Season 3

> *I am confident this will be the most surprising season yet. It is* not *going where you think it is going.*— Seth MacFarlane
>
>

***The Orville: New Horizons***, also known as **Season 3**, is the most recent season of *The Orville*. It premiered in the United States on Hulu on June 2, 2022. This season's canon consists of 10 television episodes and the book, *Sympathy for the Devil*, originally scripted as an episode of the series.

According to showrunner Seth MacFarlane, Season 3 was planned to resemble the tone of the successful Season 2, especially the episodes *Identity, Pt. 1* and *Pt. 2*. Speaking before a convention at the time he was writing the season, MacFarlane told fans, "I want to make this year all like [Season 2]." Writers consequently emphasized dramatic and action-heavy narratives over comedy.

Season 3 took an astonishing 659 days to complete due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The schedule took so long that two major members of the cast, Norm Macdonald (Yaphit) and Lisa Banes (Speria Balask), died, and three actresses, including Jessica Szohr (Talla Keyali), gave birth. The Orville: Original Television Soundtrack - New Horizons was released on March 3, 2023.

## Trailers

   On September 22, 2021, Hulu released the first teaser trailer for the show.

On February 4, 2022, Hulu released the opening of the premiere episode, *Electric Sheep*, along with the show's new opening title sequence.

On May 12, 2022, Hulu released a third trailer.

## Production

Development of *The Orville* began only after Season 2 was officially renewed - long after the season finale aired. As a result, the show had no production schedule even as late as May 2019.

### Early development

Plans for Season 3 finally got underway in June 2019. Staff met with senior concept designer Lex Cassar on June 6 to begin pre-production for the art department. "If we as an art department don't start planning ahead we could fall behind real quick," Cassar surmised the next day.

To meet production and filming demands, Hulu doubled Season 3's production schedule over Season 2. Each episode took on average six to seven weeks to complete, not factoring substantial delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

By August 29, staff commenced construction changes to Stage 15, which housed the majority of The Orville's set. Post-production crew re-made the opening title screen to be "even more beautiful."

### Writing

Creator Seth MacFarlane felt the budget limitations of the first two seasons had constrained The Orville's writing, and he was excited to transition to Hulu where he could tell "broader and more ambitious" stories.

During writing production for Season 2 in 2017 and possibly 2018, "a couple" scripts were set aside if the show were renewed for Season 3. Writers initially planned for up to 13 episodes, based on the number of scripts MacFarlane believed he could write: "Thirteen episodes in is when I start to come apart." The final number was reduced to 11. (It would be reduced again years later, this time to 10, when Covid-19 restrictions made filming *Sympathy for the Devil* impossible.)

Dan O'Shannon joined the writing staff in early 2019, though he quickly grew despondent over a lack of input in the creative process and left after under a year with the team.

The writing staff was authoring scripts for Season 3 by early May 2019. Switching to Hulu, a streaming service, gave the writers more air time over network televisions, so they enjoyed greater leeway to tell their stories. Writers returned to allegorical storytelling to drive the plot. As executive producer David A. Goodman put it,

*The show can't just be fun space action. Commenting on current society and social mores—we almost consider that our responsibility. The reason people watch is the characters. Those emotional stories really drive the show.*
Several scripts were sent to the art department by August 14, and the writing team had completed five stories by August 19 and mapped out the season's story arc.

More air time meant grander plots and more elaborate special effects; Goodman said *Identity, Pt. 2*, by far *The Orville*'s most ambitious episode to date, "would be one of the smaller episodes this year." Visual effects producer Brooke Noska added, "Last season, we pulled off the impossible for the [midseason] battle. Now we're trying to do that almost every single episode. And we're doing more content in less time."

#### Individual episodes

Goodman stated that he would like to explore the repercussions of Isaac's decisions in *Identity, Pt. 1* and *Pt. 2*. MacFarlane later promised that Season 3 would show the fallout from Kaylon's attack on the Planetary Union and what happens to Isaac.

In late July, MacFarlane stated that Alara Kitan could make an appearance on the show, but could not say more as writing had not finished. He left open the possibility of further exploring the planet Xelaya. He also stated that a "revelation" about Doctor Claire Finn had been cut for time from Season 2 would appear in Season 3.

On August 9, MacFarlane said that they are "broadening" the Krill species so that it's not just about religion. I don't want to give anything away... It's an element that... [sighs] Whenever I write the Krill there's that thing in my head, *Are they terrorists, are they us?* I can never figure out where they land. They always seem to be a metaphor for something."

On October 6, director Jon Cassar teased "there'll be space battles, there'll definitely be parties, Bortus gets up to the microphone again, half this crew is gonna get really wet- and did I say there'll be parties?" Two years later, actor Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy) mentioned that while he can sing, actor Peter Macon (Bortus) cannot, only to cryptically promise that audiences would see "some singing, and some dancing" in Season 3.

On May 2, 2021, Grimes posted on Instagram a picture of himself in a sheriff's regalia with a tag "@theorville," hinting at a Western theme in one of the episodes. (Gordon had been a cowboy-era marshal in an Environmental Simulator standoff against Vásquez in *About a Girl*.)

On May 19, director Jon Cassar revealed that actor Ted Danson (Perry) would return.

Many details were revealed in a group interview on February 7, 2022, held with actor J. Lee (John LaMarr), Grimes, Jackson, and Macon:

* Lee said that he would be appearing shirtless and added that he goes on "a couple dates" with other people. Jackson cautioned Lee about leaking spoilers, and Lee rephrased his statement to say, "I had a date." Grimes then interjected to say, "I think what we're thinking of is, you have something coming up... also." Jackson said, "John LaMarr gets a lot of attention," then said Lamarr's toplessness would be involved. Lee concluded by saying, "He's a smart guy. He does everybody's homework."
* Jackson stated that "everyone" would hate Isaac at the start of Season 3, implying opinions later change.

