Published Apr 6, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT
John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises.
Marina Sirtis shares how the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation broke her heart during the filming of Star Trek: Picard season 3. Sirtis reprised her role as Counselor Deanna Troi and joined the rest of her TNG castmates in Star Trek: Picard season 3, which was the acclaimed final season of the Patrick Stewart-led series.
Star Trek: Picard seasons 2 and 3 were produced back-to-back during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a difficult filming experience, with the cast and crew wearing masks and forced to socially distance on set. Marina Sirtis moved back to the United Kingdom after the 2019 death of her husband, Michael Lamper, but she returned to Los Angeles to film Picard. Unfortunately, Sirtis found her Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion to be "depressing."
Appearing on The Show People Podcast with Andrew Keates, Marina Sirtis discussed the difficulties of living in Los Angeles during COVID and the filming of Star Trek: Picard season 3. Sirtis, who felt isolated and lonely, says that some of her fellow actors not inviting her over to their homes "broke my heart." Read Marina's quote and watch the clip on Instagram below:
Andrew Keates: “We talk a lot about this wonderful Star Trek: The Next Generation family. Was that true of then?”
Marina Sirtis: “Well no, not really. I have to kind of say how I feel, otherwise, I stew on it. I actually said to my Star [Trek cast], not Michael, not Jonathan, but a couple of the others, I went, “You broke my heart.” And they were like “What?” And I said, ‘You’ve all got swimming pools.’ I’m the only one in the whole cast who didn’t have a swimming pool. You all have swimming pools. That’s a huge outside space. Did it ever occur to you to go, ‘Well, Michael’s died, Marina’s on her own. Let’s have her over for a glass of wine. We can socially distant outside. “ No. And they went, ‘Oh, we didn’t think.’ Yeah, that’s the point. You didn’t think.”
Marina Sirtis says her issue wasn't with Jonathan Frakes or Michael Dorn, but with "a couple of the others," i.e. Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, and LeVar Burton. COVID-19 lockdown was a scary and tumultuous time for everyone, and, understandably, the fear of catching and spreading COVID meant not welcoming visitors.
However, having left her support system in England behind and relocating back to Los Angeles to film Star Trek: Picard season 3, Marina Sirtis hoped for the same camaraderie from her Star Trek: The Next Generation family that they'd known since becoming extremely close in 1987, and she was bitterly disappointed to find very different circumstances.
Star Trek: Picard season 3 was beloved by fans and critics, and Star Trek: The Next Generation's iconic actors spoke so effusively about being back together one last time. This is why it's so striking to hear that all was not well behind the scenes, at least where Marina Sirtis was concerned. Sirtis also says that the hoped-for Star Trek: Legacy spinoff is "never gonna happen."
Marina Sirtis airing out her behind-the-scenes grievances somewhat casts a pall over Star Trek: The Next Generation's glorious on-screen reunion in Star Trek: Picard season 3. It's still the best season of Star Trek: Picard, but it's sobering to know that filming it wasn't the best time for Marina Sirtis.
Release Date 2020 - 2023
Network CBS All Access, Paramount+
Showrunner Michael Chabon
Writers Matt Okumura, Kiley Rossetter, Christopher B. Derrick
English (US) ·