Fans of The Orville—Seth MacFarlane’s homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation—have been waiting for updates on the future of the series since the season two finale aired two weeks ago. Today brings the good news that the USS Orville will continue its adventures.
The Orville will be back for a third season
The Hollywood trades (including Deadline and Variety) are reporting that the Fox Network has officially renewed The Orville for a third season. This was generally expected as the show had solid ratings in its second season, especially in on demand and delayed viewing. Another strong indication was that 20th Century Fox Television had already secured $15.8 million in California tax credits for the third season, which was the most of any other show, including CBS’ Picard series which garnered $15.6 million. Still, there was some anxiety for fans as Fox had already announced renewals of some of their other shows before heading into their 2019/2020 season upfronts presentation on Monday, May 13.
As of now, there are no details on when the third season will debut, but due to production realities, it is highly unlikely it will arrive this fall. The second season of The Orville was a mid-season show for Fox, premiering this past December. It’s possible more details on when to expect season 3 will emerge from Fox’s Monday upfront presentation.
The announcement had no details on the plot or cast for the show, but it is likely that all the series regulars will be returning. In his recent interview with TrekMovie, executive producer David A. Goodman confirmed that the alternative universe seen in the second season finale had been erased and “all is back to where it was.” He also said he didn’t expect the episodic format of the show to change in a possible third season, but he added “now we have shown that we can do a deeper dive in the Union, into the aliens, into our characters.” Goodman also said he didn’t expect Halston Sage (who left the show early in the second season) to return as a series regular, but that they would look to find ways to bring her back as a guest in season three, as she did in the season two finale.
Keep up with all the The Orville news, reviews and interviews at TrekMovie.com.
And there was much rejoicing!
The show has a loyal following. Very much looking forward to Season 3.
Say what you will about Orville, it says a lot about the Star Trek format that it’s on TV at all. Another season and it will tie with ENT.
It will already tie with TOS at least.
I like the show. But let’s not forget they only have 13 or 14 episodes a season. Apples/oranges comparison
That’s just the new normal for most shows these days. Even if Discovery went 7 seasons, it won’t even make it to 100 episodes.
If they keep doing 14 or 15 episodes per season they might just make 100 after 7 seasons.
Honestly I will be shocked it got to 7 seasons but you’re right its possible to get to 100 if it does go that far.
FANTASTIC NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Season 2 was so much fun! I can’t wait for season 3 now. This is going to make a lot of fans day!
The show is an odd duck. At times, it tries to be Galaxy Quest, at other times, it tries to be Star Trek TNG… and never really achieves either.
It’s basically owes a bit to the later seasons of M*A*S*H with it’s drama-comedy balance (The years where it was more drama than comedy) as well.
I disagree that it ever tried to be Galaxy Quest. I don’t think it was ever a spoof of Trek, sci-fi or fandom. It was basically a workplace sitcom/dramedy set in space — and it’s focused more on drama this year.
I think Seth genuinely is a TNG fan and wanted to do more TNG, with his unique dramedy spin (which I HUGELY appreciate). Also, a lot of the cast and crew from the Treks have a hand in producing, and appearing on, Orville. So there’s more than a casual similarity to the Treks.
It went a little closer to dramatic Trek in Season 2. (IMO)
The humour was more organic in this past season.
I’m looking forward to season 3.
I’m OK with that The Orville is just a well financed fan film being broadcast on FOX.
I take it for what it is and enjoy it.
It’s good to see more genre TV on broadcast networks. It’s probably very difficult to get the $$$ required to compete with DSC budget. Like DSC or not (I love it) it’s well filmed with great visuals
That was true of season 1. Season 2 it was obvious they were going for 99% TNG. Even the few jokes they inserted in stopped working for the most part. This may as well be TNG season 8.
Best news in a while!
I think I can finally exhale now. WHEEW!
Congratulations to Seth MacFarlane and the cast and crew of The Orville on the third season pickup. I can’t wait to see where you take us next!
