Next up in our series of Star Trek: Picard interviews are Michelle Hurd and Jeri Ryan, who play Raffaela “Raffi” Musiker and Seven of Nine, respectively. One of my favorite things about watching the first season of Star Trek: Picard was getting to meet an interesting character like Raffi and the return of one of Star Trek: Voyager’s most interesting characters, Seven of Nine. As many of my #WayBackWednesday posts can attest, I’m a big fan of ladies who can roll up their sleeves, kick butt, take names, and stand up for what’s right. That’s exactly what these two do on Picard.
The dynamic we see between Seven and Raffi is interesting and a natural outpouring of the friendship between Michelle Hurd and Jeri Ryan. One thing that makes this interview particularly enjoyable is that while they were in different places, these two answered the questions like they were in the same room. It’s a testament to their chemistry, which transfers well to their dynamic on screen. Here are what these ladies had to say about season 2 of Star Trek: Picard.
Chemistry
When asked about their on-screen chemistry, Michelle and Jeri had this to say.
Michelle: “I think Jeri and I are both…we’re like two peas in a pod, you know, we’re like frick n’ frack. We work very well together and I’ll speak for myself, but I immediately just liked her. I mean, who doesn’t like her, for goodness’ sake! Look at this woman! So it was pretty easy for us to create a rapport and work on that relationship.”
Jeri: “Yeah, that’s definitely true. We just had an instant chemistry. We have a similar working style, so we just click. It’s easy!”
On-Screen Dynamics
When met with a further inquiry about their dynamic and some events hinted at in season 2 trailers, they elaborate,
Michelle: “I think this season we will find that all these challenges and these extreme places that these two people find themselves in will be a test to the respect and understanding and the truth about two women who are strong and independent and stubborn. Could be pigheaded, could be vulnerable and emotional and powerful, and how they basically navigate that.
How do you navigate that as two grown women who have lives that they have developed for decades and now they’ve found themselves together, there’s been chaos, and what would happen in that situation? To me, I think that maybe they would find some support in each other. I mean, that’s what I’m thinking, I don’t know.” [Laughs wryly]
Jeri: “Oh, and save the galaxy at the same time.”
No big deal, right?
A Mirror For the Present and Hope for the Future
Historically speaking, Star Trek has always helped to shine a light on issues we are faced with in the world today and to help its audience to imagine how we can be and do better, not just in the future, but now. Picard is flipping that on its head by putting our crew in the not-too-distant future of 2024. Jeri and Michelle had a lot of thoughts on why that might be a necessity for the story they want to tell.
Jeri: “Star Trek has always since the original series [has] always set out to…hold a mirror up to society. And yeah, there’s no clearer way to do that. It’s a little more direct. By literally traveling back to the present day and showing us how we’re screwing it up, and what we need to fix.”
Michelle: “And yeah, that’s the hope isn’t it? You’re right. Maybe that times are so crazy and so volatile right now that our writers and producers felt the need to be a little more spot-on than usual. Hopefully, we fill it with a lot of exciting adventure, but I do hope that in the end we all sort of look at ourselves and look at our surroundings and see if there’s anything that each one of us can do as individuals to help this planet that we live on and this society that we’re a part of.”
Couldn’t agree more, ladies.
The Makings of Modern Trek
During the roundtable interview, it was brought up that Seven and Raffi’s characters are what really make Picard a modern Trek show. These ladies had many thoughts on that subject. The only thing I’ll add is that I think the subjects they touch on–inclusion, diversity, caring for others–are incredibly important and the things I think modern Trek does best. I’ll let them speak for themselves, as I don’t think I could say it any better. Here’s what they had to say.
The Makings of Modern Trek: Michelle Hurd Edition
Michelle: “… As soon as she lands in 2024, she [Raffi] sees this homelessness, this dirt, the sky isn’t blue anymore, there’s ash, the air, it’s not clean to breathe. She’s almost mugged. Literally, she says, ‘You’re killing it, 2024. You’re killing it!’ We can’t hide from it. Because we know who Raffi is, she wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s an emotional person. She is a vulnerable person. She’s driven and she’s passionate and when she gets fixated on something, she’s going to the ends of the earth to make it work…”
The Makings of Modern Trek: Michelle Hurd Edition Continued
“I really love the fact that the writers gave us that opportunity to expose the egregiousness that has happened in our world at times. Also, that moment where she sees Seven for the first time and she goes, ‘What is this? Why do you seem so relaxed’ And how beautiful is it that they didn’t do it all, ‘Let’s really pound it in that life is really better for a beautiful, let’s be completely honest, blonde-haired blue-eyed woman, as opposed to this woman of color.’
But I love that they put that in there so we could say instinctively, Seven woke up feeling accepted, before she even saw herself. That’s what I love, by the way, Jeri, that you did that scene before interacting with the world. She woke up, before even she saw that little girl, before she was beamed in and she saw all those flowers out there, you look at her face! She’s already at peace and accepted in this community.
I just love that and I hope that people really hear it, see it, and we all just make a deal to try to change things, to make us all as Star Trek has always tried to say. This is all about inclusivity….diversity. This is not about ‘other-ism.’ This is about telling all of our stories. We’re here on this one planet, let’s respect it. Let’s call each other brother and sister. I’ll get off my soapbox. Go on, Jeri.”
Makings of Modern Trek: Jeri Ryan Edition
Jeri: “I think for Seven, her struggle has always been…she’s always been the outsider. It’s always been a struggle between her Borg half and her human half, trying to figure out ‘Where do I fit in? Who am I really….my true self? Who am I?’ And I think there are so many people in our society who are experiencing that same kind of struggle.
[They] are trying to figure out where they’re accepted and where they fit in and who they really are and where they feel right and at home. …I hear from so many of them whether it’s people who aren’t neurotypical or people in the trans community or in the LGBTQ community who relate to Seven and have for years since her introduction on Voyager. I love hearing from all of them, that they’ve found a character that they could relate to and that they felt represented by. It’s an honor.”
Seven and Raffi’s Future
To get a feel for what it’s like to be in the Zoom where it happens with these two ladies, look no further than this. There’s been some talk about a Seven & Raffi spin-off. Let me be clear that there is no official announcement, but when asked their thoughts about a buddy cop-style spin-off, these ladies were all smiles.
Michelle: “I think everyone should be thinking about that seriously! Seven and Raffi! 100%!”
Jeri: “From your lips to God’s ears.”
Michelle: “That’s right!”
Jeri: “I just want to say, I’m going to go on record and say that I will do anything with that woman! I will work on anything with her ever. Ever! I don’t care what it is…well, I mean there are some limits, BUT, she’s the most delightful human being. I just love her. I love working with her.”
Michelle: “Same, same. I agree with her. So yes to the spinoff.”
I’m down for all of that.
Hailing Frequencies are Open
Thanks very much to the folks at Paramount+ for inviting Fangirlish to participate in these roundtables, and a big thank you to Michelle and Jeri for their time and thoughtful responses. Thanks also to Michelle for noticing that my Zoom background put me on the La Sirena. She doesn’t miss a thing. Be sure to stay tuned for more interview recaps with the cast and crew of Star Trek: Picard and set your hailing frequencies to our #StarTrek tag for every bit of Star Trek coverage here on the site.
Season Two of Star Trek: Picard will air on March 3, 2022, on Paramount+.