Planetary Union Network

The **Planetary Union Network: The Orville Official Fan Podcast** (also **PUN**) is the official podcast of *The Orville* and notable for its interviews with cast and crew. Created by Dan Taylor in early 2017, the Planetary Union Network is the oldest fan podcast. It provides a rare look at the production of the show, and, in some cases, offered glimpses into future episodes.

Currently, the Planetary Union Network is led by hosts Joe Quickle and Michael May, although previous hosts include Taylor, Joe's wife Megan, and director Jon Cassar. During the television season run, new podcast episodes come out on or before the Monday following new episodes of the series. When the series is on hiatus, new podcast episodes come out on Mondays as new content is available to discuss.

The Planetary Union Network became a favorite platform for The Orville's production crew during and after Season 1 to contact fans. As a result, the Network was first to announce many major news updates, including the episode title of *Ja'loja,* the Season 2 schedule, and the Season 2 outtakes video, ahead of traditional news outlets.

## History

In February 2017, Dan Taylor caught wind of a new science fiction series created by Seth MacFarlane called The Orville; he learned of the name "Planetary Union" and caught a glimpse of the crest that would inspire the podcast's logo. By late June, Taylor recruited Joe Quickle as co-host, and the pair released a teaser for the show on July 22. Taylor and Quickle published their first broadcast as the "Planetary Union Network" on September 12, reviewing the pilot episode. Michael May joined as the third full-time co-host in October 1, just after *If the Stars Should Appear* aired.

Over the course of early April 2018, the Planetary Union Network held a March Madness-style poll of the first season for Orville fans, asking them to vote on their favorite episodes. The winner was *Mad Idolatry*, followed by *About a Girl*, and then *Pria*.

The Planetary Union Network announced that Taylor would be leaving the show to pursue other creative endeavors on July 30, 2018.

The Planetary Union Network joined with La-La Land Records for the month of January 2019 to give away an album of The Orville: Original Television Soundtrack - Season 1 by contest.

On February 12, 20th Century Fox announced by Twitter that the Planetary Union Network would be the official fan podcast for the show. Quickle and May changed the name to its current form soon after.

Director Jon Cassar served as a special guest co-host for Episodes 32 and 33.

As of 2022, the site remains online. However, no new content has been posted since June 30, 2019 and the site was never updated for Season 3: *New Horizons*. However, despite the site itself not being updated, podcasts have been posted for all episodes of the third season except *Future Unknown*.

## See also

* The Orville Podcast
* Quantum Drive (podcast)
* Egotastic FunTime

## References

1. ↑ @planetary\_union. "BREAKING: We can now tell you that the episode order has been modified. The episode being aired on December 30th as Season 2 Episode 1 of @TheOrville has been updated to be Ja’loja. Primal Urges will follow as Episode 2 on January 3rd. #TheOrville". Twitter. Dec. 18, 2018.
2. ↑ THE ORVILLE SEASON 2 GAG REEL. **Planetary Union Network**. April 30, 2019.
3. ↑ @planetary\_union. "PUNcast Announcement: Founding co-host @odddanout has decided to leave the podcast to pursue other creative endeavors. Dan will be missed, but Michael and I will continue bringing you the same show you’ve come to expect out of the Planetary Union Network. Everyone wish him luck!". Twitter. July 30, 2018.
4. ↑ "PLANETARY UNION NETWORK: EPISODE 26". **Planetary Union Network**. Jan. 13, 2019.
5. ↑ @TheOrville. ".@planetary\_union network, official fan podcast of #TheOrville, welcomes Peter Macon.Releases Wednesday 2/13, 6:00AM Pacific. @SethMacFarlane @TomCostantino". Twitter. Feb. 12, 2019.