It’s been five months since The Orville wrapped its third season on Hulu.
The Orville, renamed as The Orville: New Horizons, wrapped what is arguably its best season in August 2022. Since that time, fans and the cast of the show, including its creator Seth MacFarlane, have been wondering when new will come in on a season four renewal for the series. #RenewtheOrville began trending on Twitter not long after the show wrapped for the season, and it has continued to pop up on Twitter, though, if the response from Craig Erwich, President, ABC Entertainment, Hulu & Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals, who spoke to TVLine [via CarterMatt] is anything to go by, that hasn’t made much difference.
"“We don’t have anything to share right now … It’s a great show and I know that the fans loved having it back in their lives. And Seth did a great job, uniquely as he can, in front of and behind the camera. But we don’t have anything to share right now.”"
How long will The Orville audience remain in the dark about season four?
Erwich saying there’s nothing to share doesn’t bode well for the audience. Couldn’t he have at least said the fate of the show was still in discussions? Or “we’re working on it” or something that would have offered some hope for those of us who are looking forward to more of this stellar series?
Yes, he probably could have, but maybe he didn’t want to get our hopes up. We know that the series is expensive to produce, and with the cost of virtually everything rising nowadays, that could have a strong impact on The Orville’s renewal chances.
Even if a renewal were to come down the pipeline, we’re not likely to see season four in 2023. As we already know, putting so much time between seasons can hurt a series’ viewing numbers. Five months is a long time to wait for no news only to hear there is still no news. And though fans are trying to remain positive, hopes can dim with the passing of time.