I just started this show. I haven’t really liked any Star Trek show since STNG, so I kept putting this one off. Mostly because Picard hasn’t been well received
I am halfway through season one. I am not sure what to say about this show. I don’t love it. Parts have a lot of promise and parts are just so clumsy. It has a serial story, but it is clear that whoever is writing it is still thinking episodically. Things are really sped up and the writers have an obsession with illustrating backstory in the worse way. So many scenes with laborious dialogue.
The show is also a lot more realistic view of the federation than previous Trek products I have seen.
Overall there is enough goodness to keep me watching and again, I don’t love it.
May I recommend Star Trek Lower Decks?
Yes, it’s animated, but because it’s animated, there’s more alien lifeform representation than in the live action shows. It’s really well written, has character development over the series, and does fan service really, really well.
It also explores some of the less seen (but obviously necessary) aspects of the Federation - what happens after first contact, what do the non-officers do day-to-day, etc.
I started it after Picard, and although I liked Picard (for all the faults highlighted by the OP and other commenters), I fell in love with Lower Decks.
I loved Lower Decks. I grew up watching TNG and reruns of TOS. Plus all the movies. Recently watched the entirety of DS9. Lower Decks had a lot of callbacks that were hilarious.