Picard Season 3: UK release date on Amazon Prime, when does Star Trek series start - where can I watch it?

The first two seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation spin-off Picard are still available on Amazon Prime Video, so there’s a chance to get up to speed before the new run – which is also said to be its last – begins.

We’re promised a satisfying ending for the much-loved character’s story, one that will thrill fans old and new alike as, for one last time, Stewart’s USS Enterprise captain boldly goes where he has never gone before in a sci-fi drama that revives characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation - and that revival is in full effect in Season 3.

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What happens in Picard Season 3?

In the third series of Picard, a long delayed reunion of returning characters from The Next Generation beckons, as Picard and his former crewmates battle a strange new foe in Vadic, a mysterious alien in charge of the warship Shrike who has set her sights on the old faithful from the glory days of the Enterprise.

Elsewhere, Geordi La Forge’s youngest daughter, Ensign Alandra La Forge (Mica Burton), works alongside her father while his eldest daughter Ensign Sidney La Forge (Sharpe Chestnut) is the proud helmsman of the USS Titan, while, Seven of Nine questions her choices and villainous hologram Professor Moriarty flickers back to life.

With so many characters from The Next Generation returning, showrunner Terry Matalas has described Picard Season 3 as a “theoretical The Next Generation season eight,” and has said it is "passing the torch from one generation to the next," as when the actors from Star Trek’s Original Series guest starred on The Next Generation.

He has even previously suggested a more appropriate title for the series would have been ‘Star Trek Legacy’, but ultimately still felt it was "truly a Picard story.”

Who’s in the cast?

Once again Patrick Stewart plays the title role of former USS Enterprise captain Jean-Luc Picard, a role he played for seven series on Star Trek: The Next Generation and the subsequent films (and the previous two seasons of Picard, of course).

Reflecting on playing the role through the various iterations, he told PA: “Picard was so accustomed to being in charge, in control. Although, he is like some of the best directors I’ve worked with who will say to you, ‘Patrick, but what do you think?’ Picard will always do that. He is always asking for opinion, advice, and never dominating it.

“But changes have happened in his life in the 20 odd years since we last saw him sitting on the bridge of the enterprise and our producers and writers and CBS and Paramount were supportive of those changes happening. And I think it’s one of the great strengths of Picard season three.”

He’s joined by several TNG favourites, including LeVar Burton (as Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (as Worf), Brent Spiner (as Lore), Marina Sirtis (as Deanna Troi), Jonathan Frakes (as William Riker), Jeri Ryan (as Seven of Nine), and Daniel Davis (as Professor Moriarty).

Amanda Plummer (whose father Christopher also appeared in the Star Trek franchise) also joins the cast as Vadic. She looks set to lock horns with Picard over a long-held grudge.

When can I watch it?

The third series of Star Trek: Picard launches on Amazon Prime Video on Friday 17 February. A new episode will be made available for streaming each Friday, and there are 10 episodes to the season in total.