{
  "id": 10243899,
  "title": "Only Two Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast Members Appeared In Every Episode",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/only-two-star-trek-the-next-generation-cast-members-appeared-in-every",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-27T16:12:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TVLine",
    "slug": "tvline",
    "url": "https://www.tvline.com/2266355/star-trek-the-next-generation-cast-members-appeared-every-episode/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Only two cast members of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Jonathan Frakes as William Riker, appeared in every one of the show's 176 episodes. The other four actors who were credited in every episode are Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, and Michael Dorn. However, it's important to note that being credited in every episode doesn't necessarily mean the actor physically appears in every episode, as some characters may be represented through stock footage, holograms, or voice-only roles. Brent Spiner, who played Data, was absent from the Season 4 episode \"Family,\" and LeVar Burton, who portrayed Geordi La Forge, missed six episodes. Despite this, Spiner has appeared in the most episodes across the entire Star Trek franchise, with Michael Dorn, who played Worf, following closely, having appeared in 279 episodes, including appearances in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Picard.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}