A major writers' strike delayed the season and forced the production of only 22 episodes (instead of 26).

Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) was replaced for the season by Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur), who was intended to provide a McCoy-like dynamic but was ultimately phased out. Key Character & Lore Developments

Overruns in early episodes led to the infamous finale "Shades of Gray," a "clip show" created to recover costs by using mostly existing footage.

To restart production quickly, the premiere episode, "The Child," was adapted from a script originally written for the aborted 1970s project Star Trek: Phase II .