On March 18, 2022, composer Joel McNeely recorded his score of an unidentified episode. (It is probably around episode four, *Gently Falling Rain*, as it was recorded three days before John Debney recorded episode seven, *The Word of Avis, Pt. 2*.)

On May 30, 2022, actress Adrianne Palicki (Kelly Grayson) promised "a big arc" between her character and another crew member that would be "pivotal" and "deal with what a lot of people are dealing with today."

*There is a there’s a big storyline coming up that is very intense and hard for Kelly. And she has to navigate that and it’s very difficult thing to do. As an actor, I would say the hardest thing I’ve probably ever done was the season two finale playing two versions of Kelly, so nothing physically that challenging like that this season, but emotionally, I think that there’s a massive storyline that’s going to hit a of nerves and hopefully hearts. It’s something about what’s happening in the world right now.*
The first day back from the Covid-19 break filmed Grimes and others in flight suits. Grimes became increasingly panicked in the restrictive suit, the small flight space, and mask, and he began suffering from claustrophobia. Grimes recalled "flipping out" and repeating, "This isn't gonna work, man. I don't know how we're going to do this." A similar incident had happened to actor Ralph Garman (Kanoot), which ultimately led to Garman's surprise departure from the show.

MacFarlane has said that a line from The Orville, "nothing is as simple as we think it is, and everything has layers like an onion," embodies the theme of Season 3, which is coexistence.

### Changes to the cast

A new regularly recurring member of the cast was announced on November 3, 2019, Anne Winters, who will play Charly Burke.

On February 19, 2021, actress Eliza Taylor posted to Instagram a photo of makeup artists making a prosthetic mold of her upper torso. She wrote that MacFarlane told her, "Come play on The Orville... It will be FUN".

Season 3 also saw two cast members pass away. On June 4, actress Lisa Banes (Speria Balask) was killed in a hit-and-run scooter accident while crossing Amsterdam Avenue in New York City. On September 14, actor Norm Macdonald (Yaphit) died of cancer after a quiet, nine-year battle. It is not clear if either Banes' or Macdonald's untimely death altered the show, although Seth MacFarlane stated that the writing team had plans in place for Yaphit should the show be renewed for a fourth season, but it would not entail using a voice actor to replace Macdonald. MacFarlane had been unaware of how ill Macdonald had become while recording lines, and MacFarlane felt gratitude that he had worked through his illness to support the show.

Only days before airing, executive producer David A. Goodman and director Jon Cassar promised a "big cameo from a big sci-fi franchise."

### Changes to the crew

Eric Hayden joined the visual effects department in August 2019 as a visual effects supervisor. Brandon Fayette, digital effects supervisor in Season 2, was made visual effects supervisor. Costantino was promoted from associate producer to co-producer. Hillary Wills, formerly an assistant editor, was promoted to editor. Doug Drexler, famous for his work as an artist in the *Star Trek* franchise, joined the show's art department. Joe Menosky, co-executive producer and writer behind *Sanctuary*, left. Dan O'Shannon and Andi Bushell were added as co-executive producers.

### Filming

Filming began on October 21, 2019, starting with the season premiere. "The episodes were not shot in order," showrunner Seth MacFarlane remarked. "We shot the entire season simultaneously. For example, if we had a set that appeared in several different episodes, we would shoot all the scenes for the season on that set and then tear it down."

All episodes of Season 3 were directed solely by MacFarlane and Jon Cassar, often at the same time in separate rooms of the set, a change from previous seasons when outside directors joined to shoot most episodes. Cassar later said reducing the number of directors proved a lucky decision in light of the unpredicted global coronavirus pandemic that would interrupt filming; when filming finally resumed, the shooting schedule was tightly constrained. "If we had to have separate directors, it would have been a nightmare," he said. "Because there's no way you'd ever schedule that. Once COVID hit and we came back, because actors are from other countries, bringing actors from other countries became difficult."

On May 13, 2019, Costantino said that while a shooting schedule had not been finished, two extra days were added to each episode's schedule.

The cast and crew celebrated Christmas with a party on the night of December 15, 2019, complete with a performance of *The Orville'*s opening theme conducted by Bruce Broughton.

#### Suspended production

In February 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread quickly through the United States and rest of the world, sparking a global pandemic. Crew began washing their hands, bumping elbows in lieu of shaking hands, and practicing social distancing, but on March 13, The Orville voluntarily suspended all production for three weeks, when the show was "about halfway" through filming. MacFarlane broke the news to the cast by phone call, expecting the suspension to last only a week-and-a-half to two weeks. Actress Jessica Szohr (Talla Keyali) recalled, "We were, like, pushing through the middle of the season, scripts were banging out, gas pedal down, and then it was like, ‘Halt!'" The Orville had been one of the last television shows to suspend production.

The cast and crew went home to wait out the pandemic. Scripts for the rest of the season were sent to the cast to allow them to prepare on their own time, although Adrianne Palicki (Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Claire Finn), J. Lee (John LaMarr) and Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy) refused to look at them - in large part because they knew the scripts would be heavily edited by the time it was time to film.

The crew had filmed the first five episodes and snippets of other episodes when the hiatus commenced. MacFarlane, editors, and effects producers worked remotely through suspended production, allowing post-production to continue. However, with only five episodes filmed, Costantino speculated that, should the suspension persist, post-production employees might eventually run out of work. By July 22, production had not re-started and Costantino confirmed that editing of existing material had completed. In the meantime, MacFarlane began inviting select cast members to his house to preview the first five episodes (J. Lee, in fact, said he declined an invitation).

The crew had hoped to resume production in August 2020, but as August came and passed, the production crew began brainstorming procedures to safely apply makeup and prosthetics to actors so that shooting could restart. "I’m trying to figure out how to return safely to work on ‘The Orville’ during a raging pandemic,” MacFarlane told *Variety* in October. “Turns out it‘s probably safer to actually shoot the thing in outer space than it is in L.A., because at least Boba Fett will wear a mask."

