michelle hurd star trek

Michelle Hurd

Michelle Hurd ( born 21 December 1966 ; age 57) is an American actress who plays Raffaela Musiker in Star Trek: Picard .

Hurd is the daughter of Jamaican-American actor Hugh Hurd , and his first wife, German-American clinical psychologist Merlyn Purdy. She made her acting debut in 1989's Rude Awakening with Cliff DeYoung and Andrea Martin . Hurd's next film was Justice League of America (1997, with Miguel Ferrer , John Kassir , and David Ogden Stiers ).

Hurd followed with 1998's Wilbur Falls costarring Sally Kellerman . She then costarred in Random Hearts (1999, with Bill Cobbs and Susanna Thompson . In 2012, Hurd reunited with Andrea Martin in Girl Most Likely , which also costarred Padma Lakshmi . That same year was the Christmas telefilm Naughty or Nice with Googy Gress and Wade Andrew Williams . For 2015, Hurd took on Beautiful & Twisted with Jude Ciccolella .

Hurd's best known lead role on series television is as New York Police Detective Monique Jeffries on the Law & Order spinoff Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , only starring in the first season from 1999-2000 and sporadically in the second (2000). The series premiere "Payback" featured Ronald Guttman ; "A Single Life" counted Michael Nouri as a guest; "...Or Just Look Like One" had Carolyn McCormick carrying her role of Doctor Elizabeth Olivet from the parent series as well as Todd Stashwick ; "Closure" with Olivia Birkelund ; "Bad Blood" with Ken Land ; "Limitations" with John Doman ; "The Third Guy" was directed by Jud Taylor ; "Misleader" with Robert Foxworth ; "Remorse" with Josh Pais ; and the second season premiere "Wrong Is Right" featured a return performance by John Doman. Hurd was written out of the show before the season concluded in 2001. In 2009, to launch the 8th season of CSI: Miami , Hurd lent her talents to the premiere "Out of Time", joining Brad William Henke and Angelo Tiffe .

Hurd is known for her part as New York fashion photographer Laurel on Gossip Girl in 2007 and 2008. Hurd appeared with Caroline Lagerfelt in the Season 2 premiere "Summer, Kind of Wonderful", as well as "The Dark Night" and "The Ex-Files", both with Mädchen Amick , all in 2008.

From 2014 to 2019, she appeared in eight episodes of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci 's Hawaii Five-0 reboot television series in the recurring role of Renee Grover. From 2016 through 2019, she played the primary antagonist Shepherd on NBC's Blindspot .

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• Michelle Hurd at Wikipedia
• Michelle Hurd at the Internet Movie Database
• Michelle Hurd at X (formerly Twitter)
• Michelle Hurd at Instagram
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• Michelle Hurd at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
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Star Trek: Picard

Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life. Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life. Follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life.

• Kirsten Beyer
• Michael Chabon
• Akiva Goldsman
• Patrick Stewart
• Michelle Hurd
• 2.8K User reviews
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• 14 wins & 54 nominations total

Episodes 30

• Jean-Luc Picard

• Raffi Musiker

• Seven of Nine

• Dr. Agnes Jurati

• Cristóbal Rios …

• Adam Soong …

• La Sirena Computer

• Jack Crusher

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• Ensign Esmar

• Titan Computer …
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• Trivia The first season is set in 2399, 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) (which was set in the year 2379). Using the Stardate format established in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) , this would place the start of the series just after Stardate 76000.
• Goofs Commodore Oh often wears sunglasses. Star Trek lore establishes that Vulcans have an inner eyelid to protect against harsh sunlight on their desert planet. Oh's shades are a fashion statement, not a protective measure.
• The first season features a Borg cube and the planet Romulus.
• The second season features a Borg ship, a wormhole and hourglass, and the Borg Queen's silhouette.
• The third season does not have an opening titles sequence.
• Connections Featured in Half in the Bag: Comic Con 2019, The Picard Trailer, Streaming Services, and Midsommar (2019)

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• January 23, 2020 (United States)
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• Runtime 46 minutes
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Michelle Hurd Talks Raffi’s New Confidence And Love For Seven In ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 2

| August 17, 2021 | By: Anthony Pascale 57 comments so far

At Creation’s 55-Year Mission Las Vegas Star Trek convention, members of the Star Trek: Picard cast talked about their characters, season two, and more.

Vindication for Raffi

When we meet Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) in season one of  Star Trek: Picard, she is living in isolation, dismissed by Starfleet as a conspiracy theorist. But by the finale, it turns out she was right all along about the Romulans and the attack on Mars. During the panel, Hurd—appearing remotely—talked about how will affect her character as she moves into the new season:

It’s tricky, isn’t it? Because it’s the loss of lives that haunts her. So those lives of still are still lost, and it’s sort of going, “I told you, I told you, had you listened to me…” So she’s vindicated in that way. But she is sort of a walking heart and empathetic person… and she takes everything personally. And that loss of lives still resonates with her and haunts her. She was right, but she isn’t doing the happy dance. She feels a little more confident in believing in her own instincts.

This new confidence can tie into indications that Raffi rejoins Starfleet in season two.

Raffi can be seen at a Starfleet meeting in uniform in the season two teaser

Falling in love with Seven

One of the surprising elements in the last  moments of the Picard season one finale was the indication of a romance between Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi. Responding to a question about how excited she was to explore the relationship in season two, Hurd said:

Well, first of all, Seven of Nine. Do I really need to speak on that? But for Raffi, for her to witness this woman who is powerful and strong and confident and bold and brave, and just fearless. I mean, I don’t know how everybody doesn’t just sort of want to fall in love with Seven of Nine? And Jeri Ryan is such a phenomenal person and actress and intelligent being and we get along so well. So you know, to, to explore that is, is a really cool thing. That’s all I’m gonna say.

She was asked about the scene in particular and how she and Ryan chose to play it with that subtle touch of the hands:

That was me and Jeri, because we were trying to figure out how do we make that sort of connection… We wanted it to be sort of a suggestion that these two individuals find each other, literally, and physically find each other and find a common energy and a common respect and admiration. And that touch sort of stimulated and triggered both of us to look into furthering that relationship.

Michelle Hurd appearing remotely at the 55-Year Mission convention, Las Vegas, August 15 2021 (Photo: TrekMovie.com)

Jonathan Del Arco (Hugh) told the crowd that he “would like to take credit” for the Seven/Raffi relationship, revealing he was the one who made the suggestion to the show’s producers after seeing the chemistry the two actors had together when they were promoting the show at Comic-Con 2019. He took “a really hot picture” of them together and showed it to the producers.

Jonathan Del Arco at the 55-Year Mission convention, Las Vegas, August 15 2021 (Photo: TrekMovie.com)

Hurd confirmed Del Arco’s story and said she was immediately on board:

So it was kind of organic. Once they saw that shot, there was not a discussion of like, “Do you guys feel comfortable?” We’re like, “Yes, let’s do this!”

He also posted the photo that launched Raffi/Seven on Instagram (below).

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Jonathan Del Arco (@jonathandelarco)

Jeri beams in from Picard set

Jeri Ryan wasn’t able to attend the convention in person, but during a Sunday Star Trek: Voyager panel she did appear via a recorded message from the set of Picard , where she gave a little production update:

We are still very much in production on Star Trek: Picard . According to our COVID protocols, I had to skip. So sorry to miss you guys… Hopefully we can get back to normal next year and I can see all of you again and give you my love in person.