Isnt this called Trek movie. Why all the slobbering over the Orville. Make the Orville page. Why no news on the Expanse or other scifi shows. Orville is a blatant ripoff
You must be new here. TrekMovie adopted The Orville two years ago when the series premiered on Fox. The show has its own category and section on the site.
What it doesn’t have, though, is a setting on your browser that forces you to read every article written about the series.
No im not new and that is kind of rude.I dont see this kind of push back against DSC hate comments on here,bias much
“I dont see this kind of push back against DSC hate comments on here”
Then you obviously only see what you want to see. It’s called “denial”. Have fun.
I read your comments below. Chad I hope you get the help that you need. You shouldn’t have to struggle like that.
I think you answered your own question – Trekmovie covers Orville because it’s a blatant ripoff, because it isn’t the Expanse or any other scifi show. It’s Star Trek in a different uniform.
Trekmovie even used to have a regular column with general scifi news years ago where they covered multiple shows. I guess it’s too much work trying to keep up with all of it. Or they are just not into those other shows.
These comments on ‘why does Trekmovie cover Orville’ are getting tiresome and boring. As a long time reader you should be aware that this was raised many times by people who would rather nit pick for the sake of nit picking. Get over yourself and simply ignore any Orville related articles. Many of us love The Orville and Trek and are more than happy to read about it here.
IDIC? ;)
LLAP.
I agree there is plenty of room for both:)
And if you don’t want to waste your time with The Orville then just skip the article. That is something I really don’t get. I’m not interested in comics so I skip those articles. I don’t click on them and complain in their threads that they exist.
Sorry guys im really happy for the Orville fans. Please except my apologies. Just had a bad experience with a very big anti. DSC youtube channel that is also big fans of The Orville. I got a couple DMs from subscribers basically telling me to slit my own throat cause Im worthless,a NPC,and A Drekkie. Things is Im clinically depressed and almost took my own life cause of all those DMs. So you can understand why when I see The Orville mentioned I cringed. These so called fans ruined me ever enjoying this show without having a flash back. I have gotten help and am slowly getting better. Sorry guys. Im happy for yall
Take care of yourself, Chad. And keep commenting here (if you still want to).
Chad, if you are that strongly and easily affected by online bullying, you should not be online. If you are clinically depressed and almost took your own life over some messages from strangers, you should be under intense therapy and likely on medication, NOT online using message boards.
If what you posted is true (and yes, I question that), you should sign off the Internet NOW and FOREVER, and any decent therapist would be telling you so and working with you on some deeply rooted issues.
I am a diagnosed clinical depressive with bipolar iii and PTSD. I know what these are like and how they affect us. If what you wrote is true, then you MUST get off the Internet IMMEDIATELY. Being that susceptible to insults from strangers over a TV show goes far beyond depression. That’s a whole other level of unwellness.
Seek help, and stay off of message boards…if what you wrote is true.
Late to the discussion, but I empathize with you. Online “communities” can suck the enjoyment out of everything. I learned that the hard way with a silly boardgame that used to be sold at WAL-MART, for goodness sakes.
I think twice about engaging in any online comments/discussions now and avoid many sites that I used to visit. The vitriol and rudeness is appalling.
The Orville is a tribute to Trek and many people involved in the 1980s-2000s version of TV Trek have been involved the show – and even a few people involved with DSC. Even the Memory Alpha Wikia page – the main wiki for Star Trek – includes it. It wouldn’t make sense for this site to cover, say, Doctor Who or Agents of SHIELD. But The Orville is closely enough related it’s totally justified. I don’t know if this site gave the same attention to Galaxy Quest, but it’s quite possible it did.
I think Orville is an open love letter to Trek.
The Orville has a lot of Trek alumni in front of and behind the camera.
That’s why it gets attention over the other great shows you’ve mentioned. Also, this page is a business. They need eyeballs on the page. If Orville helps them do that?
I’m all for it.
If you don’t like seeing Orville news?
