Jeri Taylor, ‘Star Trek’ Writer and Producer, Dies at 86

Jeri Taylor, a writer and producer for several “Star Trek” shows, died Thursday, Oct. 24, at age 86. StarTrek.com broke the news of her passing.

Taylor was known by fans for writing the “Star Trek: Next Generation” episode “The Drumhead.” She also served as co-executive producer on the show’s 4th, 5th, and 6th seasons and as the showrunner and executive producer for the show’s final season.

Taylor also joined “Star Trek: Voyager” as showrunner and was head of the writer’s room for four seasons.

Taylor surprised fans when she showed up at the Mission Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas in 2021, as she had been retired from such appearances for years. She told fans that “Voyager” co-creators Rick Berman and Michael Piller “did not need me” on the show.

“They knew what they were doing, they could have handled it by themselves. And I suspect that part of the thinking was that it would just be a good thing to have a woman on the team, that you’re going to have a female captain, and I am eternally grateful that they thought that and so we started getting together at lunch hours, the only time any of us would have a free hour, ordered in our lunches in Rick’s office and began hashing it out,” she explained.

Taylor added that she always identified with Captain Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew. “I always thought of Janeway is just me, I wrote her,” she said. “I can’t say that I wrote her as me, but as I would like to be. I felt full of her.”

Jeri Taylor was born on June 30, 1938, in Evansville, Indiana. In addition to her work in the “Star Trek” universe, she wrote scripts for “Little House on the Prairie” and “The Incredible Hulk” and also worked as a producer and director on “Quincy, M.E.” and “Jake and the Fatman.”

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