I’ve actually been curious how far away from the usual staples of Star Trek a series could position itself in premise. Like could a series work if it wasn’t centered on Starfleet or the Federation?
I’m guessing people barely remember this now, but originally they specifically didn’t call Enterprise a Star Trek series because they wanted to distance it and set it apart from the other shows in the franchise. But I think by season 3 they rethought that and it became Star Trek: Enterprise. And one thing I thought interesting about Picard season 1 was it tried to eschew the usual framework aspects of Starfleet to a degree, and have the characters be off on their own away from Starfleet.
For example, I remember thinking one direction they might take with season 2 was Picard and crew joining up with the Fenris Rangers, and him sort of being a leader in a Maquis-esque group on the edge of Federation space, and how that might make for an interesting contrast. Here’s a character that’s always been an advocate of Federation values now possibly made to be in conflict with that Federation from the outside.
But the drift of things with the storytelling for seasons 2 and 3 just seemed to pull Picard back towards Starfleet, and if I’m being honest for me there’s a comfort in that. Once they got back to familiar aspects of a Federation starship it felt more like Star Trek to me. And I wonder if for a Star Trek series there’s an expectation of a certain way things should work, and when it’s not there it doesn’t feel right.