Vote with your mouse. Click away to another site.
No snark intended.
Hopefully a much more involved fill-in Season , with more new characters , guest stars and extras . Very much looking forward to this new Season !
I’m really relieved that this is confirmed.
I’m not among those that rate The Orville as their favourite sci-fi show, but I happily record and watch every episode.
More than that, I really believe that it’s building the market/audience for Trek type positive portrayals of the future.
The Orville’s universe isn’t a utopia, nut it’s not a dystopia either. And it seems at its best when it works through stories pushing the limits of tolerance and forgiveness without getting to dark or heavy.
Bravo!
Neat
Praise Be to Avis!!!!!
Avis has rewarded us again!
Hey FOX. How about give them a budget to do 16 episodes in Season 3?
Agreed, this show needs more episodes per season.
FOX doesn’t have the room for longer seasons at this point – plus the production time is longer than normal for the 13 episode seasons as it is!
FOX has plenty of room because the calendar is like an open ended road.
If they don’t want to air them all at once and push the next show further out, with 16 episodes they could do an 8+8 showing. Show eight episodes in the fall or spring, take a 1-2 month break, and show 8 more. It could allow them extend it longer through the year to make less down time between seasons.
Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica had one heck of a run on this formula (10+10, 12 weeks off).
Those were great Friday nights.
No
Gotta say, and this is just one guy’s opinion, but I prefer fewer episodes (generally, for all shows).
8-12 seems to be the sweet spot. There’s no room for filler and you’re left wanting more. Plus they’re far easier to binge that way. I binged season 4 of Lucifer this weekend, and didn’t miss the extra episodes of past seasons.
I’ve given up on some of the Berlanti-verse shows this year because there are just too many darned episodes.
I prefer more episodes as far more stories can be covered. Series with 10 or less episodes you have to like the stories or else the series is crap as a whole.
It doesn’t really matter how many episodes a show has if you don’t like the stories, does it? If anything, getting through 20 or 25 episodes of stories you don’t like is even more tedious than getting through 10.
I prefer the longer seasons myself. Short seasons have longer breaks. Making it more difficult to recall what went down on the previous season. Longer seasons have more room for more complete stories. And I have to keep saying this as some still think it… Short seasons are not immune from “filler” episodes. They have their share.
If I like a series, the more the better. Having 20+ episodes in a year to enjoy is great. But I think Seth MacFarlane had already said, that he doesn’t want to do more in a year. He thinks he can’t keep up the same quality with more episodes and the special effects also take time.
Well, more talented people have been able to and still do.
He does really a lot on the series though. He is its creator, executive producer, script writer of many episodes, director of a few episodes and plays one of the main characters. I can’t think of any other person who does so much on a series.
Not to mention he is also doing some other things outside of The Orville.
I guess that is the price one pays for one’s pseudo TNG cos play hobby.
I think 8-12 is helpful when you are doing a large story arc, but with purely episodic stories it doesn’t help or hurt.
For example, the Orville still has weak episodes each season just like Star Trek TNG did even though they are shooting fewer episodes. They also have fewer strong episodes than TNG did because their overall volume is lower. Reducing the episode count isn’t a guarantee that every episode will be strong.
The benefit of TV over movies is you get more opportunities to get to know a character in different moments of their life. So having more stories in a year, even when the stories are weak, still has the benefit of more opportunities for character development.
I disagree. Having fewer episodes didn’t prevent “filler” episodes or lower quality episodes, especially with the slow start that Orville season 2 had. What it DID prevent was having more character development — for example we didn’t get any episodes centered around Lt. LaMarr in season 2, even though he was promoted to Chief Engineer at the end of season 1.
The “less episodes means better quality television” is just TV studio propaganda they use to justify getting an increase in their paychecks after doing half as much work. It’s time to admit the Emperor Has No Clothes.
One would imagine that FOX’s new Disney overlords might see fit to sprinkle a little ENDGAME moola their way?
