There was some uncertainty after TNG’s season 3 finale “The Best of Both Worlds part 1” if Picard or the show itself would return.
Also, Google, baby… what is you doin?
Apparently it was initially all in one go:
Although the cast members were contracted for eight seasons,[52] Paramount ended The Next Generation after seven, which disappointed and puzzled some of the actors, and was an unusual decision for a successful television show. Paramount then made films using the cast, which it believed would be less successful if the show were still on television.[53] An eighth season also would likely have reduced the show’s profitability due to higher cast salaries and a lower price per episode when sold as strip programming.[52]
Per Wiki
Huh. I wonder if cast contracts were separate from the show’s renewal status.
Because even though they had eight-year contracts, the show was supposedly on the chopping block after three seasons. If it had been cancelled, what would they have done for the remaining five years?
Maybe what I heard had more to do with DS9 and Voyager.