Briones talks musical Trek

The Picard panel also included Evan Evagora and Isa Briones, but neither offered up any clues regarding season two of Picard . However, Brione—who transitioned straight from appearing on Broadway in Hamilton to Picard— responded positively to a fan suggesting a Star Trek musical:

We’ve definitely talked about making a musical episode. We definitely need to make that happen. Let’s get Lin-Manuel Miranda on the phone. He’s a Star Trek fan, so I feel we can make this happen.

Isa Briones at the 55-Year Mission convention, Las Vegas, August 15, 2021 (Photo: TrekMovie.com)

Evan Evagora at the 55-Year Mission convention, Las Vegas, August 15 2021 (Photo: TrekMovie.com)

More from Vegas

The convention wrapped up on Sunday, but there is a lot left to cover, so stay tuned to TrekMovie for more news from the Star Trek convention, including updates on Star Trek: Picard , the Voyager documentary. And don’t forget to check out the coverage we have already posted .

Find more  news and analysis for  Star Trek: Picard .

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Raffi’s “love” for Seven came from a photo del Arco took of the two that they all thought “was hot” and then Hurd and Ryan spontaneously holding hands in a scene? That makes sense because it clearly didn’t come from anything in the pathetic story that was season 1 of Picard.

That’s how things work in modern Trek. Everything is built on the juvenile “wouldn’t it be cools” of the producers and actors with none of it grounded in story-telling, character development, or science fiction.

It wouldn’t be a proper major romance for Seven if it didn’t come out of nowhere.

But in fairness, the tentative little touch at the end of S1 seems to me like Seven and Raffi just having those little exploratory feelers out at the beginning of what becomes a relationship. While a lot of this show’s first season didn’t really work well for me, that one aspect didn’t seem to come out of nowhere; it just felt like a nice, natural early stage, and worked well, I thought. If only more of the show did… but oh well.

Call me old fashioned, but if I was doing what they were doing in that scene, there would have been a few meaningful conversations first. I had to chuckle when Anthony called that a “subtle touch of the hands.”

That’s not how my relationships worked — the physical part always happened very quickly, and the meaningful conversations (if any) would follow. So it very much did seem like a “subtle touch of the hands” to me.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if that partly explains the different reactions to this scene? I can very easily imagine two people who have been through a lot very organically begin touching this way, but I also accept that this wouldn’t immediately happen for other people. Which, I wonder, are Seven and Raffi?

This Gen-Xer is going to be the one to call you “old-fashioned” then. I have quite a few issues with modern Trek (particularly it’s over-reliance on action), but this isn’t one of them.

In real life, I’ve had relationships that unfolded after a series of conversations, and ones that essentially sprung up from physical contact very early on. And as an aside, others are not always privy to the conversations anyway.

Given the chemistry between Ryan and Hurd, this worked for me.

They shared so little screen time before that, it came out of left field for me. But I also don’t usually like the tactic of starting a tv relationship offscreen with no set up. Feels lazy to me, and it doesn’t matter if that mirrors real life when we aren’t following two people all the time – the rules are different for onscreen characters.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fleshed out properly, so we’ll see.

So you’re saying that you like to watch?

Indeed, indeed.

That “romance” with Chakotay….. just a whole galaxy of no. Literally no chemistry whatsoever!

No chemistry? Were we watching the same show? I guess it’s very much up to the viewer.

I am with M1701A, they had ZERO chemistry, and their romance was forced in the final batch of episodes simply so they could replicate the “lost lovers” concept from “All Good Things” with Worf and Troi (which itself was another pairing that never made sense) in their own finale.

Well, they left just about everything up to the viewer when it came to Seven and Chakotay. They never once hinted that Chakotay was interested in her. The only reason we knew Seven was open to it was because of “Human Error,” where it came out of the blue but could have worked with a little proper follow-up with the real Chakotay. But the two of them later shared “Natural Law” together and there is not a single glance or line of dialogue or suggestion that they could become a couple.

And then they are suddenly all over each other in “Endgame,” cooing cheesy lines about how they’ll be okay so long as they are in transporter range of each other. I absolutely hated everything about that, it’s terrible writing. So if there was chemistry, I was never going to be the one to look for it.

I agree. Paris and Torres had chemistry at least.

so did the 7/chakotay thing at the end of Voy. hopefully this season of ‘picard’ will build on annika/raffi and make it seem like it was reasonable

You clearly know better than anyone involved with the show.

Boy, Mike, you really nailed it! Kudos!

Good post, Mike Stivic.

Please don’t pat him on the back for being childish. Not very constructive.

While I agree that it did seem to come out of nowhere, and the producers should be criticized for following the Brannon Braga school of “wouldn’t it be cool” story concepts– your anger, bitterness, and nasty attitude are unwelcome, and make it frustrating to be a fan around these parts.

Newsflash: You can be a fan, without having to love everything about that which you are a fan of.

So you agree with me. Criticism is OK, nastiness is not. Glad to know we see eye to eye!

Right?! And it’s especially frustrating that they keep patting themselves on the back for these choices when as a queer woman who loves that they’ve made Seven queer, I hate the way they went about it – with her shooting and killing her former girlfriend and then holding Raffi’s hand out of nowhere (did they even have a single conversation on screen?!). All we’re asking for is a little bit of actual storytelling and character development in our science fiction, but Picard season 1 made it clear that was asking too much …

I forgot she killed her former girlfriend. That’s a bit too brutal I agree.

Maybe I would have gone about the introduction to this relationship differently but it’s not the crisis some of you are blowing it up into.

Things do happen off camera.

Roddenberry was very juvenile

Although I like Raffi as a character and had no issue with any of the background developments they gave her including being in a relationship with Seven, I still felt they did all of it very badly.

Her being ousted from Starfleet was fine, but I really hated they basically fired her because Picard quit. But OK, not a huge deal. But then she drops out of society and become a drug addict, which again, I was totally fine with. Although I always love the idea of the positive future of Star Trek and how everyone can lead positive lives I never bought into the idea EVERYONE will do that, even in the 24th century. And as I point out over and over again, even in TNG, they made that clear the future wouldn’t be great for ALL humans as Tasha Yar’s background proved but generally decent if you are in the Federation. But even being in the Federation doesn’t automatically makes you an upstanding citizen with upstanding moral values and where everything is just handed to you, i.e. Tom Paris. So NOTHING that was presented with Raffi was new, it was just more defined.

But they didn’t really stick to it. She seem to have an addiction issue and it was just dropped by episode 5 I think or not really mentioned again. Her ‘conspiracy theory’ about the Romulans came to nothing more than her babbling about it. I can understand why no one took her seriously because we never saw her do any real investigating about it. I thought we would see her off gathering actual evidence or running into a ‘source’ or something that would sort of open up the story. Think of episodes with Odo going off to find something for an investigation. I thought we might see some Raffi side adventures like that. But nope! She goes to a planet to talk to her son who hates her and then everything else just falls in her lap concerning the Mars attack.

And her relationship with Seven literally came out of nowhere. Last minute of the season they are just suddenly a couple. I can’t even recall when they talked more than two minutes to each other in a room. And how long did they even know each other? A week? It just makes no sense on its head but whatever they need to do to keep Seven on the show as much as possible I’m game.

But Raffi’s background and character arc sums up why I thought the show had so many problems. Just like the story itself, the character just didn’t feel as developed as she should have or anything she did was truly earned. I really wanted to love the first season, but it just had waaaaay too many problems by the end, this character a perfect example of that.

Hoping season 2 will be a huge huge improvement!

See most of these problems you mention are basically because they only have a 10 episode season and they need to concentrate on the main plot more than any of the side plots. If this show had a classical 20-24 episode season I am sure most of what you mentioned would have been seen. This is why I don’t like shortened seasons especially if you have too many characters in a show with 10 episodes or less, some characters always get the short end of the stick in terms of a more natural development.

