After a delay due to COVID, the third season of The Orville debuted on Hulu last summer, but fans have been anxiously awaiting word of the series’ fate ever since. The Orville isn’t cheap to produce and isn’t exactly a ratings juggernaut, which means that season 4 is far from guaranteed. Still, the sci-fi series has a passionate fanbase and while the possibility of its return may be slight, it still exists.
TVLine‘s Matt Mitovich asked Craig Erwich, President of ABC Entertainment and Hulu & Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals, about the possibility of The Orville season 4. “We don’t have anything to share right now,” Erwich said. “It’s a great show and I know that the fans loved having it back in their lives. And Seth [MacFarlane] did a great job, uniquely as he can, in front of and behind the camera. But we don’t have anything to share right now.” Well… it’s not a no, so keep those fingers crossed.
The series, now dubbed 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 series stars Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Jessica Szohr, J Lee, Mark Johnson, Anne Winters, and Chad L. Coleman. When asked about a season 4 renewal on Twitter last month, Seth MacFarlane said he’s hoping it returns, but added, “It’s an expensive show in a tough streaming climate, so we’ll see. Our hearts are still in it though, make no mistake. We’d love to do more.“
While it was initially assumed that The Orville would be a straight-up comedy, the show quickly found its own identity as a quality sci-fi series, particularly if you’re a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Seth MacFarlane has admitted that the initial marketing for the series didn’t do them any favours. “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.” You can check out a review of the latest season from our own Alex Maidy right here.
Would you like to see The Orville season 4?