“The Orville,” a science fiction comedy-drama series created by and starring Seth MacFarlane, ran for two seasons on Fox, but will have a new home on Hulu starting June 2.
Here’s what you need to know about the show.
The Orville is the name of the spacecraft: USS Orville (ECV-197), a mid-level exploratory vessel in the Planetary Union, a 25th-century interstellar alliance of Earth and many other planets.
MacFarlane plays the ship’s commander, Captain Ed Mercer, whose First Officer, Commander Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki) is also his ex-wife.
Other major crew members include: Lieutenant Commander Bortus (Peter Macon), the ship’s Second Officer and a Moclan; Lieutenant Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes), the helmsman and Mercer’s best friend; and Doctor Claire Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald), the chief medical officer, who travels with her two young sons.
The rest of the ship’s command and crew are made up of a mix of humans and non-human life-forms, who all participate in exploring the universe and interacting with new forms of life encountered along the way.
The first two seasons felt like they were influenced by “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” but with a touch more silliness and sarcasm.
The show also tackled several heavily dramatic stories, such as racism and misogyny, with a deft blend of seriousness and humor.
When we last saw the crew of The Orville, viewers were left on a major cliffhanger involving a war with the Kaylon army and Kelly’s memories…but then everyone had to wait longer than expected for a resolution.
Season one of the show debuted in 2017, and season two in 2018. However the third season was filmed for Fox, then it got temporarily shelved due to the pandemic.
After three years, “The Orville” has now been given a new home on Hulu, where the streamer plans to release season three as “The Orville: New Horizons” on June 2, 2022.
The series is produced by 20th Television, which Disney acquired as part of its purchase of Fox/20th Century Studios in 2019
Set 400 years in the future, “The Orville: New Horizons” finds the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continuing their mission of exploration, as they navigate both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships.
The ensemble cast also includes J Lee, Mark Jackson, Chad L. Coleman, Jessica Szohr, and new hire Anne Winters. The new season will also be the final one with Norm Macdonald as the gelatinous and hilarious Yaphit, filmed before the comedian passed last September.
Take a look at the trailer for the new season, where fans of the show may notice the interior of the ship has been redesigned a bit:
Hulu also shared this extended sneak peek of the upcoming season of New Horizons:
The first two seasons of “The Orville” are on Hulu now, so you can binge them to get caught up before the new adventures kick off.
Any fans of “The Orville” out there on The Disney Blog land? If so, let us know what you love above the series of why you would recommend it to others in the comments.