Seth MacFarlane says season two of The Orville will be a major step up

It's not exactly a secret that Seth MacFarlane is a huge Star Trek fan, so it was only a matter of time before he developed his own sci-fi series. That day finally arrived when The Orville debuted last year and although the series wasn't a hit with critics, it certainly found an audience who embraced it. The second season is set to premiere this Sunday and MacFarlane recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly about what we can expect now that the series has completed its shakedown cruise.

I think people can expect a major step up in scope this year as far as how cinematic the show is, as far as the visual effects are concerned. There’s been a real effort to make each week feel like you’re watching a little movie. [Audiences are] going to see a show that’s firing on all cylinders, that’s really come into its own and found itself.

Seth MacFarlane also said that the marketing surrounding The Orville's first season (which played up the comedy) was a mistake. "Season 1 [advertising] was definitely more of a misfire," MacFarlane said. "It just wasn’t indicative of what the show was. You were seeing basically every gag in the pilot rattled off, one after another, when in reality they were fairly sparse and the focus was more on the story. I think that didn’t do us any favors, at least as far as the show was received by critics. I think a lot of them felt misled and that made them real cranky." MacFarlane also admitted that it took the series a little time to find itself. "When you’re combining drama and comedy, particularly in an hourlong format, there’s always a bit of a learning curve and I think by the end of season 1 we really locked into what we wanted to be, and we’ve been thrilled with what we’ve done this season," MacFarlane teased. "I think it’s really going to surprise people in a great way."

The second season of The Orville will premiere on December 30th on Fox.