Star Trek: Picard Is Bringing Queer Fun Times and Romulan Warlords to Audio Dramas

Star Trek: Picard Is Bringing Queer Fun Times and Romulan Warlords to Audio Dramas

Star Trek: Picard’s largely confounding season one finale included a tiny step forward in the wider franchise’s approach to queer characters when it allowed Michelle Hurd and Jeri Ryan’s Raffi and Seven to… well, hold hands. Look, baby steps! Anyway, while we’re not sure what season two will have in store for them, we now know at least things are about to get a whole lot queerer in a new audio drama.

As revealed on StarTrek.com today, Simon & Schuster is publishing a new audio drama starring Hurd and Ryan called Star Trek: Picard – No Man’s Land. A full-cast audio drama written by Picard co-creator Kirsten Beyer and longtime Trek comics scribe Mike Johnson, No Man’s Land is set immediately after the conclusion of the first season of Picard. Taking some time away from Jean-Luc’s newfound crew aboard La Sirena, No Man’s Land sees Raffi and Seven settle down for a staycation at Raffi’s hideaway on Earth, only to find peace interrupted when a Fenris Ranger request thrusts the two into a relief mission on a far-flung planet. With news of a Romulan warlord’s attempts to hunt down a mysterious scientist who owns an equally mysterious infinity loop talisman, it’s up to the two of them to help get everyone out alive.

Image: CBS/Simon & Schuster
Image: CBS/Simon & Schuster

Plus, also, be queer! StarTrek.com says No Man’s Land will see Raffi and Seven “take tentative steps to explore the attraction depicted in the final moments of Picard season one.” Which is a good thing, because leaning on a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hand-hold in the background as your sole queer representation on a contemporary Star Trek show in 2022 is, well, not exactly boldly going these days. Star Trek has gotten so much better about bringing queer stories, characters, and talent across the LGBTQ+ community to the fore lately, and Picard should be no exception. Hopefully beyond what happens in No Man’s Land, we’ll also get to see Seven and Raffi explore their connection with each other on-screen when the series returns this year, as well!

Star Trek: Picard – No Man’s Land, which also stars Fred Tatasciore, John Kassir, John Cutmore-Scott, and more, is set to release on February 22.


Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.