I was surprised since i expected Disney to cancel the series.
I must admit I thought Orville might be looking for a new production home with the new series announcements coming out now . Orville is a quality presentation where it looks as if finance is spent making it . Fox likes turnover and their series generally don’t last longer than 2 seasons .
You mean cheap shows that if budget goes up it gets cancelled
Technically owned by Disney now but still being produced for FOX. As long as they keep paying for it, Disney won’t care.
Disney wont cancel it. The Orville is a merchandise mine they can juice out so many toys and stuff of The Orville that its not even a joke
I don’t see The Orville as very merch-friendly.
That’s because it is still in its infancy. After 4-5 more seasons (maybe more since these are short seasons), after further development of the lore, they can start licensing into side markets like The Orville costumes, toy props, board games, video game, etc.
Not as surprised as Tim Allen was that Disney has the power to fire him again.
It is the most Disney like show from Seth MacFarlane. It is bright, colorful and optimistic. As long as it makes money, why should they cancel it? The Fox channel which isn’t owned by Disney is paying for having it on its channel. So it makes money for Disney.
Mel,
I know I’m finding it hard to keep it straight too, but according to NPR Disney got the FOX cable channels while Murdoch kept the FOX Broadcast Network and their cable news channel.
Awesome! I am looking forward to season 3!
Good for them! Let’s see what they do with it.
Rockin’ good news!
I like having TV show to look forward to.
The Tax Break goes to the Studio (20th Television/Disney) Not the Fox Network – although I’m sure it did give the studio a bit of a cushion in negotiating “licencing Fees” (What the network pays per episode) with the Network.
Herb Flynn,
I read Disney got the FOX network too. Murdoch only kept FOX News Division and their cable news channel.
I’m so happy that Star Trek will continue to be on television. I like the Orville very much. Much like TOS and TNG, many episodes are morality tales. And the Orville has characters who act more like regular people, are less polished, and with more humor. It’s a good show, and I’m so happy and relieved it has been renewed.
Congratulations to the Orville for keeping the intellectual spirit of Trek alive! God knows the official torchbearers have other plans.
well said.
Funny, I don’t remember penis jokes as being part of the spirit of Trek.
“There was once a lady from Venus whose body was shaped like a….” -Data
Granted its the only one I can think of out of the entire franchise of stories, but they went there once at least.
@Thorny (yawn).
I love that line of Captain Ed Mercer: “you’re being a gigantic d!ck!”.
Funny, I don’t recall any penis jokes in season 2, either. Further, season 1 was actually funny. Unlike season 2.
Funny, I thought it was a STAR TREK drinking game to take a belt every time a phallic symbol appears on screen or in dialogue?
With great respect to you Vulcan’s Soul- I have to disagree. The spirit of Trek is present in Discovery. Season 1 was all about holding on to one’s values when darkness is all around you and the effects of what happens when you don’t. It was roughly executed but you can’t deny that the theme of the series was 100% Star Trek.
Season 2 had a recurring theme of science vs faith especially in those early episodes. I’ll admit that the show kind of dropped that the further into the series we got, however.
Perhaps this is a discussion for another time and place, but I thought I would offer my two cents.
Holding onto your values when darkness is all around you sounds like Mirror Lorca’s character to me, but I doubt his viewpoint is the one we are supposed to take to heart as being trek-like.
Sincerely, not a fan of this series based on s1 and s2 opener.
No I don’t think you were supposed to do that! Haha! While Lorca definitely hold on to his principles, I think he was surrounded by “polite scientists” and not darkness!
Couldn’t agree more. So glad the Orville exists. Season 2 was a huge step up in quality and I’m so grateful we have aspirational sci-fi to watch again. It’s not perfect, but my gf and I both enjoyed it much more than discovery. I don’t begrudge those who have different opinions, but as a life long star trek fan, I like the Orville a lot more than current offerings.
Very good news!
The Orville, albeit a bit inconsistent in tone, has been consistently very well written and has succeeded in creating likeable well rounded characters and a coherent universe.
