Star Trek: Picard is a sequel series that sets out to continue the story of Jean-Luc Picard, but also show viewers a side of the character fans haven't seen before. That means not just seeing Picard pick up life and witnessing how he has changed professionally since the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, but also seeing his personal changes as well. The first trailer showed PIcard living a life far removed from his days in Starfleet, and romping around with an adorable pit bull.
Patrick Stewart revealed at the Television Critics Association winter press tour's Picard panel that the choice for Picard's dog "Number One" to be a pit bull breed was deliberate. Stewart spoke about the decision, and how the inclusion of a pit bull was one of his big requests for Star Trek: Picard.
Yes, it had to be a pit bull, because I’m passionate about these dogs, and they are abused and treated appallingly all over the world. I’m now campaigning in the UK for the laws to be changed and for them to be allowed into the country. So it’s terrific to have Dinero in the sequel, and I hope we see much more of him.
Patrick Stewart has long been an advocate for the pit bull breed and has been a foster owner to pit bulls over the years. Stewart famously made headlines with one dog named Ginger back in 2017, but was unable to adopt her due to his living in the UK for part of the year. Under UK law, pit bulls are not allowed in the country under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Number One isn't just around because of Patrick Stewart, however, as the dog also has a narrative purpose in Star Trek: Picard. Stewart explained Number One represents a lot about Picard's life when the CBS All Access series picks up, and can tell viewers a lot just through the dynamic the two share.
Picard’s life has changed. He’s troubled, disturbed, lonely, and with feelings of strange, unnatural guilt. To just see him with a dog seemed to me to write a lot of things that didn’t have to be said, because the presence of the dog alone means that he’s looking for some form of comfort, which he cannot find anywhere else, but he finds it in the dog.
The comfort Jean-Luc Picard seeks is due to the events post Star Trek: Nemesis in which the Prime timeline was permanently changed. Data sacrificed his life to save everyone else, and Romulus was destroyed by a supernova. The series will address both these issues, as well as how Picard will deal with these issues outside of getting a dog.
Star Trek: Picard airs on CBS All Access Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET. Stick with CinemaBlend for more on the Star Trek universe, and for the latest news happening in television or movies.
