Seth MacFarlane’s sci-fi series “The Orville” returning to screens is mostly a matter of timing, according to the “Family Guy” creator.
The multi-hyphenate was out this week promoting the launch of the second season of his “Ted” comedy series on Peacock this coming Thursday.
Speaking with THR, MacFarlane confirmed that writing has been completed on ten episodes of a potential fourth season of “The Orville,” now it’s just a matter of scheduling more than anything:
“I will be honest with you: Season four is written. It’s just a question of when we have the time to produce it. The ten scripts are done. I’m the problem. It’s [a matter of] when I can make that my year, with all the other stuff we have in the works. But we can hit the ground running when it happens.”
The series originally launched on FOX, but then moved to Hulu for its third season in 2022. Should a fourth go forward, Hulu is where the show would return and the trade says MacFarlane “confirmed that Hulu would be ready to move forward on the new season”.
Set in the 25th century, the series premiered in 2017 and centers on the exploits for the crew of the USS Orville spacecraft. MacFarlane led a cast that included Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Jessica Szohr and Anne Winters.
Whilst critical response was tepid at first, the show found its footing midway in its first season and became a series very akin to 1990s sci-fi series like “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “seaQuest DSV” in terms of tone and technique – albeit with more modern visual effects and a slightly bawdier sense of humour.
