John de Lancie is, apparently, filming two seasons of Star Trek: Picard. The actor isn’t great at keeping secrets from his Cameo fans and tipped off audiences to his return as Q in Star Trek: Picard before the official announcement on First Contact Day. Now he may have revealed that Star Trek: Picard is filming two seasons concurrently. Paramount+ hasn’t officially announced a renewal for Picard’s third season (though its producers have hinted at a three-season plan for the streaming show in the past) and have dodged questions about plans to shoot seasons two and three back to back. In a Cameo video, de Lancie may have pulled the curtain back.
“Q is coming back,” de Lancie said in one video (spotted by TrekMovie). “As a matter of fact, for the last two weeks I have been filming on Picard and really annoying Picard – really annoying him. [laughs] Patrick was delighted to see me for the first couple of days and after a couple of more days of really annoying scenes, he said, “So, how many episodes are you doing?” In other words, ‘When are you going to get out of my face?’ And the answer is six episodes. I think they are going to be coming out – actually, I don’t know. But we are shooting season two and three all at the same time right now.”
Shooting two seasons at the same time could help make up for the time lost during the pandemic. Though Paramount+ renewed Picard for its second season ahead of its first season’s premiere, production on the second season faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming didn’t commence on the second season until more than a year after the first’s season’s premiere. The second season isn’t expected to premiere until 2022. If season three is being filmed at the same time as season two, that could mean a much shorter turnaround time.
Star Trek: Picard stars Patrick Stewart reprising his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons on Star Trek: The Next Generation, following him through the next chapter of his life. Star Trek: Picard Season Two’s cast includes Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Jeri Ryan, Orla Brady, and Brent Spiner.
Are you excited about John de Lancie‘s return as Q in Star Trek: Picard? Let us know in the comments. Star Trek: Picard‘s first season is streaming now on Paramount+.