'Blunt Talk' Preview: Is That Captain Picard Snorting Coke?

After seven seasons and four movies as stalwart Starfleet captain, Jean-Luc Picard, Sir Patrick Stewart is exploring a new final frontier: cocaine. In this exclusive clip from the first episode of Stewart’s new series Blunt Talk, premiering on Starz on Aug. 22, the veteran British thespian can be seen snorting some of that fine white powder, an infraction that would certainly be frowned upon aboard the Enterprise. But within the L.A. media world that Blunt Talk takes place, recreational drug use isn’t just tolerated… it’s practically part of the job.

Created by Bored to Death mastermind, Jonathan Ames, Blunt Talk casts Stewart as Walter Blunt, a take-no-guff newsman overseeing his own nightly cable show. Onscreen and off, though, Blunt is something of a mess and a steady source of exasperation for his colleagues, Celia (Dolly Wells) and Rosalie (Jacki Weaver). There is one person Walter will never drive away… largely because he pays his salary. That would be his manservant, Harry (Adrian Scarborough), who also appears in this clip, “testing” his boss’s cocaine. “The ratio of cocaine to speed is just right, major,” he says admiringly. “What would I do without you, Harry?” Walter asks in return. Cut your own cocaine, for starters?

Blunt Talk premieres Saturday, Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. on Starz.