Star Trek is in a golden era, with a bunch of cool shows either mid-run or coming soon. One of the finest is Picard, which is effectively a sequel show to The Next Generation and whose best feature is the nostalgia trip of reuniting the Enterprise-D crew. In the first season it was great to catch up with Riker, Troi, Data, and, of course, Jean-Luc Picard – and the second season is currently filming. But there was one big absence that bugged me. Where the hell is Michael Dorn‘s Worf?
Michael Dorn’s Klingon security officer was among the best things about The Next Generation, and he went on to impress in Deep Space Nine. It now seems that he won’t be in Picard‘s second season, but what really deserves to be greenlit is Dorn’s Worf-centric spinoff.
Deanna Troi actor Marina Sirtis agrees. In an interview with The Big Issue she was asked what Star Trek show should be greenlit next:
“I think personally, it should be a Worf show. First of all, he’s a really popular character. And it’s never been done before – to have it about the Klingon Empire instead of the Federation with the Klingons as like, recurring. Have it be about the Klingon Empire and how they deal with stuff. I think it would be great. And although I would hardly be in it – I think I might be in it because Michael Dorn’s my best friend – I wouldn’t mind because I think it would be a really good idea.”
Sirtis has read his script, reportedly titled Worf Chronicles. In a Comic-Con interview she gave her opinion of it:
“I read it and I called him up and said, ‘How did you do that?’ He had all the action stuff minutely detailed. I was very impressed with my best friend.”
Whether a Worf show will ever happen remains to be seen, and Dorn has explained that he’s had trouble getting Paramount to show any interest at all. He’s even worried that he may have inadvertently offended them somehow, saying: “it’s not like I’ve done anything to anyone, at least I hope I haven’t, but who knows?”
I’m still holding out a faint hope that Worf might make a surprise appearance in Picard, but if not then they should definitely bring him back in some capacity in one of the many, many upcoming Star Trek projects. Fans love him, Dorn seems like a great guy to work with, and the character has some obvious story hooks going forward. So c’mon Paramount, serve us up a heaping helping of Worf!