The ORville
THE ORVILLE: L-R: Penny Johnson Jerald, Mark Jackson, Seth MacFarlane, Peter Macon, Scott Grimes, Adrianne Palicki, J. Lee and Halston Sage in THE ORVILLE premiering this fall on FOX. ©2017 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Noah Schutz/FOX

Taking the adage of “if you don’t like something, make it yourself” to a new level, Seth MacFarlane created The Orville. The effort paid off: Fox renewed the show for season 3. The news comes a few weeks after the exceptional finale to the second season. That same week MacFarlane was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Orville returning cast will include creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane as Captain Ed Mercer, Penny Johnson Jerald, Adrianne Palicki, Chad L. Coleman, J, Lee, Jessica Szohr, and Scott Grimes. One change to the cast saw the departure of Halston Stage. Notable guest stars this past season were previous MacFarlane collaborators Liam Neeson and Charlize Theron. Ted Danson, Rob Lowe, Carlos Bernard and F. Murray Abraham also graced the show in brief, but entertaining roles.

Season 2 saw a different Orville with more drama than comedy compared to season 1. One would wonder if this was a result of MacFarlane choosing to write fewer episodes. Or was the decision a note from the network and their vision for the story.

The Orville Returns for Season 3

The creator of Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show has let his geek flag fly freely. MacFarlane cast Jean-Luc Picard himself, Sir Patrick Stewart, as a voice in one of his hit animated comedies. He also appeared in the Star Trek mythos as engineer Ensign Rivers in Enterprise. MacFarlane does not shy away from his love for the series. One of the best side stories in Family Guy is the cast of The Next Generation going on an adventure with Stewie, voiced by MacFarlane. The Orville season 2 also saw additional guest appearances by Next Generation alumn John Billingsley, Tim Russ, Marina Sirtis, and Robert Picardo.

The Orville is produced by 20th Century Fox Television which was taken over recently by Disney. We will see if this change will affect the show for a possible season 4.