Jonathan Frakes Looks Back at His ‘Star Trek’ TV Directing Career, From ‘Next Generation’ to the ‘Strange New Worlds’-‘Lower Decks’ Crossover
variety.comAdam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer “Woo!” That’s Jonathan Frakes’ reaction when he’s told he’s probably worked on more iterations of “Star Trek” than any other person alive. “I’ll take it!” he says with a massive grin.
Frakes’ “Star Trek” history truly is something to behold. He joined the franchise in 1987 as part of the cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” playing the rakish Commander William T.
Riker opposite Patrick Stewart’s cerebral Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. Three years later, Frakes launched his second career as a director on “TNG” — or, as he calls it, “Next Gen” — ultimately helming eight episodes of the show.
After “Next Gen” concluded in 1994, he directed three episodes each of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Star Trek: Voyager,” before directing two of the four “Next Gen” feature films: 1996’s “Star Trek: First Contact” and 1998’s “Star Trek: Insurrection.” All told — including his work on “Star Trek: Enterprise,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Star Trek: Picard” and “Star Trek: Lower Decks” — Frakes has worked on 221 episodes of “Star Trek” over the past 36 years.
Read more on variety.com
