Star Trek: Picard Halts Production Due To Major Covid Outbreak

Guard Patrick Stewart with everything you've got and send the cast and crew of "Star Trek: Picard" your very best wishes! According to THR, production on the series has been shut down after a COVID-19 outbreak on the set. The report states that more than 50 members of the production tested positive on Monday, January 3, 2022. This was the first day back to production on the Paramount+ series. The site says the show has more than 450 people on staff, and that the infections have hit a chunk of the production, "including cast in zone A." According to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), "Zone A is any perimeter within which activity occurs without physical distancing or the use of PPE. In most cases, this will mean performers working on set with no protection alongside crew."

While there is no news on the perfection that is Sir Patrick Stewart, every digit I have is crossed that he is home and safe. 

The show has been shut down since Monday and is expected to resume early next week if not sooner. A whole lot of things have been shut down or postponed in the past few weeks, including the Grammy Awards, the Critics Choice Awards (full disclosure, I am a member of CCA), and Sundance, which has gone completely digital. The video game conference E3 has also gone online only. The CBS series "NCIS" has been affected, and Broadway shows have been canceling performances for some time now. 

And here we were, thinking things were getting better. As the site reports, in Los Angeles where "Star Trek: Picard" films, there were 26,754 new cases on January 5, 2022. There is no comment from the studio at the moment. "Star Trek: Picard" is the eighth "Star Trek" series, and launched back in 2020. Season 2 of the show is set to premiere on Paramount+ in February 2022, and the third season will premiere in early 2023. 

The cast for "Star Trek: Picard" season 2 includes Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard, John de Lancie as Q, Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati, Isa Briones as Soji Asha, Evan Evagora as Elnor, Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker, Santiago Cabrera as Cristobal "Chris" Rios, Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, Orla Brady as Laris, and Brent Spiner as Altan Inigo Soong. Whoopi Goldberg is expected to reprise her "Star Trek: The Next Generation" role as Guinan.

This is awful news. Please take care of yourselves out there, okay?