They may have hired Jeri Ryan for her beauty, but Seven of Nine turned out to be one of the best characters in the entire Star Trek franchise.
Watching her walk around Voyager in her body suits was kind of mesmerizing – but her character was really interesting, too.
But did you know she had a secret enemy on set?
The game behind Jeri Ryan’s success
When Jeri Ryan stepped onto the set of Star Trek: Voyager in 1997, the show was teetering on the edge. The ratings were slipping, the stakes were high, and the producers knew they needed something — or someone — to turn things around. Enter Seven of Nine.
A former Borg drone severed from the Collective, her character was a fusion of cold precision and buried humanity, a puzzle waiting to be solved.
And when she appeared in season four, the effect was immediate. Ratings skyrocketed — by a staggering 60%. The network had gambled on her, banking on her striking presence to pull in viewers. And it worked.