Yeah agreed. I think the other real problem is (and they had it with Discovery too) is just the bad pacing in general. You can really tell they rushed the ending of the show because they took a lot of time to set things up at the beginning throwing out all these clues and mysteries to basically just skim through or completely ignore total plot threads by the end because they clearly didn’t have the time to properly examine them. They needed probably a few more episodes and could’ve laid things out a lot better.

But this is the same group of people that literally needed an additional episode for Discovery in season 2 because once again they set up too much and then didn’t have enough time to resolve it all by the end.

I think I do and try to be fair with these new shows as much as possible. But people can’t ignore a lot of the inherit flaws either even if they like the shows. But they seem to always try and do waaaaay too much with the episodes they have and then when its over people feel frustrated because it’s clear there was so much more they could’ve or should’ve done to make the story feel more whole.

Its also one of the reasons I didn’t have a huge issue with LDS. They just told very simple stories with a beginning middle and end. So by the time you got to the end of the season it didn’t feel like a complete mess. You still may not like the show but at least you didn’t feel frustrated by the time it was finished. It’s not perfect either but episodic format just works a lot better or at least more of a hybrid which DS9 and later ENT did. But those shows had 20+ episodes as you said, it’s easier to build out the story any way you want.

We are in the Covfefe era. Watching these new shows sometimes reminds me of Tweets and Tik-Tok cooking videos.

Not only young writers telling the stories, but also editing the final version removes important elements to make a coherent episode.

We had (slow) sci-fi from the 50-60s. Then Star Wars Episodes 1-3 happened. Now I need to see these new productions few times to be able to process and digest the story. With Discovery and Picard especially, I need to assume and guess a lot. If I yawn and blink, I need to rewind to see if I missed something. LOL!!!

I am not the only one. Reading these posts, I realize many are in the same situation! :P

I call it the “impatient” generation. I think this is not only one of the biggest problem in entertainment but in life too these days. People are so impatient in everything. That is why it is becoming difficult to truly enjoy things. We consume everything so fast and move on to the next thing.

Wasn’t the end of the season some time later,or something?

If so, when or how was that even referenced? That was the other problem with the show, we didn’t have a sense of time of when most of these events were happening so it made it harder to understand their development better. Was it a few days, weeks, who knows? But now by the end we’re suppose to believe they are this tight knit group who are apparently going on a new adventure together. How long were they even together to believe that? Five days or five weeks? Again, no clue unless forgetting something which I could be.

True that. Don’t think they ever said so on the show,I think I just read it somewhere….maybe even on this site,lol.

Why is the Romulan Elf still in this series? One of the most useless characters in Star Trek.

Raffi suddenly being in love with Seven, came from even further left field than the sudden romance between Chakotay and Seven. At least in the case of Chakotay/Seven, they had known each other for years and gotten to know each other quite well already.

sure there was that ep with the piano and the hologram Chakotay but ‘endgame’ was out of nowhere, their hooking up not even teased in previous eps.

Really though, they were just holding hands. Maybe they had just had a heart-to-heart conversation and touched hands. It’s not like it was such an over-the-top display or romantic platitudes. It hinted that they were beginning to make a connection. Hopefully, they flesh it out next season, but people don’t need to know each other for years to make a connection.

I pretty much knew my wife was the one a few weeks into it and history has shown that to be true many years later. . It’s not a unknown human experience to make an instant connection and love at first sight is a common trope. It may be cliche but them falling for each other after a few weeks is well within the range of normal human experience

Huh. That image from the teaser (of people sitting around in front of flags) kind of looks like they’re using social-distancing protocols not only on the production but in it, too. Kind of sobering and frustrating to think the COVID-19 pandemic will apparently still be a thing by the dawn of the 25th century…

They’re not. There are plenty of behind the scenes pictures showing actors in close proximity. They can afford to absorb the costs of pandemic protocols that don’t involve shooting everything like a British soap opera (kudos to them for making it work and keeping people employed, but the footage out of those soaps right now where everyone is 6 feet apart is morbidly hilarious).

less of that now cos UK casts, crew have been vaxxed

I was just joking about the distance between everybody’s chairs in the shot. I know not everyone is actually six feet apart at all times; even without behind-the-scenes stuff, plenty of scenes show actors close together. I was just riffing on the image here because I found the chair placement odd and it worked as a gag re: the current real-world situation.

Thrilled with the convention updates! First, Chakotay. Now, an open invite to Lin Manuel? Totally forgot Briones came from Hamilton. When they suggested a Star Trek Musical, I cringed. Bad idea! Have you seen the Star Wars Holiday Special!? Except Enterprise, the openings are all instrumental. We all love the openings. But sci-fi music and lyrics!? Not sure. Many of the actors can sing. Super talented. However, if they insist, I think Lin Manuel Miranda could be the only person who could really pull off a successful experiment.

I think will be a risk producing a musical. Its like a Tarantino Star Trek movie. Some will like it and some may hate it. Bringing Miranda, if he can and will accept the challenge, hope they give him the necessary time to come up with another brilliant smash hit! :P

Unless it’s a staged Klingon opera, it makes no sense to me. Even then, I’m not so sure I care to see it. On the other hand, an adapted Macbeth opera with Klingons seems like a pretty good fit.

It will be a Herculean task to produce a good Star Trek musical.

Robert Picardo would be a good fit too. While there wasn’t a full-blown musical episode in Voyager, the few numbers both Robert Picardo and Jeri Ryan did (sometimes even as a duet) were amazing. I think it can work with a good choice of the actors and songs, but it’s going to be a difficult job for such sub-par writers they have now.

They are so many ST actors who would love to sing, from all series. Jeri and Briones have beautiful voices. Shatner, Stewart, Spiner, Russ, Visitor, Darren (Vic Fontaine), among many others, also would love to participate. I read somewhere Bakula was a Broadway singer way before Enterprise. Nichols could if they give her a chance.

Hopefully no more of the terrible “J.L”🤦‍♂️ Stuff.

See, I liked that. It showed how in the years after TNG, Picard has mellowed, become more friendly with his crews. A change that frankly began in All Good Things when he sat down t play poker.

I just wish we had seen a flashback, possibly to their first meeting, a scene where he welcomes her brash attitude (perhaps comparing her to Ro), but when she calls him “JL” he says– ‘don’t push it.’ It then becomes a running joke, to see what she can get away with. This could have also helped to show their friendship more, beyond just being crewmates.

Heck, even a scene where Riker in the ‘present’ comments on her use of a nickname and he smiles and says “it may surprise you Will, but i’m not the same man I was on the Enterprise.”

I dunno. I think it was for all the reasons you say like the “All Good Things” scene, but actually liked that it went unsaid. You don’t need to spell everything out for the audience.

I agree with you completely. But I think spelling it out would have at least helped silence the naysayers, the ones who insist the whole thing is out of character.

I mean, you and I get that his character HAS changed. He HAS mellowed over the years, we even saw some of that in the later seasons of TNG and even further films (it was telegraphed pretty clearly in a few scenes, too).

But a few “spell everything out” scenes feel increasingly necessary in today’s era where Trek fans seem to have lost the ability to grasp subtlety of character.

Made more sense when you read the tie in novel. 300 pages of Picard/Raffi relationship building

Interesting. But it made plenty of sense also in the show, as long as you were willing to make inferences and understand subtext.

Let’s be honest – everything in that show came out of no where….

It would have been really nice if the writers had decided to build a relationship for them in Season 2 and see a connection / chemistry grow on screen between them. It’s great that they discovered something from the photo but they threw it in very recklessly at the end of Season 1…it didn’t make any sense. It was all very surface level and shallow.