MacFarlane considered making several animated episodes to appease fans during the wait, but plans fell through due to lack of enthusiasm. MacFarlane, however, stated that he has not ruled out the possibility of doing one or more animated episodes in the future.

MacFarlane eventually hired a third-party pandemic consulting company Pandefense to create safety protocols for filming.

#### Delayed release date

Before the global pandemic of Covid-19, the show had originally been projected to return in the year 2020, probably in the autumn. At the start of the pandemic, the crew hoped to return in time to air in late 2020, but those hopes slowly disintegrated as the pandemic dragged on. Production finally restarted on December 1, 2020 and filming resumed on December 4, but a resurgence of Covid-19 forced the studio to shut down again until January 18, 2021. Filming did not conclude until August 11, 2021, 659 days after it began.

The effects of the pandemic had greatly delayed the air date: from the pre-pandemic projection of fall 2020, to the early pandemic projection of December 2021, then February 2022.

Around September 2021, the fan news channel Egotastic FunTime reported that the production crew might be going on strike to protest their salaries. A strike would have further delayed post-production of The Orville. In response to Egotastic's report, Costantino stated that a strike would get "absorbed" into the post-production schedule, unless it were exceedingly long. Ultimately, no strike took place.

On February 4, 2022, Hulu pushed back the date of the premiere to June 2, 2022. On the bright side, with the delay came three new announcements: A video reveal of the opening of the season's premiere episode, *Electric Sheep*; a new opening title sequence; and a public statement by MacFarlane, promising that the new season would be worth the delay and that he understood the frustration fans felt.

#### Filming resumes

On November 9, 2020, it was announced that shooting would resume in December 2020, hoping to air by the end of 2021. Production resumed on December 1, and shooting restarted on December 4. However, a resurgence of Covid-19 in the United States forced the studio to shut down again until January 18, 2021.

Because MacFarlane believed back in March 2020 that the quarantine would last only a few weeks, the production crew had failed to film some material of the first five episodes. When production finally restarted nearly a year later, frustrated senior staff discovered shooting the outstanding scenes would be very difficult. Even worse, scheduling problems forced Cassar and MacFarlane to film all of the remaining episodes at the same time. "It's unbelievably difficult," Cassar bemoaned. "But we're doing it. We're holding onto the tone. He'll direct his stuff; I'll direct my stuff; we'll do stuff together."

Schedules were complicated even further when three pregnant actresses - Jessica Szohr (Talla Keyali) and two others not identified - gave birth. Szohr was not present for many Bridge scenes due to pregnancy.

The cast found filming to be difficult due to how much time had elapsed and the "fragmented" order of shoots. "Literally, I was like, 'Seth, what are we doing in this episode?" Adrianne Palicki recalled.

COVID-19 restrictions required the show to film its remaining episodes with no more than 30 actors present in any scene, which posed a tremendous obstacle as The Orville had yet to film "four or five" distinct scenes that featured more than 100 characters. The producers decided to push those scenes to the very end of filming in the hope that the restrictions would be lifted in time to shoot them. If the restrictions are not lifted, the crew will digitally insert actors to simulate the numbers needed.

The final episode shot was for *Mortality Paradox*, the third episode. Filming ended at night on August 11, 2021, an incredible 659 days after it began. Cassar directed the final scene, labelled V-144R, which was completed in two takes.

The crew did not celebrate with a wrap party as they had in previous seasons due to Covid-19. Instead, after filming, a small dinner party was held at MacFarlane's home (probably between just the main cast).

### Post-production and changing the name to *New Horizons*

Post-production plans for visual effects were ambitious. The show tripled the number of effects over Season 2. The first two seasons featured slightly less than one battle per episode, but Cassar promised roughly two battles in space per episode.

Music was performed by a live orchestra and recorded beginning on September 16, 2021.

Five days later, Hulu officially announced that Season 3 would be titled *The Orville: New Horizons*. Seth MacFarlane explained the decision to subtitle the season as *New Horizons* in an interview in July 2022. He explained that the idea had come from Dana Walden, the Chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content, whom he describes as being his boss at Disney who he's worked with and been friends with for a really long time. He thought the idea was a really good one, and "kind of cool," as the new season is not a reboot, but a continuation. He felt the subtitle was enough to tell the audience "...that we're expanding a little bit. That the scope is bigger. The show is more ambitious. It's going to feel more like a movie. It's maybe going to feel a little more special."

Composer John Debney directed the orchestra and recorded his first episode of the season on October 22, 2021. Composer Joel McNeely directed the orchestra and recorded his first episode of the season on December 3, 2021. Composer Andrew Cottee directed the orchestra and recorded his first episode of the season on December 17, 2021.

## Episode count and length

When The Orville still belonged to 20th Century Studios and aired on television, The Orville's writers plotted out a story arc to dramatically increase the number of two-part episodes over Season 2, told over 13 episodes.

Everything changed when Disney purchased 20th Century Studios and The Orville moved to Hulu. The Orville was given longer run times, so the writers dropped their plans for two-part episodes. Hulu and MacFarlane negotiated an episode count for Season 3. Hulu wanted only 10 episodes released all at once but they eventually agreed to 11 released on a weekly basis.

Hulu allotted roughly 70 minutes of air time to each episode, about 12 to 15 more minutes than in previous seasons. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, Hulu loosened its restrictions so that overall time was greatly extended, with one episode running as long as 85 minutes. This meant that by adding up the total run times, Season 3 under Hulu was the equivalent to 16 episodes under 20th Century Fox.

