It’s been almost two decades since Jean-Luc Picard has commanded the bridge and our screens, and since legendary actor Patrick Stewart last played the storied Starfleet admiral. The years, Stewart says, have changed them both. That growth is central to the newest CBS All Access seriesStar Trek: Picard, which finds the titular commander in a very different place to when we last saw him – older, wiser, out of the game, and about to be drawn back in.

Rotten Tomatoes sat down with Stewart to find out what brought him back to theStar Trekfranchise and why he feels such a personal connection with the man who’s become his most iconic role. Plus, we talk toStar Treknewcomers Isa Briones, Alison Pill, Santiago Cabrera, Evan Evagora, and Michelle Hurd, about working with the star and joining theStar Trekuniverse. Franchise veterans Jeri Ryan, Jonathan Del Arco, and Marina Sirtis reveal what it was like to return. Finally, the creatives behind the series – Alex Kurtzman, Michael Chabon, Heather Kadin, and Akiva Goldsman?—detail how the project came to be and how they convinced Stewart to finally sign on.