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How did Kate Mulgrew feel about Jeri Ryan joining the cast of Star Trek: Voyager?

08.06.2025 00:59

How did Kate Mulgrew feel about Jeri Ryan joining the cast of Star Trek: Voyager?

Mulgrew thought Ryan was being a diva, and very unsympathetic to Ryan's struggles.

The original catsuit they gave Ryan was a complex suit. She often needed help getting in and out of the costume, resulting in the embarrassing production delays of 30 minutes to an hour so that she could use a restroom.

Add to it the realization that Ryan was supposed to be exactly the “eye candy” she was determined to not have on the main cast, and Mulgrew was very angry with the producers.

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An anger that only got worse when Ryan had trouble with his costumes.

Kate Mulgrew, Women's World, Jan. 21, 2018.

Going into Season 4, Voyager was not getting the viewership the executives were hoping for, and decided changing the cast was necessary. To make room for Jeri Ryan, someone else had to go.

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“Let’s be very straight about something,” said Kate matter of factly “This is on me, not Jeri. She came in and did what she was asked to do. No question about that, and she did it very well. It’s on me, because I’d hoped against hope that Janeway would be sufficient. That we didn’t have to bring a beautiful, sexy girl in. That somehow the power of my command, the vicissitudes of my talent would be sufficient unto the day, because this would really change television, right? That’s what dug me the hardest, that to pick up the numbers they did that… That was my interpretation of it. And that hurt me. I found it sort of insulting. And, of course, she embodied the part, this beautiful girl. But we certainly were utterly professional. I had been nothing short of completely professional, and she did her job. Very well! It was a very good idea that she was half Borg, but it’s on me. I’m sorry it has to be part of this legacy, and I probably should have comported myself better. I should have been more philosophical about it, but in the moment it was difficult.”

In other words, no eye candy.

The Borg costume that Ryan originally appeared in had a piece that put pressure on Ryan's carotid artery. More than once, it caused Ryan to faint.

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Jennifer Lien, who was suffering from personal issues as well as her character (Kes) reached a creative dead end, was chosen to leave instead.

Garret Wang was originally on the chopping block, which is why Ensign Harry Kim was attacked and nearly killed in “Scorpion, part 1.” However, Wang's agent managed to improve Wang's public image by getting him on People's “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” list.

As the star of the show, Mulgrew had a great deal of influence with the executives. One of her personal goals was to make certain that the female cast members were treated properly.

Hi everybody! I have been looking at posts on narcs and narc abuse on here and if has really helped me out a lot. I am currently struggling with my situation and need some advice/support. I met a narc last year, everything seemed to good to be true. Love bombing, always texting calling and taking me on dates. Everything changed when someone warned me about him out in public in front of him and who he is. This caused a conflict with us and the love bombing seized. he would tell me that everything is okay and i can come and talk. He would set a time limit on me and kick me out after that. he would then text me like everything was fine and we hung out again and after that he completely ghosted me for one week. He came back and texted me a week later laughing about the ghosting and acting like nothing had happened. he continued to text me ( not like in the beginning) make plans with me, then on the day of the plans he would just ghost me. One day he would act interested the next silence. i contacted him a month later and he acted like nothing happened. He was on a vacation and sent me a picture of another woman ( someone he allegedly met on the trip) to strike a reaction but i never gave him one. After the trip he came to my place and was extremely rude, accusing me of going on dates with a bunch of men. The next day he accused me of being an alcoholic and that he wanted nothing to do with me but said well maybe we can be "friends" then ghosted me i assumed at this point it was over and i would never hear from him again. He contacted me on the holiday a month later acting like everything was great. We ended up hanging out a month or so later and when we hung out it went well, i thought things were going in the right direction. after we hung out.. silence. I would try to text him and if he replied it would be very short then he just stopped replying. He ghosted me for almost three months. I thought he was done this time and of course he popped up again like nothing happened. At this point i was getting sick of if so i questioned him as to why he dissapeared and always does this. Of course he had some sob story about a injury and family member dying of cancer. I felt pity for him and he gave me an apology.. so i took him back stupidly. things seemed to be going smooth for a couple months, of course until his family member died and his injury got better he never contacted me and was distant. Menawhile, i was there for him during the difficult time for him. He lied to me about the funeral and never wanted to chat. I was chasing him and he would always claim nothing was wrong but when i said i thought he used me when he was down he could not handle it and would always tell me he didnt care and to go away. I would get so upset i would try texting him to work it out he would barelt respond and if he did he would not be nice about it. we did hang out a couple times after that, he would ignore me after. One day i was like hey i think you are seeing someone else, and i was like well ixam seeing someone so no problem if you are he said " buy bye good luck with your new guy stop contacting me" i was devastated and tried to get into contact with him for weeks then i just gave up and accepted it was over. He ended up contacting me a month later acting like everything was fine. He wanted to go out and have drinks i told him i would. He and i both seemed to have a great time. He ends up ignoring me again. I kept texting him trying to figure out what was wrong. He kept saying everything was fine and i said ok can we hang out again? He said maybe i was like why? He just kept saying maybe … our last conversation we had… i said what is wrong ? He said nothing is wrong everything is fine. I asked him why he keeps saying maybe. He said " maybe but i dont want to see you right now" i said why? He saix " im just not feeling it, if i wanted to date i would" i said why did you contact me less then a week ago wanting to go out? He said i didnt.. even though he did. So i said should i just move on or what? He said whatever you want to do. So i said that he was really confusing me and asked him if he had anything more to say before i move on? My messages were turning green so i panicked he blocked me and reacted irrationally. I said " omg did you block me? My messages are not going through. Even texted him on my work phone asking what was up. And called him twice ( please dont judge me i know it is pathetic i never was this type of girl before him) so he replied and said " Ok I'll block you now" then immedietly blocked me. He has never blocked me before since I have met him he will just ghost. Is this ths final discard aka " grand finale? Did i just push him too far? this has upset me so much its hard to even function.

Mulgrew later regretted this attitude, as the redesign to Ryan's costumes put an end to the delays, and Ryan proved herself a professional and capable actor.

As I understand it, Mulgrew was not happy with the change. She was rather protective of the younger Lien.

Unhappy, to put it mildly.

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As I recall, the two would overcome the animosity that Mulgrew took responsibility for, and become friends by the time Voyager ended.