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Published Jan 13, 2020

Michelle Hurd and Evan Evagora Talk Star Trek: Picard at TCAs

The new Star Trek actors dish on what fans can expect from them and Star Trek: Picard.

StarTrek.com

At the Star Trek: Picard press junket, StarTrek.com joined the cast and creatives in several roundtable interviews to talk all things Trek. In the first of several sessions, Michelle Hurd and Evan Evagora shared how they prepared to enter the universe when they were first cast in the role.

Evagora, who plays the Romulan Elnor, shared a story from his youth. “I used to watch it with my mom and my sisters growing up around the TV. Mom would be ironing, we'd all be sitting on the floor. I don't think I watched TNG though to begin with. I think my first [was] The Search for Spock . For some reason that movie has really stuck in my head, as opposed to The Wrath of Khan . I don't know, Mom used to watch everything out of order. She's a big sci-fi fan.”

Hurd, who plays Raffi, spoke about the franchise’s enduring legacy of inclusion and progressiveness. “I'm biracial. My father is Black, and he was an actor back in the day. And it was really important in our household that we would watch things that were inclusive, so that we could see ourselves represented, as opposed to excluded. [ Star Trek ] was one of the shows that our family would happily sit down and watch. When I got this job [on Picard ], that's the first thing I remembered— sitting with my mom and dad, and my two sisters, and watching the show, not only because of Uhura, but the fact that it was telling the stories of people who were Others, the people who were pushed away. “

“It was all about inclusion and exclusion,” she added, talking about how those themes are still relevant in Star Trek: Picard . “It's about immigration, basically. It's about, how do we all live in this galaxy together? And why do we still have to try to take things from each other, and fight each other? Why? Is that just human nature? It's not even human. Alien nature. What is that? [Working on Picard ] just really brought me back to understanding that Star Trek is more than just a show. It's a place where we can all be seen and represented, and it makes me so proud to be a part of it.”

They also both teased a little about their specific characters. Hurd talked about how Raffi, “Worked with Picard back in the day, but after Next Generation . She has a very complicated relationship with him, an even more complicated relationship with the Federation. She is a security analyst, a hacking genius. She's very sarcastic. She is haunted by decisions that she made in the past. She relies on some vices. But I like to clarify that, because it's not just like she's just getting drunk or stoned. She is trying to greet the day, like we all have. I’m sure [we all] know people who struggle, and they struggle for a real reason. It's a real demon. And it's been a real gift to sort of explore that, and give light to that. That's who she is.”

Evagora also dropped a few teases about Elnor as well. “He was raised by a sect of warrior nuns. What makes him interesting is that he is the only male in this sect. He is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, pretty good with a sword. I've got pointy ears. And judging by what the internet's been calling me, I'm known as ‘Space Legolas.’"

Are you excited to meet Raffi and Elnor? Can’t wait to hear more from Hurd and Evagora? We’re excited to learn more about both the characters and these new members of the Star Trek acting family as the show goes on.

Check back for more stories from the Star Trek: Picard junket, with information from the cast and creatives, including Sir Patrick Stewart.

Star Trek: Picard will premiere exclusively on January 23 on CBS All Access in the United States, in Canada on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and OTT service Crave, and on January 24 Amazon Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories.

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'Star Trek: Picard': Michelle Hurd Dishes on the Emotional Finale and Season 2 Plans (Exclusive)

ET spoke with the actress about Thursday's season closer and a brewing new romance for Raffi.

Warning: If you haven't watched the season finale of CBS All Access '  Star Trek: Picard , what are you doing here? Bookmark this page, watch the episode and then come back for all the scoop on what's to come.

Engage! 

In the season one finale of CBS All Access '  Star Trek: Picard , a resurrected Admiral Jean-Luc Picard -- no longer crippled by his terminal illness -- formed his trusty new La Sirena crew made up of Jurati ( Alison Pill ), Raffi ( Michelle Hurd ), Soji ( Isa Briones ), Elnor ( Evan Evagora ), Rios ( Santiago Cabrera ) and Narek ( Harry Treadaway ), and looked ahead to the future as they beamed off to their latest mission. But getting to this point -- successfully fending off the hundreds-deep Romulan fleet and curing "JL," as Raffi affectionately calls Picard, of his ills -- had its ups and downs.

Hurd hopped on the phone with ET to discuss the emotional season finale (including Raffi and Picard's goodbye scene), reflect on her  Star Trek  journey thus far and what she's hoping to explore in the second season . 

ET: What has that journey been like for you being a part of such an iconic franchise like Star Trek ?

Michelle Hurd:  It's been an amazing experience. I knew that when I got the job that it was going to be unlike anything I've ever experienced before. Personally, selfishly, I was ecstatic and so excited to have the opportunity to work with Patrick Stewart. I didn't really know what Raffi's world would be with Picard and what Michelle's were to be with Patrick. And during the journey... to experience, "Wow, she and he have this really unique relationship. They've had history. They go back. They deal with each other differently than any other characters deal with Picard." And I felt so, so ... I don't even know what the word is. I was going to say spoiled because I spend my days working with Patrick Stewart on a character that is so complex, layered, and yet so much more truthful and human than I've ever gotten an opportunity to bring to life before.  

I'm working with producers who I love and they love and respect me, and I love and respect them. And directors that are so good and have directed the s**t out of episodes. It's been amazing to watch. The first time we got to see the whole show was when we went to the Cinerama Dome [in January] and had our screening. It was like a two-hour movie, and to see what Hanelle [ Culpepper ] had done. She directed the s**t out of that. It was gorgeous. I selfishly was hoping that it would be the experience that it has been, and I've been so pleasantly surprised that it has surpassed everything that I could've hoped for and then some in this journey. 

What has been the most gratifying part?

I love the fact that I'm part of a series that has been so respectful and so inclusive of people of diverse cultures and inclusion, and making sure that others are not outsiders but are the insiders, the people who tell the story. That's unlike anything that I've experienced before. And to interact with the fans; they're so kind, they're so generous, they're so protective. I clicked over to the Star Trek unofficial fan page. It's so wonderful to hear them hypothesizing, and drawing conclusions, and connecting dots, and then every now and then you get some random person who says like, "This sucks," or something like that. And to see how the fans react, they protect it. They're like, "Look, dude. If you don't like this, get off this page. This is a family. We're talking about things that we love and if you don't love it then get off." I'm humbled to be a part of this. 

How much did they tell you initially about who you were playing because they do like to hold their secrets close to the vest...

I didn't know anything. In fact, one day I should try to find the breakdown of the audition that came to me in my email because all I had -- I'm sure you know, they never say it's Star Trek . I think ours was called Drawing Room or something. When I got that audition, it was for a self-tape. I was in my New York apartment and they wanted it the next day, and I was having a foot operation the next day. I was like, "Forget this! It's not going to happen," because I didn't really know what it was. Then, I thought, let me be a better little actor bunny and read all the information. So I read the breakdown and saw who was producing it, directing.

When I read the breakdown of the character, it said, "This woman is haunted by a decision she's made in the past. There's regret. She has vices that she leans on as crutches. She is an addict. She's struggling to do the right thing. She feels betrayed." Stuff that was so beautifully wounded. I know actors always talk about [how] we love playing those kinds of characters, but it's because there's so much more truth with where we can make our choices, you know? When you have people who are much more damaged, and in pain, and regretful, and desiring to fix, you can dive deep. You can pull things from your own life, from friends and family's lives, from things that are happening in the world. You have so much more information that you can draw on, and then to be able to pair that with Patrick Stewart -- hi! -- somebody who's going to, no matter what, offer you a rich bounty of reactions and authentic acting, you can't help but get better. 