Unfortunately, the pandemic created new travel restrictions, and the show's ninth episode, *Sympathy for the Devil*, had to be cancelled because the crew was unable to film abroad. The script was later converted by Hyperion Avenue into a tie-in novella and published on July 19, 2022. The lost episode means Season 3 has only 10 episodes.

## Renewal

Renewal came late in the year for *The Orville*, several weeks after the conclusion of Season 2. While the cast expressed their hopes for a Season 3 and the producers said they were "optimistic", Fox declined to answer publicly whether the show was renewed or cancelled through the show's entire second season run. At the end of Season 2, ratings analysts were divided whether The Orville would be renewed.

At the end of April 2019, creator and showrunner Seth MacFarlane said that he had decided before Season 1 aired that if he did not see "growth" by the end of Season 2 then he would end the show,

*but it's exceeded my hopes... The audience was with us from day one. I'm reading all these great reviews of the show, which is a relatively new experience for me- these rave reviews, and it does feel good.*
The show's producers entered talks with Fox concerning renewal by May. MacFarlane's ten-year contract with Fox was set to expire in June 2019, and many suspect the future of *The Orville* to be a part of negotiations.

By early May, the show's producers possibly entered talks with Fox on renewal. At that time, executive producer David A. Goodman commented: "I think the show has been doing well for [Fox]. The studio loves the show. It sells well in foreign sales. So, I am optimistic, but as I often say in this business it is nothing until it is something."

Fox officially announced that *The Orville* was renewed on May 11, 2019.

Two days later, Tom Costantino said that the show was never in danger of cancellation: the very late date of renewal was the result of Fox's business interests and not about the show's ratings.

## Budget

On December 10, 2018, the state of California approved $15.8 million in tax credits were Fox to renew *The Orville* for a third season. The write-off was one of the highest of any network television show, and roughly $1 million more than the previous season.

Hulu substantially increased the budget over Season 2, though the exact amount is unknown. Seth MacFarlane made sure to limit their reliance on expensive techniques like special effects so that if Hulu renewed the show at a reduced budget, *The Orville* would not look worse in Season 4.

## Move to Hulu

On July 20, 2019 during San Diego Comic Con, Seth MacFarlane announced the show would move to Hulu for its third season. Charlie Collier, CEO of 20th Century Fox, said the decision to move the show to Hulu was due to scheduling and executive producer David A. Goodman has said that Fox actively wanted to keep the show in its television lineup, but agreed to release it to Hulu.

In their own study of the switch to Hulu, *The Popcast* found:

*There was a lot of speculation that Disney's takeover of Fox was the real reason or that the show had poor ratings. But the reality was that behind the scenes, things were very friendly. Fox was happy with the show and they wanted it renewed for a third season as well.*
*The Popcast* determined that the change was most likely due to (1) advertising scheduling concerns, (2) Disney's desire for the Fox channel to focus on sports and news, and (3) the show's very large streaming audience, most of whom watched through Hulu.

Despite its late announcement, the move to Hulu seems to have been known to the executive producers as early as April 2019, long before a Season 3 was announced. When asked in an April 25 interview if he could make a show on streaming platforms like Netflix or Hulu, MacFarlane avoided answering the question,

*The project dictates what the platform is. ... The Orville is very different from* Family Guy *in that it doesn't require - I think we have like one broadcast standards note for all of Season 2* [for the episode *Primal Urges*]*. It's just not that kind of show; it goes for something different. The project, and the story, and the tone tell you where it wants to be.*
However, the acting cast have said that they did not learn of the move to Hulu until just before walking onto the stage of the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con cast panel.

In 2022, MacFarlane said that one of the most "frustrating" aspects of working at Fox was that the studio did not give him time to create "moments," simple lingering scenes like Luke Skywalker standing on a sand dune in *Star Wars: A New Hope* or Wesley Crusher modelling his new uniform in *Star Trek: The Next Generation* which advance the emotional connection between the audience and the characters.

The switch to Hulu had an impact on international broadcasts, in part because Hulu (unlike other streaming services) is not available outside the U.S. This was rectified by some territories instead carrying *The Orville* on regional versions of Disney+.

Despite the move to a streaming service, new episodes of Season 3 continued to be released on a weekly basis, rather than the "all-at-once" model. Also, episodes continued to include broadcast-style commercial-break climaxes and fades. Content-wise, the series has seen an increase in the use of profanity in Season 3, along with some violent moments that might not have been allowed on Fox.

## International markets

In markets outside of the United States, the third season released on the streaming service Disney+ as Hulu is not available internationally. (Hulu is majority-owned by the Walt Disney Company, the parent company of 20th Century Fox, while Disney+ is owned entirely by Disney.) On July 23, 2022, it was announced at San Diego Comic Con that all three seasons of the series would also be made available on Disney+ in the United States beginning on August 10, 2022.

## Preparing to air

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the cast and crew attended fan and press events on a regular basis, as they had for the first two seasons. After the pandemic caused extreme delays, the team stopped attending live events and rarely attended virtual ones. Only in the last few months before the premiere did the cast return to promote the show in any significant presence.

In interviews days leading up to the Season 3 premiere, MacFarlane seemed nervous but hopeful The Orville's audience had grown during the pandemic.

*I guess the pandemic gave audiences a chance to step away and discover the show on their own terms and not be told what it was. How many people discovered it during that time, we're about to find out because I just don't know. We're about to find out when Season 3 airs.*
### 2019 San Diego Comic-Con and The Orville Experience

*The Orville* made its third appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con. The event featured a cast panel, "exclusive ... never-before-seen moments of season 2," and a sneak peak at Season 3.

