Star Trek: Picard - When is it released? Who is in the cast? How to watch it in the UK

Hit warp speed and celebrate, Trekkies, the highly-anticipated TV series Star Trek: Picard has a home in the UK on Amazon Prime Video.

Sir Patrick Stewart will reprise his famous role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons in Star Trek: Next Generation, telling the story of the next chapter in the captain's life. The journey has begun!

Not sure what all the fuss is about and why this is one of the  biggest TV moments of 2020?

Watch our video below with the Star Trek: Picard cast at the UK premiere as they explain the magic and enduring appeal of Sir Patrick Stewart and the iconic Captain Picard.

Patrick Stewart told BT TV that returning to the role for the first time since the 2002 movie Star Trek: Nemisis wasn't as challenging as you might think.

"The man never left me," said Stewart. "Never left inside me. We overlapped so strongly in the things that we believed in and the way we saw leadership. I didn’t find it remotely challenging. What I did find challenging was when Brent (Spiner) and Jonathan (Frakes) were there, who are both very funny guys, and they teased me quite a lot.

"Other than that, it was somewhat exhausting but a very stimulating experience."

Stewart admitted that not having to bring back the classic Next Generation skin-tight costumes also helped him ease back into the role.

"Don’t you love my costumes? We have one flashback in the Captain’s uniform and I felt very uncomfortable," said Stewart. "I love all the new civilian costumes."

How to watch Picard in the UK

Picard will air exclusively in the UK on Amazon Prime Video. It will air within 24 hours of the US premiere on CBS All Access.

Boost your BT TV package by adding Prime Video.

Star Trek: Picard premiered in over 200 territories around the world, including the UK, on January 24, 2020 on Prime Video.

Following the launch, new episodes of Star Trek: Picard’s 10-episode-long first season will be available weekly on Fridays.

You wanted comfirmation of season two? We can make it so, because it's already been confirmed by Sir Patrick that the show will return. And one very special Next Generation co-star has been confirmed to come back for season two... but more of later.

The Comic-Con trailer

New images from the series and the first full trailer were released at Comic Con 2019.

The cast members in attendance were Sir Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Isa Briones (Dahj), Santiago Cabrera (Cristobal “Chris” Rios), Michelle Hurd (Raffi Musiker), Alison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Harry Treadaway (Narek) and Evan Evagora (Elnor) and it got a bigger reaction than even the cast were expecting.

"The San Diego Comic-Con was something else," Michelle Hurd told BT TV.

"We’re all in different storylines and a lot of us don’t get to work together, so Comic-Con was the first time we all came together and that moment was amazing. It was insane. "

Evan Evagora joked: "It felt like we were in the Beatles."

Harry Treadaway added: "It is just a very rare thing to be in a show that has such a heritage with generations of families watching it."

Crew from behind the camara also on the panel were executive producers Alex Kurtzman, Michael Chabon, Akiva Goldsman and Heather Kadin as well as co-executive producer and director Hanelle Culpepper and supervising producer Kirsten Beyer.

Speaking about their new characters in the series, Isa Briones said that Dahj is "a lost soul who went through a horrible tragedy and felt a strong need to see out Picard for help".

Michelle Hurd's Raffi is a "genius hacker and security analyst, who is not too pleased to see Picard again after a huge falling out".

Santiago Cabrera’s Rios is "ex-Star Fleet and part of the band of misfits on the show’s mission." And Allison Pill's  Dr. Jurati is a scientist specializing in robotics who has always dreamed of working with Picard.

Harry Treadway’s Narek is a Romulan agent, who is on a mission to save a lot of people.

Meanwile, Patrick Stewart revealed the surprising detail that he actually initially refused to join the show. It was only a few days after the idea was pitched and turned down by Stewart that he got back in touch and asked to see some ideas on paper.

Stewart also revealed that the inclusion of a pit bull as Picard's pet dog 'Number One' was his idea. "Once the dog issue had been agreed upon,” Stewart said. "I campaigned vociferously for it to be a pit bull.”

Who are the new characters and cast?

Alongside Stewart, the series will include a collection of newcomers to the Star Trek universe including Alison Pill (The Newsroom), Harry Treadaway (Penny Dreadful), Isa Briones (American Crime Story: Versace), Santiago Cabrera (Salvation), Evan Evagora, and Michelle Hurd (Blindspot).

Michelle Hurd - Raffi

Introducing her character Raffi, Michelle Hurd told BT TV: "The thing I like about Raffi is that she is haunted. She has regrets. In the world she has created for herself, she is struggling to navigate and is leaning on crutches and vices.

"I think it’s imperative that we tell that journey, because so many of us know people who are struggling with demons. And what’s great about her story is that just because she has these demons, she is still viable. She’s not to be pushed to the side. These people shouldn’t be written off because they lean on something.

"We’ve always seen a perfect Starfleet officer before, in their crisp suits. This is our story. This is people we love. And that’s something I loved with our writers, working on this story, see how someone can stumble again, because that’s what can happen with demons and addictions.

"love that we’re telling perfectly imperfect stories...  And I get to curse on a Star Trek set!" 

Next Generation and Voyager cast returning

The Comic Con panel stunned fans with the reveal that Next Generation's Brent Spiner and Voyager's Jeri Ryan would be part of the new series, as their respective characters Commander Data and Seven of Nine.

Data's reveal at the end of the trailer was a particular emotional trick on fans as his character also appears at the start of the trailer, with his disembodied parts show as Picard narrates: "Nearly two decades ago, Commander Data sacrificed his life for me. These past few years, I've really tried to belong here [away from Starfleet]. But it never truly felt like home."

Jonathan Frakes as William Riker and Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi will also return.

Executive producer Alex Kurtzman has hinted that more former Next Generation stars might appear in Picard, but told Entertainment Weekly that they won't just throw in cameos for the sake of it,

Speaking to Deadline's Crew Call about the new series at Comic Con, Kurtzman added: "A lot has happened to Jean-Luc Picard in the intervening years.

"There's been a lot going on and he's had to deal with some new things, he's had to deal with some old things, and both of those things kind of come colliding together.

"He's made choices that he's not necessarily feeling great about – and yet I think the audience will understand exactly why he made them."

What do we know about the story of Picard?

The series is expected to be set during Picard’s 'golden years'. This period was referenced in the 1994 Next Generation finale All Good Things.

"There's only one word that can begin to describe Sir Patrick Stewart as Starship Commander Jean-Luc Picard, and that's 'legendary'" said series executive producer Alex Kurtzman.

"We are thrilled beyond measure to have him back in command, bringing the optimistic messages of Star Trek to audiences around the world."

Speaking at Paleyfest, Kurtzman said: "I had an amazing experience yesterday. I sat at Patrick's kitchen table and I heard him read the first episode, and I almost cried.

"It was quite something. He's at an amazing place in his life. He's so excited."

In an interview with EW, Kurtzman revealed Stewart's response on reading the scripts.

"He walked into the room and he had a huge smile on his face and said, 'This is wonderful'. What he understood at that point … was that he was with people who desperately wanted to collaborate with him, that we weren't trying to exploit him," explained Kurtzman.

"He knew if he was going to go back to Picard, it needed to be for the greatest reason ever."

"Without revealing too much about it, people have so many questions about Picard and what happened to him, and the idea we get to take time to answer those questions in the wake of the many, many things he’s had to deal with in Next Gen is really exciting."

Picard will air exclusively in the UK on Amazon Prime Video.

Photo Credit: Rex/Shutterstock/CBS/TV Line/Comic Con/Amazon Prime Video