I have enjoyed the two seasons greatly and yes, the Orville has been for me the Star Trek show I had been waiting for since the end of ST:ENT.
I am curious to know where season 3 will lead us and eager to see the Orville characters and universe develop and prosper. Praise be to Avis! Or, all hail Kelly!
Awesome news! Hoping we’ll be seeing further Orville spinoffs and movies in the future.
Can somebody tell me where I can watch The Orville in the UK? Seeing all of the good press the second series has gotten has made me want to re-evaluate the show.
I only saw a few episodes of Series 1 but it kind of put me off.
It should be available on Fox UK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_(UK_and_Ireland)
Thank you! I don’t have cable just yet but i’ll check it out.
Fox and Sky have it , but that is quite costly to set-up . The cheapest seems to Amazon Prime Video – https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Orville-Season-1/dp/B078995K78
The cheapest and easiest is probably Amazon Prime Video UK .
Typical! I just cancelled my subscription to Amazon Prime! Bah!
Wait a little. Maybe you can get a free trial then ;-)
great show! the kids love it. I just keep my hand on the remote when bortus and klyden are on, in case I need to fast forward or mute anything that might not be appropriate for kids.
Like what? Why Bortus and Klyden specifically? Because they’re a same-sex couple? It’s not really a kids show (they did exterminate a ship full of Krill, after all).
Assassination as divorce, females should not exist, and a fermented pooh drink all required conversations with our middle schooler who has hung in for most of this series.
But the brief relationship between Yaphit and the Doctor in S1 did too.
I agree, The Orville has a lot of adult themes and the focus on adult relationship issues isn’t all that interesting for kids.
This seems to be the era of niche positioning show, but it would be nice to have live action one Trek or Trek-like show that is intended to be watched as a family.
TG47,
Re: Assassination as divorce
What kind of history education is your school system providing if their students make it to middle school without learning about Anne Boleyn?
Disinvited, not sure if Henry VIII gets as fulsome coverage in North America as in the UK, although one of ours was familiar…
And in Canada’s case, there is a different history to cover and a greater emphasis on teaching how to reason and problem solve vs. memorization. (For country comparisons, the OECD’s PISA scores are a good resource.)
But, as for the Orville, I would argue that a private assassination within the household has a very different feel than institutional murder through a court. The whole thing had more echos of ‘Total Recall’ than The Tudors.
My point was that, as a parent, there is a lot going on that can’t be let to slide without a discussion. Bortus and Klyden are intended to challenge through allegory, and many of their behaviours (including porn addiction and smoking) are the kinds of things that middle school health or guidance classes cover. Being a gay couple, is not the issue.
TG47,
Henry might’ve dressed his divorces via execution as court legal affairs but I mentioned Anne precisely because she wasn’t just covered in history but was featured as an historical figure in dramatic literature and film in my middle school days in the mid60s.
But then again, maybe the Church of England tended to gloss over Henry’s many pleas for divorce as opposed to the Roman Cahtolic Church which provided that schooling to me?
The series has a TV 14 rating, so some a bit more grown up stuff is to be expected. It also has warnings like DLSV:
D – Suggestive dialogue
L – Coarse or crude language
S – Sexual situations
V – Violence
So that the series isn’t targeted at children is clear.
Most things about the Moclan’s culture is portrayed as negative though, so it shouldn’t be so hard to explain in my opinion. Other Orville characters actually critisize all kinds of things in the series itself, especially their attitudes towards females. So it is just a case of aliens being assholes.
I think it is likely very hard to make an expensive live action science fiction show which is completely appropiate for children, too. It would be creatively really limiting and I don’t think most adults would be interested in watching one. TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT all have a TV-PG rating, so even they have stuff which parents might not find suitable for younger children.
Great news! The series is so much fun and improved in season 2 a lot.
YES!!
Awesome news!