Perhaps the most surprising addition was a museum exhibition titled "The Orville Experience", which was free to the general public. The Orville Experience was designed by Seth MacFarlane, Tom Costantino, visual effects producer Brooke Noska, and senior concept designer Lex Cassar. MacFarlane and Fuzzy Door Productions paid for the Experience largely out-of-pocket. MacFarlane said shortly before opening:

*After completing two seasons of The Orville and witnessing the wonderfully gratifying audience response, I decided I wanted to bring something directly to the fans this year — and there’s no better place to do it than San Diego Comic-Con. ... We figured our fans would love to see all of it firsthand, so we pulled together an extensive collection directly from the set....*
The exhibition featured the show's original props and artwork, costumes, pieces of the set (such as the infamous hallway of the Orville where an unnamed ensign is ejected from an airlock), and a unique model of the Orville.

San Diego Comic-Con voted The Orville Experience as the best offsite attraction of the year.

### 2019 New York Comic-Con

*The Orville* made its second appearance at the New York Comic-Con on October 6, 2019. (The team first attended in Season 1.) Executive producer David A. Goodman held a panel interview with the main cast and director Jon Cassar, joking about past seasons and teasing Season 3.

### Science fiction alumni

Between September and October 2019, fan media account Orville Nation organized a number of actors of science-fiction television shows to publicly express interest in roles on The Orville, including Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker in *Star Trek: Enterprise*), Corbin Bernsen (Q2 in *Star Trek: The Next Generation*), Jonathan Frakes, Corin Nemec (Jonas Quinn on *Stargate SG-1*), and Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim in *Star Trek: Voyager*).

Frakes, who already directed two episodes of *The Orville* by that point, said he wished to appear "perhaps in full alien regalia." Wang joked that while he had not yet been asked to perform on the show, if they asked him to play a captain, a "phaser," or a shuttle, "I would be there in a second." (Wang had visited the set in Season 2.) Meanwhile, Nemec already auditioned for a role on the show and was waiting to hear back.

### 2020 GalaxyCon

In July 2020, Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Bortus), Mark Jackson (Isaac), J. Lee (John LaMarr), and Kelly Hu (Ozawa) attended GalaxyCon, which was held by video conference due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

### 2021 Sci-Fi Summit

After more than a year since a cast appearance at GalaxyCon, Penny Johnson Jerald (Claire Finn) and Jackson spoke at the Sci-Fi Summit on September 10, 2021 (coincidentally the four-year anniversary since *The Orville*'s television premiere). There the two revealed tidbits about the show, including an expected February 2022 air date.

### The Orville: New Horizons red carpet press line

Hulu scheduled a red carpet and advance screening press event for May 25, 2022, at the California Science Center with Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Jessica Szohr, J. Lee, Mark Jackson, Anne Winters, Chad L. Coleman, Brannon Braga, David A. Goodman, and Jon Cassar. The red-carpet portion was cancelled in light of a school shooting that day in Uvalde, Texas, but the screening of *Electric Sheep* continued on as planned.

## Reception

As of September 26, 2022, the third season of *The Orville* has a 100% fresh rating from critics with 13 reviews. Alex Maidy of JoBlo's Movie Network stated that "The Orville: New Horizons marks a reset for the inconsistent first two seasons of this show and deserves to be on your watchlist more than ever," while Albert Carlos of Espinof felt that "Beyond feeling a little disappointed with the last act of the season, the journey is all that matters." For audience ratings, the season has a score of 81% fresh with 690 ratings. The episode "Domino" holds a user score of 9.3 at IMDb, the highest for any of the series, and eclipsing "Identity, Pt. 1" and "Identity, Pt. 2."

## Gallery

### Videos

Seth MacFarlane Reveals How the Move to Hulu Changed The Orville - Exclusive InterviewInside the Orville - New Horizons - Hulu
## Trivia

* COVID-19 restrictions required the show to film its remaining episodes with no more than 30 actors present in any scene, which posed a tremendous obstacle as The Orville had yet to film "four or five" distinct scenes that featured more than 100 or even 200 characters. The producers decided to push those scenes to the very end of filming in the hope that the restrictions would be lifted in time to shoot them.
	+ The crew did not celebrate with a wrap party due to COVID-19. Instead, a small dinner was held at MacFarlane's home, likely involving only the main cast.
* MacFarlane hired a pandemic consulting company Pandefense to create the show's safety protocols for filming. As a result, despite filming large crowds of over 200 people, the show had zero cases of Covid-19 transmission.
* MacFarlane considered making several animated episodes to appease fans during the wait, but plans fell through due to lack of enthusiasm.

## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Initially, executive producer David A. Goodman said the show was "beginning talks" with Fox on renewal. Pascale, Anthony. "Interview: David A. Goodman On How ‘The Orville’ Wrapped Up Season Two And Where It Could Go Next". *TrekMovie*. May 3, 2019. Associate producer Tom Costantino later clarified that communications were not "beginning" *per se*. /u/tqgibtngo. "David Goodman interview". Reddit. May 4, 2019.

