When a new Star Trek series starring Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard was announced, many wondered how faithful and accurate it would be to established continuity. Executive producer Alex Kurtzman sought to put any doubts to rest in a recent interview and assured fans that Stewart is deeply involved in the creative direction being taken.

Speaking with Digital Spy, Kurtzman said Stewart has been present in the creative meetings from the start. “He was there [in the writers’ room] for two weeks at the beginning of the experience, sitting with the writers," he revealed. "Everybody was talking together about what they wanted this show to be, and that’s very special."

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“Patrick needed to make sure that we were coming from the right place and that we wanted to protect what Next Gen means to so many people, and what his character, specifically, means to so many people," Kurtzman said. "And that was really about several conversations back and forth, exploring his instincts, our instincts."

"Ultimately our job is to make him feel comfortable and safe and to protect the show and shield it from anything that would break it in the wrong way,” he added.

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Stewart remains a vocal and guiding force for the show even when he is far away. "Patrick will send us beautifully written emails about what he feels about Picard and where he feels Picard has been. That’s so inspirational,” Kurtzman shared.

The new Star Trek series starring Patrick Stewart as Picard, debuting sometime in late 2019 on CBS All Access, is reportedly set 20 years after Star Trek: Nemesis and will follow an older Jean Luc who is in a new phase of life.