Let's dig into the finale, which was a wonderful bookend to the season and went full circle in a lot of ways. By the end of the season, Raffi and Picard have moved past their beef. Can you talk about where their relationship is now versus where it was at the start?

When we first see Raffi and Picard together, she is still harboring deep feelings of betrayal. When she knows something's wrong, she just goes after it, right? And she knew that something was wrong with what was happening in the Federation. She felt that she and Picard were going to team up together to rescue millions of Romulans, millions of lives. And when the Federation let her down, Picard let her down. It's something she carried and felt responsible for. She felt that it was her fault those individuals died. She drank, smoked and burrowed into her trailer in the desert because of that, left her child. When she sees Picard, it's heartbreak, and betrayal, and anger, and rage, and frustration. But at the end of it, if there's a possibility that she can fix or right the wrong that was done, she's going to go for it. 

The hope was, "I think he might understand that there really was something wrong and he might actually be doing this. I'm going to do it because it was to fix what was broken, what was wrong." During the whole journey, she sees him as more human and not perfect, and having the same human traits that we all do. We all make mistakes, he's struggling and he's trying to do the best he can. And when he tells them of his diagnosis, it surprises her how much it hurts her because he was more to her than just a captain. He was a mentor. He was the person that helped her get out of her addiction. He was a lifesaver.  He helped her pull herself back out even though it's been a little bumpy, and she'll be an addict for the rest of her life. She's been working hard to get a handle on that, and to hear that he's got a terminal diagnosis just breaks her heart again. I'm sure you have people in your life who sometimes always take things on themselves... they feel like whatever happened, they caused it -- even though that's irrational. Raffi has that tendency. 

To get to the place at the end where there's now hope, there's now a possibility for her to stay at a sober place as best she can. It will always be up and down. But to see that he's renewed in a way that she hadn't seen him before. She now has the information. Everything's sort of out in the open. The people who did right or wrong, it's been stated now. We can all acknowledge it and move on.

Was there a specific moment from the season that had you a little emotional?

The whole thing starting with Data and the dream of playing cards in the ending. I can't even...

I can't even with that final scene with Data.

I can't even, honey, I can't even! As you said, it is a perfect circle. The thing that's so beautiful about it is it really does mirror how complicated relationships we have with people are, you know? There are people in my own life right now who I love and still drive me f**king crazy! Because we do love them but we know all the other stuff that goes with it and we have to understand why people have certain issues and find space for them, and find patience, and understand that they're still part of our community, part of our society, and part of our family. 

One of the scenes from the finale that got me a little verklempt was when Raffi says goodbye to Picard as his body is dying and they share a genuine moment of understanding and love. What was your reaction when you first read the scene? What was it like to film?

It was kind of beautiful and we actually worked on it a bunch because we wanted to make sure... It's an interesting thing, especially when you're telling a story on film because in person, one on one, there are simple nuances that can be understood. When you do it on film, you have to be really careful... When she says "I love you," I remember we had to stop and we had to work on some other verbiage because I said, "I don't want people to read into it like they're lovers."

But it's important for these two adult individuals to say these words to each other for so many reasons because it's that moment when somebody in your life has helped you in ways that you didn't even know you could be helped, and it's that moment in time where you've been able to be mature enough and forgive yourself enough, to reach your hand out and say, "Thank you. Thank you for helping me." And that's what we really wanted to convey, that there's been a growth on both sides and also for all of us, especially in this crazy time, to take those moments and say, "Thank you." Say "I love you." Say those things because we're not always guaranteed tomorrow. I think that's why Raffi really needed to say what she needed to say. 

We see also at the very end of the finale, Raffi and Seven of Nine having an intimate moment on the starship. What are you excited to dig into more there?

First of all, the thought that I get to work with Jeri Ryan ... That will be nice. So first season is spending time with Patrick Stewart, the second with Jeri. I'll take it. But full disclosure, I have no idea what the second season is going to bring about. But that was a really fun moment and I guess I can just say it... It was funny because we were all down at San Diego Comic-Con [in 2019], and we were all hanging out. I think it was Jonathan Del Arco who took a picture of Jeri and I. We were standing together; I was in a white jumpsuit and she was in a red jumpsuit and we gave each other a hug, and he took a picture. You know those pictures where the lighting is good and everything works for both people? 

It just happened to be that it was a nice shot, and he literally went, "Oh my god. Look at this!" We went over to our producers who happened to be sitting together, Akiva [ Goldsman ],  Alex [ Kurtzman ] and Michael [ Chabon ], and I think there might've been Kirsten [ Beyer ] as well, and Jonathan went "Look at this. Look at this picture." They looked at the picture, they all looked at each other. We saw them in a little hubbub, and then they turned to me and Jeri and they're like, Raffi and Seven of Nine, and we were both like, "Oh my god. Yes!"

It was happenstance that it happened that way. I don't know what will go forward, but I will tell you that what I would love because Star Trek is so good about this kind of stuff. I would love for us to be able to effortlessly introduce, not even introduce, but effortlessly reveal a non-labeling sexuality for everyone. Wouldn't it be lovely? We already know that Raffi has a son, so we know that she's already indulged in the man, but wouldn't it be great if we could somehow really bring that in to these stories, embrace it and not label it, not make it taboo, but empower it? Make it almost fluid. If you think about it, Raffi and Seven, that would be pretty cool. They would totally get along. Raffi would be obsessed with what Seven of Nine does. First of all, male, female, whatever, who wouldn't be ecstatic if Seven of Nine looked their way? So yeah, I'm excited about that. 

What would you like to see for your character's journey in the new season?

The second season, I have no idea. I haven't chatted with any writers, but I would be really excited to see how this motley group gets together, or rather how this motley group can continue working together and how we tackle situations because we haven't all fully been together as a unit yet until the last moment, if you think about it. All of us: Seven, Soju, Elnor, all of us... It would be cool, just even one episode, to see if we all really work well together or not well together. 

I'd also love to see what happens with Seven and with Raffi. And I'm just curious to see what the next possible steps could happen with Raffi and her son [Gabriel]. One of the things I really was excited about with that story is to stay true to the world of an addict and really understand the ups and downs, and the things that happen. But I wanted to be incredibly respectful to the children of addicts, because there's this concept that when an addict is ready to come home, they're like, "I'm ready, come embrace me." And that's not fair to the children, to the people who have had to suffer during that addiction, and I thought it was really important to tell the son's point of view, that he has the right to say, "No, you're not allowed to be in my family. Maybe at some later date but you don't just pop in 10 years later and say I'm ready for an insta-family." People on Facebook and Twitter have said, "Thank you for telling that story because that's my story. I wasn't ready to have my parent come back after they abandoned us."

The first season of  Star Trek: Picard   is streaming now on CBS All Access .

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• Star Trek: Picard

What Star Trek: Picard’s Michelle Hurd Loves About Raffi And Seven Of Nine’s Storyline In Season 2

The actress shared some interesting thoughts.

Star Trek: Picard introduced an exciting new relationship to the prime universe in Season 1, as Michelle Hurd’s Raffi entered a romantic relationship with Jeri Ryan ’s Seven of Nine. Fans didn’t get to see a ton of the couple together, but with Season 2 on the way and the release of the new audiobook Star Trek: Picard: No Man’s Land centered around the two characters, there’s a reason for fans to be excited. Hurd is excited to see the two’s relationship play out in the universe and recently revealed what she loved about Raffi and Seven of Nine. 