## References

1. ↑ [[[1]]]
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Sun - Main Stage | NYCC 2019 | SYFY WIRE. SyFy Wire. Oct. 6, 2019.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "The Orville Renewed! Season 3 Insider Interview with Tom Costantino". *The Popcast*. May 13, 2019.
4. ↑ @GoodNaturedVLLN. "I apologize for a lack of a stream yesterday.  The good news is I was busy in an official #TheOrville preproduction meeting.  All I can say is we have some big things coming for season 3. It’s going to be quite the adventure!". Twitter. June 7, 2019.
5. ↑ @GoodNaturedVLLN. "No deal yet but as you know Tom, if we as an art department don’t start planning ahead we could fall behind real quick. Always good to stay ahead of the curve. 👍👍😊". Twitter. June 7, 2019.
6. ↑ INTERVIEW - Tom Costantino: THE ORVILLE, editing and the lockdown. *TREK on the TUBE.* Dec. 4, 2020.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Orville Season 3 - ...On The Move To Hulu Interview | TOM COSTANTINO & BROOKE NOSKA. Egotastic Funtime. Aug. 29, 2019.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 THE ORVILLE SEASON 3 | The Day Productions Shut Down - Biggest Season Yet | TOM COSTANTINO INTERVIEW. Egotastic FunTime. July 22, 2020.
9. ↑ Scott, Darren. "Seth MacFarlane on why The Orville season 3 feels "like a reset" for the show". *GamesRadar+*. May 19, 2022.
10. ↑ "The Orville star Adrianne Palicki beams aboard the ORVILLELAND podcast". ORVILLELAND. Jan. 4, 2019.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 "Mindscape 58 | Seth MacFarlane on Using Science Fiction to Explore Humanity". Sean Carroll. Aug. 5, 2019.
12. ↑ 097 - Dan O'Shannon (Modern Family, Frasier, Cheers). TV Writer Podcast. May 4, 2020.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Oullette, Jennifer. "Go behind the scenes of The Orville as series embarks on a new season". *Ars Technica*. March 26, 2020.
14. ↑ The Orville Season 3 Is HUGE! Moving To Hulu, Art Of The Orville, Reboots & More | LEX CASSAR pt. 1. Egotastic Funtime. Aug. 14, 2019.
15. ↑ Mainframe Comic Con | Sunday | Part 2. Chuck Load of Comics. April 26, 2020.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Pascale, Anthony. "Interview: David A. Goodman On How ‘The Orville’ Wrapped Up Season Two And Where It Could Go Next". *TrekMovie*. May 3, 2019.
17. ↑ Pascale, Anthony. "SDCC19: ‘The Orville’ Panel Promises Season 3 Will Be Most Surprising + Watch Season 2 Deleted Scenes". *TrekMovie*. July 24, 2019.
18. ↑ @SethMacFarlane. "That’s the magic balance, yes. I think anything over an hour is too long in any case. But sometimes a difference of minutes can mean keeping or trimming a nugget of character. For example, there’s a Claire revelation that was cut for time in season 2– you’ll find out in season 3!". Twitter. July 22, 2019.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 "THE ORVILLE: NEW HORIZONS - Funny cast interview with the boys on the bridge!". Tanavi P. Feb. 7, 2022.
20. ↑ Lovett, Jamie. "The Orville: Scott Grimes Teases Western Episode in Season 3". *ComicBook*. May 2, 2021.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 Jon Cassar Beams In To Chat The Orville's Third Season. Trekzone. May 19, 2021.
22. ↑ @macfarlaneseth. "Always a good music day when there’s a Joel McNeely score being played. #TheOrville". Instagram. March 18, 2022.
23. ↑ @macfarlaneseth. "John Debney conducting his score for episode 7 of “The Orville: New Horizons”". Instagram. March 21, 2022.
24. ↑ 'The Orville' Cast Previews Season 3 | Isaac is like Rudy Giuliani???. TVLine. May 28, 2022.
25. ↑ Pascale, Anthony. "Interview: ‘The Orville’ Cast On What’s New For The Orville Crew In ‘New Horizons’". TrekMovie.com. June 1, 2022.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Hermanns, Grant. "Scott Grimes & J. Lee Interview: The Orville Season 3". *Screen Rant*. May 29, 2022.
27. ↑ The Orville: New Horizons - Seth MacFarlane Says Show Doesn't 'Need a Punchline'. IGN. June 1, 2022.
28. ↑ Petski, Denise. "‘The Orville’: Anne Winters Joins As New Series Regular For Season 3". *Deadline*. Nov. 4, 2019.
29. ↑ @elizajaneface. "@macfarlaneseth "Come play on The Orville" he said, "It will be FUN" he said... #TheOrville #Season3". Instagram. Feb. 19, 2021.
30. ↑ "‘Gone Girl’, ‘The Orville’ actress Lisa Banes dies after June 4 scooter…". *Filmy One*. Last accessed Aug. 17, 2021.
31. ↑ France, Lisa Respers. "Norm Macdonald, comedian and 'Saturday Night Live' alum, dies at 61". *CNN*. Sept. 14, 2021.
32. ↑ Video embedded in Ethan Alter, "Seth MacFarlane and 'The Orville: New Horizons' cast defend 'woke' sci-fi against Fox News attacks", *Yahoo! Entertainment* (June 2, 2022).
33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Pascale, Anthony. "Interview: ‘The Orville’ Producers Talk Epic Scale And Big Cameos In ‘New Horizons’ Season". *TrekMovie.com*. May 27, 2022.
34. ↑ @brooki\_eh. "[https://twitter.com/Brooki\_eh/status/1163617540771205120 Hey #TheOrville family!!
]@megamanex

[https://twitter.com/Brooki\_eh/status/1163617540771205120 and I are excited to let you guys know that our super vfx team just got a little added touch of awesome for Season 3!
Please help us in welcoming ]

