series has one of the biggest crews in Hollywood at 450 staffers (which surprised me), and more than 50 of them tested positive for COVID on their first day back at work after the holiday break.

That sucks, but there are a few silver linings here. One: the delay started earlier this week and will probably only last through today or next Monday. Two: According to Deadline, Patrick Stewart himself did not test positive, and since he’s 81 years old, that’s very good news. And three: the second season of the show is (presumably) already shot and due out in February. The production stop is likely only affecting the third (and final) season.

We hope things go as smoothly as possible from here on out. And as you wait for Star Trek: Picard season 2, you can watch season 1 on Paramount+.

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h/t SyFy Wire