I spoke to Michelle Hurd and Jeri Ryan (who first portrayed Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager ) ahead of the premiere of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 and asked if fans excited to see more of the couple will be satisfied with what all is on the way. Hurd answered and explained what she ultimately loved about Raffi’s relationship with Seven despite her initial hesitation.

I hope they are. I think one of the things that I really appreciate that the producers and the writers took heed in is that these are two strong, mature, independent, stubborn, determined, driven women that have a very clear focus when they have a mission. I was really hesitant when I heard we were doing [a relationship]. I was like, ‘We’re not going to do white picket fence and skipping rope and unicorns, are we? Because these two women are not that.’ They may have been that at some point, but they’re not that, particularly at this moment. So, I was happy with how they showed a mature relationship with two incredibly independent, stubborn women.

Star Trek fans who check out Star Trek: Picard: No Man’s Land (which is written by Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson) will see exactly what Michelle Hurd is talking about when it comes to Raffi and Seven of Nine’s dynamic. It’s clear Raffi and Seven both have feelings for each other, but at the same time, they’re very much set in their ways. As Hurd said, it’s two independent women operating as they did prior to their meeting and still remaining just as stubborn and hard-headed even with each other. 

Both Michelle Hurd and Jeri Ryan will reprise their roles in Star Trek: Picard Season 2, albeit with some changes. Trailers ahead of the release revealed Seven of Nine won’t have her Borg implant at some point , in a twist that’s likely a result of Q’s meddling with reality . It’ll be interesting to see how or if Seven’s change impacts her relationship with Raffi and how the two navigate that change amongst all the other things happening in Season 2. Of course, there’s a lot more probably happening than Seven and Raffi’s relationship, which is why it’s handy fans got this story in advance to see an adventure that’s dedicated to them. 

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 premieres on Paramount+ on Thursday, March 3. Now is as good a time as ever to pick up a subscription to Paramount+ , especially with all the new Star Trek set to premiere in 2022. 

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Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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Michelle Hurd is giddy about working with Star Trek: The Next Generation cast

By rachel carrington | apr 27, 2022.

Michelle Hurd plays Raffi on Star Trek Picard.

Star Trek: Picard is only two episodes away from ending its second season, and there’s only one season left until the series comes to an end. Though next season will be bittersweet for the actors who’ve brought us this series, it also comes with some excitement as most of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation will be appearing as well . And Michelle Hurd, when speaking to Comicbook.com , described herself as “giddy as all get up” to be working with the veteran actors.

Hurd grew up watching the actors from The Next Generation, and she said she was smiling ear to ear when she discovered she’d be working with them, in much the same way she felt when she learned she’d be working with Patrick Stewart.

"“You tremble from the inside out. I mean, I’m an actor, and these are people who I’ve been watching, and I’m going to actually stand side by side on a set and speak words and they’re going to speak words back to me.”"

Michelle Hurd says she’ll be forever thankful for Raffi.

Raffi’s journey since Picard began hasn’t been an easy one. Hurd described her character as someone who is “haunted and passionate and feels really deeply.” And the loss of Elnor this season has struck her hard, and over the course of the last few episodes, we’ve seen Raffi’s grief manifesting as anger and bitterness, which Hurd has played exceptionally well.

Though Raffi is a complicated character, Hurd says she’ll be forever grateful for her and Star Trek. She admits she’s had an unbelieveable experience and adventure and calls herself the luckiest, most spoiled actress. She wouldn’t say anything about what we can expect for the final season of Picard, not even which actors she shared the screen with, but she did say that she pinches herself just like a fan would. And when the actors are this excited, odds are good we’re heading towards a wrap-up that we will never forget.

Next. Star Trek: Picard’s Michelle Hurd has made a difference in Hollywood. dark

'Picard's Michelle Hurd Reveals Who She Wants To See Raffi Team Up With in a 'Star Trek: Legacy' Spin-Off

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The Big Picture

• Fans are still hopeful for a Star Trek: Legacy spin-off series after the successful final season of Picard on Paramount+.
• Actress Michelle Hurd expresses excitement for the potential spin-off and a desire to work with more Next Generation alums.
• Hurd mentions wanting Raffi to meet Guinan; recently Whoopi Goldberg hinted at a possible return to the franchise.

While there's been no official news of a spin-off in the year since Star Trek: Picard Season 3 became one of Paramount+'s most-watched Star Trek seasons, fans are still holding out hope for Star Trek: Legacy . Despite still waiting for a green light from the studio herself, actress Michelle Hurd spoke hopefully about the potential spin-off series during a panel hosted by Collider's Maggie Lovitt at Calgary Expo this weekend. When Lovitt asked what it means to Hurd to know so many people want to see her come back to play Raffi again, she said, "It's an unbelievable honor and one that I absolutely cherish and understand the responsibility of."

As the panel went on, Hurd accepted several Star Trek questions from the attendees in the crowd. When one hopeful fan opened with plans to " assume Star Trek: Legacy is a go " Hurd wholeheartedly agreed saying, "Shall we? I like that, I like where you're going." The fan would go on to ask which other "legacy" characters from the long-running franchise she'd like to see Raffi team up with on the spin-off.

Hurd noted that "Raffi didn't get to interact with everybody that came back." As much as she loved working with Michael Dorn as Worf for most of the season, Hurd had a few other Next Generation alums from Picard Season 3 that she'd love to share the screen with. She went on to say:

"I mean, Levar Burton , Kunta Kinte, I mean can I just— I had one line, I think, with Marina [Sirtis] on the second season. I didn't really get to work other than shooting with Gates [McFadden] . So, of that, I would love to actually experience those guys. And then, you know, what I love is that Terry Matalas is such an OG that he, I mean, he had to like, you know, force some of our cameos on the show because…how do I say [this]? But some people, maybe the studio didn't really get it. They were like, ‘Oh, why would we bring this character on? Nobody knows him.’ And it was like, ‘No, everybody— YOU don't know, but everybody knows them.’ So I honestly, I think that he would, he would do an amazing job pulling in people. "

Michelle Hurd Wants to See Raffi Meet Guinan If 'Star Trek: Legacy' Happens

Hurd had one more major player from Next Generation and Picard that she would love to see Raffi team up with, saying "selfishly, Guinan would be nice to play with, I’m just saying." And it's possible she could get her wish. A few weeks ago Whoopi Goldberg — who played Guinan across six of Next Generation 's seven seasons — played coy when her The View co-host Joy Behar appeared to spill the beans about Goldberg potentially returning to the franchise again.

While we wait to see if Paramount+ will boldly go with Star Trek: Legacy , you can watch both Picard and Next Generation in their entirety on the streamer.

Star Trek: Picard

Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, long retired from Starfleet, is thrust back into the heart of galactic intrigue when a desperate young woman seeks his aid. Determined to uncover a vast conspiracy and protect her, Picard recruits a diverse team of allies. As they navigate a galaxy fraught with new dangers and old enemies, Picard faces personal demons and ethical dilemmas, all while trying to uphold the ideals he has always stood for.

Watch on Paramount+

• Michelle Hurd

Picard's Michelle Hurd on Star Trek's Legacy and Where Raffi Could Go Next

As she heads to st-sf: trek to san francisco, the actress discusses why star trek is so important..

The last time we saw Michelle Hurd’s Raffaela ‘Raffi’ Musiker was during the finale of Star Trek: Picard on the bridge of the newly christened USS Enterprise-G. And while we have yet to find out what the future holds next for the first officer who is now serving under Captain Seven of Nine, Hurd herself spoke to IGN this week about her hopes for the character, how Star Trek changed her life, and how you can meet her and many other Star Trek legends at this weekend’s ST-SF: Trek to San Francisco convention.