@EricHayden1
to the crew!
#TeamSuperSupesinSpace !!!!!". Twitter. Aug. 19, 2019.
35. ↑ INTERVIEW - Tom Costantino: THE ORVILLE, editing and the lockdown. *TREK on the TUBE.* Dec. 4, 2020.
36. ↑ @ChillyKillary. "Whoops my insta isn’t public - here is the pic!". Twitter. Nov. 12, 2019.
37. ↑ Doug Drexler on The Orville. Trekzone. Last accessed June 12, 2020.
38. ↑ Pascale, Anthony. "Interview: Tom Costantino And David Goodman On How ‘The Orville’ Season 3 Will Be A “Barn Burner”". TrekMovie. June 11, 2020.
39. ↑ Del Rosario, Alexandria. "Seth MacFarlane Gives Fans Update On ‘The Orville’ Season 3: “We’re Working On It Very Hard”". *Deadline*. Sept. 28, 2020.
40. ↑ Dan O’Shannon – “The Orville”. WKYC. July 2, 2019.
41. ↑ @TomCostantino. "See ya Monday. @TheOrville @hulu #TheOrville @planetary\_union 🚀". Twitter. Oct. 18, 2019.
42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Weintraub, Steve. "Seth MacFarlane on ‘The Orville: New Horizons,’ Directing While Acting, and Why He’s Grateful to Hulu [Exclusive]". Collider. July 2, 2022.
43. ↑ Lovett, Jamie. "Star Trek's Jonathan Frakes Talks Picard, Discovery, Movies, The Orville, and Marvel". ComicBook.com. April 22, 2020.
44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 u/tqgibtngo. "I'm confused. — Reports say Fox indicated a "midseason" 2020 premiere. Doesn't "midseason" traditionally span from January to circa May? Is Fox going for a RUSHED production schedule?". Twitter. May 13, 2019.
45. ↑ @Brooki\_eh. "When the composer stops by to play a little #TheOrville tune at the Christmas party!!! 🤯". Twitter. Dec. 15, 2019.
46. ↑ @GDNaturedVLLN. "Downside to the Corona virus is having to shutdown production for a few weeks. Upside is I'll be returning to daily streaming on Monday. See you then.". Twitter. March 13, 2020.
47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Andreeva, Nellie. "‘Last Man Standing’ & ‘The Orville’ Join List Of Shows Shut Down Over Coronavirus". *Deadline*. March 15, 2020.
48. ↑ Writer-Producer and WGA President DAVID A. GOODMAN (The Orville). A ROBSERVATIONS VAM Interview. THE BURNETTWORK. May 7, 2020.
49. ↑ EPISODE 20 Adrienne Palicki & Scott Grimes. The Mike Henry Show. May 15, 2020.
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Mitovich, Matt Webb. "The Orville Season 3: Seth MacFarlane Gives Update on Delayed Hulu Debut". *TV Line*. Sept. 23, 2020.
51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 This Too Shall Pass. Category5 TV Network. April 2020.
52. ↑ THE ORVILLE SEASON 3 | Making The Show During The Pandemic - Tom Costantino Complete Interview. Egotastic FunTime. Aug. 2, 2020.
53. ↑ "Variety’s 2020 Comedy Impact Report". *Variety*. Oct. 2, 2020.
54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Eddy, Cheryl. "Seth MacFarlane on How The Orville's Past Connects to the Current Season". *Gizmodo*. May 30, 2022.
55. ↑ Rainis, Matt (September 7, 2022). Seth MacFarlane Isn't Ruling Out An Animated Episode Of The Orville. Slashfilm. Retrieved on September 9, 2022.
56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 56.3 56.4 56.5 Mission Log: The Orville - Supplemental 03 - Seth MacFarlane. Roddenberry Entertainment. May 25, 2022.
57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 Rice, Lynette. "See Fox's 2019-20 primetime schedule". *Entertainment Weekly*. May 13, 2019.
58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Halterman, Jim. "Fox Fall 2019 Schedule: 'Last Man Standing' & 'Orville' Held to 2020, 'Empire' to End With Season 6". *TV Insider*. May 13, 2019.
59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 "(#310) The Orville Is Returning!". Trekzone. March 15, 2020.
60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3 @KITST7LEN. "2, back on-board.". Twitter. Dec. 2, 2020. Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name ":0" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name ":0" defined multiple times with different content
61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 @Delaneleahy. "Day 1!". Twitter. Dec. 4, 2020.
62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Andreeva, Nellie. "‘Grey’s Anatomy, ‘This Is Us’, ‘The Orville’, ‘911’, ‘LMS’ & ‘AHS’ Among 16 Disney TV Studios LA Series To Extend Hiatus Amid Covid-19 Surge". *Deadline*. Dec. 31, 2020.
63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 @SethMacFarlane. "And that is a wrap on season 3 of The Orville!  Thank you to our incredible cast and crew for all their tireless and brilliant work, and I sincerely hope this is not the last time we all go to space. #TheOrville". Twitter. Aug. 11, 2021.
64. ↑ Pascale, Anthony. "Exclusive: ‘The Orville’ Season 3 Is Returning To Production In December". TrekMovie.com. Nov. 9, 2020.
65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 65.2 BREAKING: THE ORVILLE SEASON 3 | RETURN ANNOUNCED! When Does The Orville Return?. Egotastic FunTime. Sept. 10, 2021.
66. ↑ The Orville Season 3 | Another Delay Coming? IATSE Strike!. Egotastic FunTime. Sept. 22, 2021.
67. ↑ @editboy1000. "If IATSE strikes, does it mean Orville season 3 will be delayed further?". Reddit.com. Sept. 22, 2021.
68. ↑ Grobar, Matt "‘The Orville: New Horizons’ Gets Sneak Peek As Hulu Pushes Premiere Date". Deadline. February 4, 2022.
69. ↑ Pascale, Anthony. "Exclusive: ‘The Orville’ Season 3 Is Returning To Production In December". TrekMovie.com. Nov. 9, 2020.
