The Orville/Opening credits

The **opening credits** sequence of *The Orville* features the USS *Orville* in flight through various regions of space. Music was composed by Bruce Broughton, who also scored the series premiere *Old Wounds*.

A shorter version of the opening credits, which does not feature Broughton's entire song, is used in episodes with tight time constraints: *Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow* and *The Road Not Taken*.

The opening credits sequence of *The Orville* was revamped entirely for the third season, releasing on the streaming service Hulu. The new opening sequence bills the season as "Hulu Presents - A Hulu Original - A 20th Television Production - *The Orville: New Horizons*" and highlights the new appearance of USS *Orville*, explained in-series as a refit to the vessel.

## Production

### Music

The show's theme song was written by Bruce Broughton, who was given the freedom by creator Seth MacFarlane to simply compose a dramatic work and conduct the orchestra, with no other contractual obligations. At MacFarlane's request, Broughton composed the theme music based on the music the show *Lost in Space* and to feel "a little bit like a march." Shortly after the show's premier, MacFarlane remarked:

> *We scored it like a movie. I was thrilled with how many people caught that in the pilot on Twitter, so we get a lot of comments about the score, which is always very gratifying. We really put as much into that as we do into the effects.*
>
>

After performing and recording of the theme song concluded, the orchestra applauded for three or four minutes.

### Changes

* John LaMarr's (J. Lee) promotion to Lieutenant Commander in *Episode 1x11: New Dimensions* is recognized beginning in *Episode 1x12: Mad Idolatry*.
* *Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes*, the interim episode between the departure of Alara Kitan (Halston Sage) and the introduction Talla Keyali (Jessica Szohr), uniquely has John LaMarr (J. Lee) and Isaac (Mark Jackson), who would have followed Alara, brought forward in light of her absence.
* Talla Keyali (Jessica Szohr) joins the cast beginning in *Episode 2x05: All the World is Birthday Cake*.
* The opening sequence was revamped entirely for the third season. Anne Winters is added as new starring cast member Charly Burke.
* Talla Keyali's promotion to Lieutenant Commander in the opening of *Episode 3x04: Gently Falling Rain* is recognized beginning in the credits for that episode.
* Anne Winters is absent from the credits of *Episode 3x10: Future Unknown* following the death of her character in *Episode 3x09: Domino*. In the version of the episode released on Disney+ internationally, Anne Winters's credit is retained. In the version released to Disney+ in the United States, however, the credit is absent.

## Credits

As yet, ten main characters have been officially recognized in the opening credits, with nine being present in the series most of the time, constituting the senior staff of the USS *Orville*.

* Seth MacFarlane as Capt. Ed Mercer (*Old Wounds* - present)
* Adrianne Palicki as Cmdr. Kelly Grayson (*Old Wounds* - present)
* Penny Johnson Jerald as Dr. Claire Finn (*Old Wounds* - present)
* Scott Grimes as Lt. Gordon Malloy (*Old Wounds* - present)
* Peter Macon as Lt. Cmdr. Bortus (*Old Wounds* - present)
* Halston Sage as Lt. Alara Kitan (*Old Wounds* - *Home*)
* Jessica Szohr as Lt. (*All the World is Birthday Cake - Mortality Paradox*), Lt. Cmdr. (*Gently Falling Rain* - present) Talla Keyali
* J Lee as Lt. (*Old Wounds* - *New Dimensions*), Lt. Cmdr. (*Mad Idolatry* - present) John LaMarr (*Old Wounds* - present)
* Mark Jackson as Isaac (*Old Wounds* - present)
* Anne Winters as Ensign Charly Burke (*Electric Sheep* - *Domino*)

## Trivia

* The iconic font used in the credits is called Space Age, originally created before 2005 and based on the logotype of Epcot's "Mission: Space" ride in Disney World.

## Gallery

### Seasons 1-2

*The Orville*USS *Orville* departing Union Dockyard.*Seth MacFarlane as Capt. Ed Mercer**Adrianne Palicki as Cmdr. Kelly Grayson**Penny Johnson Jerald as Dr. Claire Finn**Scott Grimes as Lt. Gordon Malloy**Peter Macon as Lt. Cmdr. Bortus**Halston Sage as Lt. Alara Kitan**J Lee as Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr**Jessica Szohr as Lt. Talla Keyali**J Lee as Lt. John LaMarr**J Lee as Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr**Mark Jackson as Isaac**Mark Jackson as Isaac*USS *Orville* about to quantum jump.
### Season 3 (*New Horizons*)

Hulu PresentsA Hulu OriginalA 20th Television Production*The Orville: New Horizons**Seth MacFarlane as Capt. Ed Mercer**Adrianne Palicki* as *Cmdr. Kelly Grayson**Penny Johnson Jerald as Dr. Claire Finn**Scott Grimes as Lt. Gordon Malloy*USS *Orville* and a space station*Peter Macon as Lt. Cmdr. Bortus**Jessica Szohr as Lt. Talla Keyali**Jessica Szohr as Lt. Cmdr. Talla Keyali**J Lee as Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr**Mark Jackson as Isaac**Anne Winters as Ensign Charly Burke*Absence of Anne Winters credit, "Future Unknown"USS *Orville* and Planetary Union vesselsUSS *Orville* about to quantum jumpCreated by Seth MacFarlane
## References

1. ↑ Bond, Jeff. *The World of the Orville*. Titan Books. 2018. Pg. 15.
2. ↑ The Orville Fan Podcast w/ Bruce Broughton (07). Planetary Union Network. Oct. 30, 2017.
3. ↑ Burlingame, Jon. "Seth MacFarlane’s ‘The Orville’ Gets Movie-Style Scoring From Emmy-Winning Composers". *Variety*. Sept. 7, 2017.
4. ↑ Kain, Erik. "Interview: Seth MacFarlane On The Orville's Unique Tone, 'Star Trek' Roots". *Forbes*. Sept. 26, 2017.
5. ↑ "Legendary Composer Bruce Broughton Talks His Career And New Theme For “The Orville”". Pop Culture Tonight. June 4, 2018.
6. ↑ /u/xeow. "Finally found the Q they use in Space Age!". Reddit. Jan. 23, 2019.
7. ↑ Callaghan, Justin. Space Age Font Family. 1001 Fonts. Last accessed Jan. 24, 2019.