I recon Seth is a genius. He wanted to helm a Star Trek show/movie after Enterprise, threw his hat into the ring and Paramount said no. So he comes up with The Orville. It sits comfortably in between TNG and Galaxy Quest and Star Wars but has made a universe of it’s own. It is a breath of fresh air at times and from what I can see and read, was an instant hit with most Trekies; even some of the Discovery trolls got off there high horses and liked the show!
I can’t help but think that the green light on the proposed Lower Decks series was helped along by The Orville’s appeal; similarly to DS9 getting the green light up against Babylon 5. (The later never cut it with me though). Even though the studio expected Family Guy in Space, Seth has pushed on with a more dramatic side and written some great stories. And you always know that besides Kermit the Frog and Billy Joel … he still loves Trek!
I’m convinced Fox would not green light Seth’s TNG homage project unless he sold it as a comedy. Notice how FOX marketed the show. Even the 2nd season was marketed that way. My guess was that it was Seth’s plan all along to become more TNG and less funny as the show continued on, if it continued on.
The charm of this show just passes me by. It’s two dimensional, poorly acted, poorly scripted, poorly directed and clearly under resourced. That so many TNG’ers like it tells me a lot about the Trek fanbase and why they hate Discovery.
Marty
The charm of The Orville, for me, is mainly twofold:
(1) You never know what you’re gonna get. It’s like a box o’ choc’lates. From the pilot episode up through the end of Season 2, The Orville has been fresh and mostly unpredictable in its style, tone and content. If the show is rough around the edges at times, that is also part of its unpredictability. Even when I don’t like a particular episode, I’m forced to admit that I haven’t seen anything else quite like it. Unless it’s the conclusion of a two-parter, you never know what to expect from week to week. Some people might not like that, but I find it exciting.
(2) The Orville is clearly modeled after the TOS/TNG storytelling form. As different as episodes can be from week to week in their tone, style and content, there’s a consistency of dramatic form. Each episode has an overarching theme, just like a TOS or TNG episode, and that theme aims to be meaningful. Some episodes accomplish that mission more than others, and some in Season 1 (like “Cupid’s Dagger”) were meant to be more lighthearted and entertaining (in the comedic tradition) than meaningful. But, still, every episode is structured around an overarching theme that is typically sociopolitical or relates to the human condition in some way, sometimes by way of a science-fiction concept, but not always. That The Orville at least tries to imbue itself with the values and sensibilities of TOS/TNG makes it easier for me to forgive the show when it fails. I know the show is trying, I know there will be something fresh and unpredictable next week (*ahem* unless it’s the conclusion of a two-parter), and that goes a long way for me. In general, the show is usually entertaining or at least interesting.
As for why I don’t watch DSC:
(1) I watched the first five episodes and I did not want to watch any more. It wasn’t enjoyable.
(2) I didn’t find most of the characters interesting or even likeable. As such, I didn’t feel like spending any more time with them.
(3) DSC doesn’t try to imbue itself with the values and sensibilities of TOS/TNG. At least, it didn’t in the five episodes that I saw.
(4) The fourth reason is secondary to the three reasons above, but I think it likely underlies them. DSC, from the earliest days of its marketing campaign and rollout, has seemed more concerned with advancing a certain political ideology than exploring what it means to be human. I felt no humanity from the show, and that didn’t inspire me to continue watching it. The centerpiece of the show’s marketing campaign and literally the only attribute of the show that I saw being promoted, was “diversity.” I put it in quotes to distinguish the marketing attribute from the literal meaning of the word. The only thing that I saw DSC selling from the first day of its marketing campaign was “diversity.” And that’s not nearly enough to make me interested in a show. I’m sure you’ve heard the term “…has its heart in the right place.” Well, I never got the sense that DSC had its heart in the right place, or that it had a heart, at all. You can criticize The Orville in terms of its acting, directing and so forth, and you won’t necessarily be wrong in doing so, but you cannot rightly say that the show has no heart or that it doesn’t try to connect with people on a human level.