ST-SF: Trek to San Francisco is set to take place at the Hyatt Regency SFO Hotel in San Francisco from March 8-10 and marks a big moment for fans. Alongside taking place at the future home of Starfleet Headquarters, ST-SF: Trek to San Francisco will kick off the return of regional Star Trek cons for Creation Entertainment, the same company that operated over 100 of these types of events per year during its peak in the ‘80s. According to Hurd, this is great news because there really isn’t anything quite like a Star Trek convention.

“One of the things Jonathan Frakes told me about becoming part of the Star Trek family on my first day of Picard Season 1 was, ‘Michelle, just get ready. When this show drops it's unlike any other gig you ever had. You immediately have 10 million families worldwide,’” she laughs. “Because of this, conventions have been phenomenal because I’m able to interact with people and see how profoundly Star Trek affects and unites us.”

Conventions like ST-SF on land are wonderful, but Hurd recently sailed aboard Star Trek: The Cruise and also had a great time. In addition to celebrating the life of the late Star Trek actor Kenneth Mitchell and playing D&D with Anthony Rapp, Wil Wheaton, and Dungeon Master Todd Stashwick, Hurd also had a very special thing happen while hosting a game show.

“One of the first things I had to do on the cruise was host Star Trek Trivial Pursuit,” Hurd said. “I had just gotten the questions moments before I had to get up in front of the 300 people and was a bit worried because I'm dyslexic. I got up and I started to talk and then I just stopped and said, ‘You know what? I'm just going to put the cards on the table. I'm totally dyslexic so you're going to hear me say some words that might sound bumpy, but just be gentle with me, have some grace, and it'll be fine.’

“What’s amazing is that, for the rest of the week, I had so many people come up to me to let me know how much that moment meant to them because they're dyslexic or someone they love is on the spectrum. They said it really made them feel seen and heard to just say it out loud and not be ashamed of it.”

The actress connects those moments to her Star Trek character as well.

“I always say that Raffi is perfectly imperfect,” she continued. “Because really, aren't we all perfectly imperfect? So that was an amazing thing. I feel like the Trek family is such an empathetic one. We all get it. We all get that we're different and unique and interesting, not perfect. We support each other. It got me so emotional during the whole week. I was just like, they're saying thank you for letting us know that you're with us and we're all the same. It was beautiful.”

Gene Roddenberry’s Impact 

Hurd also talked about how Star Trek has changed her life for the better. To help stress her point, she took us all the way back to the beginning.

“Fifty-eight years ago, Roddenberry had some kind of wild crystal ball that he knew that he needed to create something or that we needed to have something created that would hold a mirror up to society, let us see what we're doing, and try to embrace the concept of inclusivity, diversity, and hope for a better tomorrow,” she said. “Who would think that by doing a show, those elements would become so much more enlightened and powerful in your present-day activities? But that's what Star Trek has done for me.

“I’m biracial, and back in the day when it wasn't so popular or cool to be biracial or to have Black and white parents, there were a lot of challenging moments. And my father knew how important it was to have his three Brown girls see themselves represented in this world. And so we, as a family, would sit down and watch the original Star Trek reruns to see Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura on that bridge. She gave us the permission to be bold and brave and say, ‘I'm supposed to be here. I'm allowed to be here.’ So I can only hope that there are some Brown and Black little kids with crazy hair that get to see me and say, ‘I'm here. I'm here in the year 2400 in space with my hair and everything.’"

What the Future May Hold for Star Trek: Legacy

Looking forward, Hurd is just as excited as we all are for the potential and heavily rumored Star Trek: Legacy spin-off series that would theoretically continue the adventures of the Enterprise-G crew and other beloved Star Trek characters in the 25th century. While she has no concrete news on the proposed series, she does have certain hopes for this possible next chapter.

“I absolutely think that Raffi loves Seven of Nine,” Hurd said of the Jeri Ryan character. “I think she would be a happy person to just be on a journey with Seven, whether they're in a relationship or not. And I shouldn't say whether they're in a relationship or not. They are. They're in a relationship because they're in each other's lives.”

She also hopes that Raffi’s addiction backstory will continue to be fleshed out if Legacy moves forward.

“I really want to see how Seven, Raffi, and Jack Crusher navigate the universe, but I also think that it's important to continue to tell the journey of people who are or who have been addicts,” she said. “Because once we have it, we're there forever. What’s a better way to put that pressure on her than to be Number One and know that she has a responsibility not only to her captain and somebody who she cares very deeply for, but to Starfleet as well?

“I think we could also continue to push and explore what it’s like having Seven of Nine as the first queer Star Trek captain without it being the focus. It should just be life and see how we navigate in it. Just like me talking about being dyslexic. I'd love for us to be able to reveal more of the things that people who look like they are presenting as ‘neurotypical normal’ are actually struggling with and going through. I think it would be phenomenal because you'll get an audience that is finally seeing themselves represented.”

We may have to wait to see where Raffi’s adventure actually goes next, but if you find yourself in the San Francisco area this weekend you can chat and even take a picture with Hurd, Ryan, and many more members of the Star Trek family. You can find all the info you need on ST-SF: Trek to San Francisco right here.

For more from the world of Star Trek, check out our chat with Sonequa Martin-Green about becoming Star Trek: Discovery’s Captain Burnham , or our discussion with the Discovery cast about what to expect from the final season .

Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter  @AdamBankhurst  and on  TikTok.

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Michelle Hurd Talks ‘Star Trek: Legacy’ Hopes & Ponders ‘SVU’ Return

While Paramount+ has recently said goodbye to one Star Trek  series ( Picard ) and will be to another this year ( Discovery ), there are other projects coming — and one that fans and stars hope joins that list. So, of course, when TV Insider caught up with  Picard ‘s Michelle Hurd on the red carpet for Law & Order: SVU ‘s 25th season celebration — she left the NBC drama in its second season — we had to ask about possibly seeing her as Raffi again.

“I love Raffi. She’s my favorite character,” Hurd shared. “We have hands, fingers, everything’s crossed for Star Trek: Legacy . I know that right now they’re working on Section 31 for Michelle Yeoh . And then they’re going to do Starfleet Academy . That’s going to be a series. And then if the fans still want it, they’ll start working on Star Trek: Legacy .” (And if you’d love to see Hurd and Yeoh team up in the world of Star Trek , you’re not the only one: “Wouldn’t that be phenomenal?” Hurd said. “I need to make a phone call.”)

There had been talk of  Section 31 (as a series) for quite some time before what is now going to be a movie was officially greenlit in April 2023. In the movie, Emperor Philippa Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past. And it was just before that, in March 2023, that Paramount+ ordered  Starfleet Academy to series . It will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy.  Star Trek: Legacy is, right now, just a hope, of another series to continue telling the stories of the characters after Picard , but there’s nothing in development.

Hurd is also open to reprising her  SVU role, Monique Jeffries. “I would love to, obviously,” she told us. “I’m assuming that every actor that graces the stages of Law & Order would like to visit again. And it was my first series regular out of college. I feel like whenever I see pictures, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that’s baby Michelle.’ And as an artist, I’d love to come back just because I’ve matured and you want to revisit a role and see what you can do and bring to life. Plus, I’d love to see where Jeffries would be, and it would be great to see she’s like a Supreme Court justice, or she’s a judge, or she’s a DA.”

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But since she loves playing perfectly imperfect characters, she’s also up to seeing that Jeffries “stumbled — just as long as we can see her stumble and succeed,” Hurd explained. “Because I’m also very conscious of the fact that I’m a woman of color and I’ve tried very hard to make choices in my career to represent women of color in a strong, empowering way, to let all the little brown and Black kids that are looking for representation see something on the screen and go, ‘Hey, I can do that. She’s doing it. I can do that.’ So I hope it would be something that it would be empowering so I can continue this journey that I’m trying to do of living a legacy of women of color.”

