"Star Trek" Legend Tragically Dies

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Jeri Taylor, Emmy-nominated producer, writer, director, and Star Trek showrunner, has passed away at 86. Known for her work on Star Trek: The Next Generation and as co-creator of Star Trek: Voyager, Taylor died Wednesday at an assisted living facility in Davis, California, according to her son, Andrew Enberg, and confirmed by the Hollywood Reporter.

Andrew described Taylor as someone who thrived in a male-dominated industry with compassion and kindness. Before her notable contributions to Star Trek, Taylor worked on other prominent TV series, including Quincy, M.E., Magnum, P.I., Jake and the Fatman, and In the Heat of the Night, where her talent for character-driven storytelling shone.

Taylor’s Star Trek journey began in 1990 when she joined The Next Generation in its fourth season. She rose to co-executive producer by the show’s sixth season and took on the role of showrunner for its seventh and final season in 1993-94, earning an Emmy nomination in 1994 for outstanding drama series. Alongside Rick Berman and Michael Pillar, she co-created Star Trek: Voyager, becoming the showrunner for its first four seasons and later serving as a creative consultant.

Taylor was instrumental in casting a female lead for Voyager, with Kate Mulgrew stepping into the iconic role of Capt. Kathryn Janeway. Mulgrew shared that Taylor was “responsible, in large part, for changing my life,” describing her as “elegant, erudite, and fiercely opinionated.”

Born on June 30, 1938, in Evansville, Indiana, Jeri Cecile Suer grew up in Ohio, excelling academically as a valedictorian and later graduating from Indiana University. She earned a master’s from Cal State Northridge, directed local theater, and entered television in 1979. Taylor joined Quincy in 1980, where she directed and produced episodes during its final season.

Taylor’s career also spanned writing for shows such as Little House on the Prairie, The Incredible Hulk, and Father Dowling Mysteries. Among the 30 Star Trek episodes she wrote, her favorite was “The Drumhead,” a fourth-season Next Generation episode centered around a courtroom drama.