Seth MacFarlane on The Orville’s place among Star Trek

The Orville, created by Seth MacFarlane, was originally called a Star Trek spoof. 

Even though Seth MacFarlane is a fan of Star Trek, he created a stand alone series that has brought in its own fans over the years. In the first two seasons, the series relied heavily on comedy and comedic effects, something Star Trek rarely relied on. But moving into this season, the series, now rebranded as The Orville: New Horizons, is heading in a different direction.

Though there’s no doubt a Star Trek influence on the show, MacFarlane, in a press event for The Orville, told i09, said it was safe to say the show was occupying its own space this year. Where there is concern about over saturation of space shows, MacFarlane said there was still a place for the show to exist.

"“Certainly, the more that’s out there, you do start to become a little concerned that, you know, is it oversaturation? Is there a pocket where our show and only our show exists? And I think that is still very much the case.”"

Sci-fi is very dark right now, according to Seth MacFarlane.

The actor and creator went on to say that the genre is “very grim in a lot of ways. It’s very cautionary.” So there was an open door for an uplifting, optimistic part of that genre to come through, and that’s where The Orville got its start. But it’s now heading into different territory, which was clearly indicated by the season premiere which aired on June 2nd on Hulu.

Though there will, undoubtedly, still be moments of levity and comedy, what The Orville set up in season two has to be concluded, and that doesn’t leave a lot of room for joviality. But, as MacFarlane says, what the series is bringing to the table now is in a class of its own.

"“You know, for us… sci-fi right now is very dark. It’s very dystopian. It’s very grim in a lot of ways. It’s very cautionary. And the optimistic, uplifting part of that genre is something we haven’t really seen in a while. So there was a pretty obvious open pocket for us to kind of slip into when we started. How we fit in now is—it’s really up to the audience, I think—what we’re bringing to the table in tone, in structure, in scope is in a class of its own. But that remains [to be seen], because the verdict [on season three] has not come in yet.”"

New episodes of The Orville: New Horizons air weekly on Hulu.