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Star Trek: Picards Michelle Hurd Says It Was 'Heartbreaking' to Lose Actors for Season 3

• Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard received rave reviews as the original Next Generation Enterprise crew reunited.
• Some cast members did not return for season 3, which was "heartbreaking" for Michelle Hurd.
• Changes in the cast and storyline left some plot threads unresolved.

Season three of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard earned rave reviews from fans, as the original Next Generation Enterprise crew reunited for a final adventure. However, for cast member Michelle Hurd , the season was a bittersweet one, as cast members from previous seasons did not return with the shift in the Picard storyline . During an appearance on the D-Con Chamber Podcast , Hurd discussed how the changes affected her personally.

Actors Isa Briones (Soji) , Allison Pill (Dr. Agnes Jurati), Santiago Cabrera (Cristóbal Rios), and Evan Evagora (Elnor) did not return for season three, which Hurd (Commander Raffi Musiker) called "heartbreaking." She said it became clear during the last month of filming season two that changes were coming:

We just started to sense or hear through the grapevine that there might not be everybody coming back It started getting kind of sad and emotional on our set. And then when we started finding out who was staying and who was going, it was really Its awful. It was awful.

Star Trek: Picard

Release Date January 23, 2020

Cast Patrick Stewart, Alison Pill, Santiago Cabrera, Michelle Hurd, Harry Treadaway

Main Genre Sci-Fi

Rating TV-MA

At the end of the 24th Century, and 14 years after his retirement from Starfleet, Jean-Luc Picard is living a quiet life on his vineyard, Chateau Picard. When he is sought out by a mysterious young woman, Dahj, in need of his help, he soon realizes she may have personal connections to his own past.

The abrupt changes in the cast and the shift in storyline meant that some of the plot threads from the first two Picard seasons were left unfulfilled , and it is not clear if there will ever be a resolution or if those characters will ever appear in future series.

What Does the Future of Star Trek Hold?

While the franchise is shifting to other series, we may not have seen the last of Jean-Luc Picard after all. Patrick Stewart appears to be rethinking plans to retire the character, and now says he would consider sitting in the captain's chair once more , for a film like Star Trek: Generations , which bridged the William Shatner Original Series with Stewart's Next Generation (TNG) Series.

Paramount learned a painful lesson with Picard , as Trekkers didn't fully embrace the series until it gave The Next Generation crew the proper sendoff it deserved. Stewart himself insisted that Picard take a different approach from the series and films, and despite a solid cast, an underwhelming season one led to showrunner Michael Chabon leaving before season two. Terry Matalas took over for season two, with slightly better results, but season three worked by returning to a familiar formula and the original cast, with some new twists. Still, Hurd wishes the original cast had stayed on. She said:

"Santiago Cabrera is one of the most amazing, brilliant actors. Allison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan EvagoraI loved being on that with Isa and Evan as their first TV series (as) regulars. To see them blossom. Theres a very sacred place in my heart for my first season motley crew."

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Matalas is now working with Marvel and Disney's 20th Century Studios, and Paramount passed on a proposed Picard spinoff . Stewart has suggested a Star Trek: Legacy series, which could open the door for the Picard characters to return, but Paramount does not seem interested. The studio seems happy with series like Strange New Worlds , which embraces classic Trek settings and themes with modern storytelling.

All three seasons of Star Trek: Picard are now streaming on Paramount+ .

If you're a Star Trek fan, check out this video exploring the funniest episodes in the franchise.

Introducing the 2024 Best of BU Alumni Award Recipients

Posted July 2024

Each year, the Boston University Alumni Association recognizes Terriers who have gone above and beyond to make a difference in their fields with Distinguished Alumni Awards and the Young Alumni Award.

Recent recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Awards include COVID vaccine developer Drew Weissman (GRS’87, CAMED’87, Hon.’23), presidential photographer Pete Souza (COM’76), and Tuskegee airman Lt. Col. Enoch Woodhouse (LAW’55). Recipients of past Young Alumni Awards have included orchestra conductor Lina González-Granados (CFA’20), state representative Andy X. Vargas (CAS’15, Pardee’15), and celebrity chef Priyanka Naik (CAS’10). This year at Boston University’s 76th Best of BU Alumni Awards—celebrated during Alumni Weekend —we will honor the accomplishments of five exceptional alumni whose work pushes boundaries of journalism, the arts, advocacy, and medicine. 

“Boston University has helped me and so many others achieve their dreams. It is truly such a privilege to be part of this amazing community of hard-working, supportive, inspiring alumni,” says Jenny Gruber (ENG’99,’99), chief of the operations branch within the Exploration Development Integration Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, president of the BU Alumni Association, and a past recipient of the Young Alumni Award. “On behalf of the Boston University Alumni Council, I am honored to present the Distinguished Alumni Awards and Young Alumni Award to these remarkable individuals who have contributed so much to their respective fields.”

Distinguished Alumni Awards

Uzo aduba (cfa’05).

Aduba recently launched a production company, Meynon Media, and signed a multiyear producing deal with CBS Studios. She also works actively with the charities Stand Up To Cancer and Heifer International.

Raised in Medfield, Massachusetts, Aduba received a BU scholarship as a sprinter and majored in classical voice. She discovered her love of acting while studying with Jack Spruill at the College of Fine Arts and delivered award-winning performances at the Huntington Theatre and American Repertory Theater.

She currently stars in Searchlight’s The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat .

Kate Barrand (Questrom’85)

As an active advocate and policy influencer, Barrand has met with legislators in the House and Senate to promote increased wages for the childcare workforce. She convenes the Boston Early Educator Group and works closely with the Mayor’s Office of Early Childhood.

Teaming up with government agencies and nonprofit partners, Barrand has most recently served as a thought leader to address the growing needs of newly arrived migrant families facing homelessness with young children.

Michelle Hurd (CFA’88)

Raised in Greenwich Village by Dr. Merlyn Hurd (CFA’55) and stage and screen actor and civil rights activist Hugh Hurd, Hurd is a passionate speaker for equity for people of color working on and off screen. She was a prominent voice in the SAG/AFTRA 2023 strike, and advocates to eradicate sexual harassment and hair discrimination.

Hurd has twice been honored as a distinguished alum of BU’s College of Fine Arts, and she was recently honored with the President’s Award by SAG/AFTRA, where she is vice president of Los Angeles Local.

Daniel Levy (CAMED’80)

His research focuses on epidemiology, hypertension, heart disease, and heart failure, and he has led studies that have identified many of the known genes associated with hypertension.

Dr. Levy is a recipient of the American Heart Association’s Population Research Prize and Excellence Award for Hypertension Research, and a two-time recipient of the National Institutes of Health Director’s Award. For seven consecutive years, he was named by Thomson-Reuters/Clarivate Analytics as one of the world’s most highly cited scientists. In 2023, he was named an NIH distinguished investigator.

Young Alumni Award

Em nguyen (com’15).

As a reporter, Nguyen has covered topical issues such as immigration, politics, K–12 education, mental health, and hate crimes against racial minorities in the United States. For her on-the-ground coverage of the January 6 insurrection in Washington, DC, she was awarded the “DC Spot Award” from Charter Communications.

Nguyen previously served as a Washington correspondent for Spectrum News. She began her career as a reporter for WCCU in Champaign, Illinois, and WICS and WRSP in Springfield, Illinois.

Registration for the 76th Best of BU Alumni Awards will open in early September.

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