70. ↑ THE ORVILLE SEASON 3 | When Covid 19 Shut Down Production | TALKING THE ORVILLE. Egotastic FunTime. March 31, 2021.
71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 71.2 THE ORVILLE PANEL (Adrianne Palicki, Peter Macon) – Terrificon 2022. Terrificon. Aug. 3, 2022.
72. ↑ 72.0 72.1 @joncassar. "The last shooting slate for season 3. The two year journey to get the 3rd season filmed ended last night. A big thank you to the incredible cast and crew who risked their safety and brought together their creative talents to help the #TheOrville fly again." Twitter. Aug. 11, 2021.
73. ↑ @macfarlaneseth. "First day of scoring for #TheOrville Season 3!". Instagram. Sept. 16, 2021.
74. ↑ Kim, Matt "The Orville: New Horizons Season 3 Release Date Announced". IGN. September 23, 2021.
75. ↑ Lovett, Jamie (July 3, 2022). Seth MacFarlane Explains The Orville's Name Change on Hulu. Comicbook.com. Retrieved on July 4, 2022.
76. ↑ Weintraub, Steve. "Seth MacFarlane on ‘The Orville: New Horizons,’ Directing While Acting, and Why He’s Grateful to Hulu [Exclusive]". Collider. July 2, 2022.
77. ↑ @macfarlaneseth. "John Debney conducting his first score for #TheOrville season 3". Instagram. Oct. 22, 2021.
78. ↑ @macfarlaneseth. "The Orville: New Horizons—
The orchestra rehearses Joel McNeely’s epic first score for season 3". Instagram. Dec. 3, 2021.
79. ↑ @macfarlaneseth. "Andrew Cottee @dreamtownmusic1 conducting his first score of the season for #TheOrville New Horizons!". Instagram. Dec. 17, 2021.
80. ↑ An Interview with Tom Costantino, Co-Producer of The Orville. Multiverse Tonight. Nov. 6, 2019
81. ↑ Tom Costantino – Co-Producer of the Orville!. Spoiler Country. May 11, 2020.
82. ↑ @TomCostantino. "10, try 12-15". Twitter. Oct. 6, 2019.
83. ↑ @SethMacFarlane. "Due to Covid shutdowns, we had to scrap one episode of The Orville: New Horizons. It was an outlier—a conceptually experimental story. Rather than let it vanish, I decided to adapt it as a novelization. Available digitally July 19, you can pre-order here!". Twitter. June 25, 2022.
84. ↑ The Orville New Horizons | SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL. Talking The Orville. June 24, 2022.
85. ↑ *See, e.g.,* Cap, Damon. "Kai Wener From The Orville Exclusive BSCKids Interview". *BCSKids*. April 5, 2019.
86. ↑ @SethMacFarlane. "We are optimistic — Stay tuned". Twitter. Jan. 17, 2019.
87. ↑ "Cancel Bear vs. FOX, week 16: ‘The Orville’s’ second season is off to a rocky start". *The Cancel Bear*. Jan. 17, 2019.
88. ↑ Maglio, Tony & Jennifer Maas. "On the Bubble 2019: Which Broadcast TV Shows Will Be Canceled and Which Will Be Renewed?". *The Wrap*. April 29, 2019.
89. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley, et al. "Fox Scorecard: Complete Guide to What's New, Renewed and Canceled (So Far)". *Hollywood Reporter*. April 29, 2019.
90. ↑ Katz, Brandon. "3 Showrunners Disney Should Lock Up With Long-Term Contracts Following Fox Deal". *Observer*. March 20, 2019.
91. ↑ Petski, Denise. "‘The Orville’ Renewed For Season 3 By Fox". *Deadline*. May 11, 2019.
92. ↑ Lovett, Jamie. "'The Orville' Awarded Tax Credit for Potential Third Season". *ComicBook*. Dec. 10, 2018.
93. ↑ @SFKMagazine. "Seth McFarlane says #TheOrville is moving to Hulu for season three". Twitter. July 20, 2019.
94. ↑ Franklin, Garth. "FOX Chief Talks “Orville” Shift To Hulu". *Dark Horizons*. Aug. 9, 2019.
95. ↑ 95.0 95.1 "This is why The Orville is moving to HULU". *The Popcast*. Aug. 17, 2019.
96. ↑ "Mindscape 58 | Seth MacFarlane on Using Science Fiction to Explore Humanity". Sean Carroll. Aug. 5, 2019.
97. ↑ Tapp, Tom (July 23, 2022). All 3 Seasons Of Seth MacFarlane’s ‘The Orville’ Soon Available On Disney+. Deadline. Retrieved on July 24, 2022.
98. ↑ Lovett, Jamie. "The Orville Is Headed for San Diego Comic-Con 2019". Comic Con. July 1, 2019.
99. ↑ Twombly, Kim. "“THE ORVILLE” ALIENS TO APPEAR AT COMIC-CON ON SATURDAY". SDCC blog. July 19, 2019.
100. ↑ "Tom Costantino, Co-Producer". Quantum Drive. Sept. 10, 2019.
101. ↑ "Seth MacFarlane Brings The Orville Experience to San Diego Comic-Con". *MetalLife*. July 16, 2019.
102. ↑ Episode 2x09: Identity, Pt. 2
103. ↑ THE ORVILLE EXPERIENCE. SDCC blog. Last accessed July 19, 2019.
104. ↑ THE SHRUGGIE AWARDS OF SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2019 – WINNERS. SDCC Blog. Last accessed July 26, 2019.
105. ↑ THANK YOU CONNOR TRINNEER!. Orville Nation. Sept. 30, 2019.
106. ↑ Q 2-THANK YOU CORBIN!. Orville Nation. Oct. 10, 2019.
107. ↑ 107.0 107.1 Orville Nation. Thank You JONATHAN FRAKES!!!. YouTube. Oct. 28, 2019.
108. ↑ 108.0 108.1 Trent, James F. "Stargate SG-1 Actor Corin Nemec Campaigns for Role on Seth McFarlane’s The Orville". *Bounding Into Comics*. Oct. 31, 2019.
109. ↑ 109.0 109.1 THANK YOU GARRETT WANG!. Orville Nation. Oct. 16, 2019.
110. ↑ Orville Live Stream Q&A with Scott Grimes, Kelly Hu, J Lee, Peter Macon, & Mark Jackson. GalaxyCon. July 16, 2020.
111. ↑ Chuba, Kirsten. "‘The Orville: New Horizons’ Red Carpet Press Line Canceled After Texas Shooting". *The Hollywood Reporter*. May 25, 2022.
112. ↑ *The Orville* Season 3. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on September 26, 2022.
113. ↑ *The Orville* Season 3 Episode List. IMDb. Retrieved on September 26, 2022.