Re: you’re point about DSC not attempting to imbue itself with the values of TNG and TOS, I would wager that that is the whole point. While TNG is a wonderful series (TOS is not my cup of tea, I’m afraid… too hokey imo) and worked fabulously in the 1980s and 1990s, the world of television is a vastly different place. The format of the series would likely not work (in fact I would argue that it stopped working some time around Voyager’s final two series). I believe that Star Trek needed to be modernised to survive. The JJ Abrams films were…. a choice. But I like Discovery immensely, especially Season 2 which was a huge improvement over the first.
Georgiou’s Sass
You make a reasonable point, but I’m not sure that maintaining the values and sensibilities of TOS/TNG precludes big changes in the format, tone and style of the show. Sure, The Orville chose to imitate the episodic format of TOS/TNG, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to tell meaningful theme-driven stories. DS9 managed to do it in a hybrid episodic/serial format, with powerful stories like “The Siege of AR-558” and its related episodes.
The values and sensibilities of TOS/TNG are rooted in exploration — exploration of without and exploration of within, the frontier of outer space and the human condition. I didn’t get any of that from what I’ve seen of DSC.
I’ll admit that there isn’t a great deal of exploration of with in the first series. They don’t even visit another world until eight episodes in (and then they did it because the studio intervened)- but there is definitely a lot of exploration from within in the second series. Of course, it all depends whether you can take to the more modern, break-neck writing style of the series. I admit that some episodes of Season 2 (Episode 2 and 12 spring to admit) are terribly rushed and I longed to learn more about New Eden and Boreth.
I’m forced to agree with you Cygnus-X1 when it comes to the show’s marketing. It seemed to me they severely stressed “diversity” as if that alone is a reason to check out a new show. Diversity is nice but that is not going to get me, or a lot or other people, to check a new show out. Make the effort to be “diverse” but if you feel the need to call attention to your own efforts there then you did it wrong.
It was a novel approach to marketing, I’ll give you that. I definitely support having a diverse cast, but putting that fact front and centre was…. odd. I know from my degree that much of the discourse with millennials and Generation Z is driven by equality and diversity- but in Disco’s case, the attempt to muscle in on that discourse was very clumsy.
Still, the show was the most streamed in the world last month (surprised that hasn’t been covered by TM yet) so it’s obviously doing *something* right, marketing faux-pas aside!
Perhaps TM is waiting for a more reliable source before reporting it?
Perhaps but the screen rant report was backed up with data from an analytics firm paid to examine this sort of thing.
Interesting to note as well that DSC is the 5th most popular Netflix show in the UK. I had always assumed that Trek was rather niche here!
Not disputing the findings. But Netflix is notorious for NOT giving out numbers when it comes to streaming of their content. CBS has been pretty closed mouth about it as well. So it seems likely that any outside agency reporting such things are more likely than not, guessing.
I wish Fox would release the show on bluray instead of just DVD
Yes , it’s like they’re still in the VHS Era . I don’t think their Studio Producers have yet heard of 4K Digital , or even Blu-Ray ?!
Oh, they’ve heard about it. Apparently, it’s not worth it. TV isn’t broadcast at 4K. Producing the show at 4K would increase costs (especially for VFX) with benefits to very few people. If they don’t even release Blu-rays they have probably concluded that sales numbers wouldn’t justify the costs of producing the discs.
Finishing the show at 4K would cost more, yeah. But they could just swich to the higher rez cameras available, like many other shows already do, and it would actually facilitate some VFX work and allow them to adjust the framing without the image suffering (sort of like how shooting vistvision would let you pan&scan within the larger fill frame when it was used on TNG.) But the VFX were already rendered at higher than DVD quality for HD broadcast, so the no-bluray thing with Fox which also happened with later seasons of LEGION and FARGO, much to my immense dismay and disgust is just really ridiculous. It’s like the thinking is, ‘we can’t sell x-number MODERN FAMILY season 5s on blu-, so let’s not do it at all.’
