The Orville’s third season gets an update from producers ahead of Hulu move

The Orville is still in a docking position as they await word on when they can resume the production of season three.

The third season of the beloved series The Orville is still in limbo as the world returns to work during the Covid-19 pandemic. While it may feel as if things have gotten better, that simply isn’t the case, and those in charge of the series are aware of that. This is why the series is still talking about when the series will resume and how it’ll happen instead of just jumping into it.

The Orville is a comedic take on the world of Star Trek, written as a love letter to the series. The series has built its own lore and has often found itself tackling the same issues that Trek used to address. Such as gender, sex, and making decisions that don’t seem to have a right or wrong stance.

Orville series producers Tom Costantino and David Goodman spoke with TrekMovie about the very idea of returning to production. With the series only half-way through filming, the cast and crew will need to return to work eventually in order to get the third season out.

Yet, going about how to resume work will be a major factor in all conversations going forward, as Goodman explains.

"There are lots of conversations going on at this moment, but nobody has made a hard decision on return to work. We want to get back to work as soon as we can, but we want to do it safely. And whatever strictures are in place, we don’t want them to get in the way of the show we want to make."

Season three is pivotal for the series, as it will be the first to air on Hulu. If the series garners enough positive attention on the new platform, and enough people tune in, it could very well turn into an American Dad-type show. American Dad, another Seth MacFarlane series, was moved from Fox to TBS after eleven seasons. The series has found a second life on the cable channel, being picked up for (at the very least) eight more seasons since the move.

So there’s pressure on the cast and crew to nail season three and get it on the air as quickly as possible while staying under budget. All while guarding against the spread of Covid-19.

Goodman goes on to talk about how the show will benefit from Hulu’s less restrictive time allowances when it comes to an episode’s length.

"What being on Hulu does is allows more freedom. The way Seth runs the show, we take the idea where it takes us. We talk about the episode we want and show we want to do and we write it, and then we produce it. And what Hulu allows us is, once it is produced, we don’t have to be as worried about length. So, there will be a variety of lengths. It allows us to leave some stuff in that we would have had to cut if we were on a network."

Are you excited to finally see the third season of the Orville?