Hoping Disney changes that attitude (might be the only good thing to come of the merger/acquisition, though I’ve read that most of Disney’s blu releases — and a lot of the dvd ones too — really sucked which might explain why Disney diamond logo VHS seems so popular for the last few years at Goodwill stores.)
Yes, they could definitely release Blu-rays (since the show is in HD) but it seems they don’t want to. My guess is they just don’t think the sales would justify the costs – even if costs should be relatively low.
Question to Matt Wright or other Trekmovie staff:
Will it be the production house or the US broadcast network that determines what kind of dvd release is produced?
Disney usually offers blueray options…
Finally. It was like waiting for SEASON 4 of TNG.
THANK YOU FOX.
My vote for best show in TV. So glad it will keep going!
I feel like I’ve been standing up my whole life and I’ve just sat down!
Great news, Orville.
I’m not a big fan of The Orville, but I’m genuinely happy it got renewed. Based solely on the comments on this site, the show is loved, and deserves to come back.
I am not going to pretend to be a huge fan of The Orville but this is very good news – mainly because IMO the more science fiction there is on TV, the better for all of us. I have seen about 10 episodes and the one issue I have with this so called “dramedy” is taking it seriously. I keep imagining Stewie or Peter Griffin is sitting in the Captain’s chair haha – I know this is my problem so I will eventually get over it but maybe Seth should go on to become an Admiral. Anyway off to see the DS9 documentary later today. LLAP and congrats to the cast, crew and fans of The Orville on the renewal.
Yaaaaay!!! Long live the Union. Federation? What Federation? Not seen on my antenna TV, except for good ole Star Trek.
This is only a good thing if those involved in the show can realize that the show was much better when it leaned more towards comedy.
I don’t follow any other Orville websites but looking at the comments here people seem to prefer season 2 over season 1 so you may be in the minority wanting it to go back.
It feels like a lot of the people on this site who like S2 like it because he severely toned down the comedy so it could be even more like TNG. I get that. I have no way to measure this but my question would be how many NON-Trek people would prefer the show be more comedic vs being a TNG clone.
ML31 I’m doubtful how well that kind of humour appeals to a broad audience outside the US.
If anything, Disney is going to be yet more oriented to international sales viability.
I expect that McFarlane may have to balance appealing to the Fox audience domestically vs. an international audience that has less interest in middle American 20th century cultural references and sophomoric humour.
(Not that humour elsewhere can’t be vulgar or profane, it’s just different.)
Just want to say that I’m not a humor bigot. Funny is funny be it sophomoric or sophisticated. When it comes to laughs, the ends justify the means.
Wow that’s harsh ML31.
It sounds as though someone who doesn’t appreciate earthy American humour is a bigot if I understand your post.
But I think you sincerely missed my point…
Funny isn’t universal.
My point was that some humour travels better internationally than other, and it’s not necessarily the earthier humour that is more universal.
Canadians get exposed to British, American as well as all the regional variants of Canadian humour.
I grew up on Monty Python and Black Adder, as well as Saturday Night Live, and domestic products like Air Farce, SCTV, Kids in the Hall and Dr. Bundolo.
Canada puts out its share of the profane like Letterkenny, we don’t expect these to have broad appeal.
I guess the word “bigot” was taken harsher than intended. I was just using hyperbole. It was not meant to be a jab at anyone’s opinion. Only that I will laugh at a funny dick joke as easily as a high brow referenced witticism. A laugh is a laugh. The only thing is when “bathroom” humor fails it seems like that carries with it a harsher penalty for the failure to produce a laugh. Hence some who are not laughing just poo-poo the entire genre as “low brow”.
BTW… I grew up with Monty Python, George Carlin and SCTV and SNL. NBC carried SCTV late night on Fridays.
Fox promised him a three season ego trip. Not surprised it was renewed.
This is great news. For at least another year, we will have real Star Trek to enjoy.
Good news! It’s not necessarily a “good” show, but I really enjoy it, so I’m happy.