First Look At ‘The Orville’ Season Three Features Some New Faces On The Bridge

The Orville is set to arrive in March. Hulu has now released the first image from the season which they are calling The Orville: New Horizons.

First look at the crew from The Orville: New Horizons

After airing for two seasons on Fox, Seth MacFarlane’s homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation has moved to Hulu with the new season – titled The Orville: New Horizons – set to arrive in the USA on Thursday, March 10, 2022. The first image from the season shows the updated bridge of the USS Orville along with the bridge crew in updated uniforms, and new guest stars.

(Photo by: Michael Desmond/Hulu)

The image features MacFarlane back as Captain Ed Mercer, joined by returning series regulars Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson) and Scott Grimes as Lt. Gordon Malloy. Next to Scott, you can see new series regular Anne Winters playing Ensign Charly Burke. The photo also features Victor Garber returning as Admiral Halsey. To his right, you can see Bablylon 5’s Bruce Boxleitner as President Alcuzan, and Lisa Banes (Nashville) as Senator Balask.

Also returning for season three are Penny Johnson Jerald, Peter Macon, J. Lee, Chad L. Coleman, and Jessica Szohr. And in the above image, you can also see the back of Mark Jackson as Isaac who looks to have some new upgrades as well, including new shoulder and leg pieces, and light effects (see below).

Closer look at Mark Jackson as Isaac

According to Hulu, The Orville: New Horizons:finds the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continuing their mission of exploration, as they navigate both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships.”

Following the debut on March 10, the rest of the 10-episode season will run weekly on Thursdays.

The Orville: New Horizons will also be available on Disney+ Star for international markets, but we don’t yet have release timing.

More Palicki

Last week editor and co-executive producer Tom Costantino shared a couple images from the sound mixing suite featuring Adrianne Palicki’s Kelly.

Listen in on score rehearsal

Seth MacFarlane recently shared a brief video shared an orchestra rehearsing for their first scoring session for season three.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Seth MacFarlane (@macfarlaneseth)

Director teases guest star

Catching up on some more Orville updates from social media, last month executive producer/director Jon Cassar teased another guest with an image shot on location.

Orville merch

Hulu has also recently made a few items of official Orville merchandise available at the Shop Hulu Store. These include the usual items like, tees, hoodies, stickers, and mugs, but also some Christmas items for those last-minute shoppers.

ICYMI: New Horizons teaser


Keep up with all The Orville news and analysis on TrekMovie.

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Really excited for this show to come back! It’s been so very long. I will say, I’m not a huge fan of the new bridge, especially it’s lack of carpeting. The update makes it looks less like a TNG homage and something more out of the Discovery-era of production.

Which show is the better comedy – TNG, Orville or Lower Decks?

TNG? Anyway, I would say The Orville, because it doesn’t pretend to be more than it is, which is a silly, outrageously fun Star Trek-derived sitcom that is not meant to be taken seriously.

The Orville a sitcom? Have you seen it?

Well, I find it hilarious, and much of it unintentionally so. It’s been called a “tonally awkward blend of comedy and drama,” and that fits it perfectly. So that’s a better way to describe it than a sitcom — you are correct.

It’s honest about that though, and doesn’t try to pretend it is more than it is. That’s why I much prefer it to Lower Decks, which portrays itself as fitting in with the canon of the adult Star Trek series’ which represent a science fiction future history that tries to represent a possible future for us all aspire to.

TNG has its comedic moments, but it isn’t a comedy.

Good question. The only one on that list that actually says it’s a comedy currently is Lower Decks. But the few jokes The Orville has stuck in there in season 2 were pretty much all funnier than anything LDX did. So I guess The Orville is the better comedy even though they are only perhaps 5% comedy.

I agree. I laugh more when watching the Orville versus Lower Decks where the humor frequently falls flat, and frequently leaves me groaning instead of laughing — especially the often awkwardly forced-in canon reference gimmicks that are intended to be funny.

To be fair, I do get a charge out of seeing their references to TAS. But overall you are correct. It seems they think the forced references to old shows is funny.

Lower Decks and Orville are both current. I’ll address them.

Both are written quite well, and beyond that, they are really different.

One is an emerald. The other is a ruby.

Let’s celebrate the riches of the moment. They’re both really good.

The real question is which show is the better Star Trek show – Orville or Discovery.

Only one of those is a Star Trek show.

True. Orville is the truth Star Trek show.

Sigh

Some people think the actual Trek shows currently on are true Star Trek shows as well.

I swear these boards sometimes.

It’s crazy how long it took for this show to get back on the air. I have Hulu again so I’ll definitely give it a watch though. I really did like second season if not love it. I wonder will this be its last season or not? Hopefully it will do well and continue on. Also crazy the amount of space opera shows we not only have on these days but a lot more are coming from Mass Effect to rebooted shows like Babylon 5 and BSG. Keep them coming!

I hope SNW and any Babylon 5 / BSG reboot will join DIS, Prodigy, Foundation, Dune and Lost in space in combatting the 90s idea that comedy is synonymous with space opera.

None of the 90 shows were comedic, so not sure what you’re referring to? And most Space Opera shows are very serious affair most of the time; although the older 60e shows like Lost in Space and TOS feel very campy for today but that was just due to the time periods they were made. But their modern counterparts are obviously very different now.

I like most space opera shows, but none of them competes with Star Trek for me (although I did love BSG, seen it three times). I’ve never seen Babylon 5 but I keep telling myself I will watch it some day.

And I like the Orville. I would still choose ANY Star Trek show over it, but it’s fun and clever in its own way at times.

I think the number of posts from TNG fans on Lower Decks and Orville saying “This is TNG!” speak for themselves.

Galaxy Quest is a (very funny) comedy and parody about TOS and all the fun tropes of that show. It doesn’t mean however TOS itself was a comedy or a parody. This is (very) basic logic. Seriously. Sometimes its like you are trolling.

You know, my best friend loved Galaxy Quest and thought it was really funny. Which is interesting because we share the same sense of humor. We agreed on nearly everything else regarding what is funny. He’s the one who turned me on to Rick & Morty. But the humor in Galaxy Quest has always eluded me. One funny joke in the entire movie. But I have to admit, it was a really good gag…

“Those poor people..” I still laugh at it to this day.

Always liked Galaxy Quest myself, but haven’t seen it in years and seen it only a few times. Now that I’m thinking about it I might watch it again before Orville starts!

My favorite line is still “I see you manage to get your shirt off.”

Well said!

But Tiger2 is correct. The 90’s was actually a triumph for good sf that was not comedic on TV, including the three Trek shows, B5, Stargate and Farscape.

b5 is a brilliant influential show. and funny too.

Agreed.
Situational comedy >> slapstick comedy / parody in my humble opinion.

I know, I been hearing how great the show is since college lol. I just never gave it a chance. It’s on HBO Max which I have and really do plan to watch it, it’s on a looong list of other things I keep saying I plan to watch but still haven’t yet.

Well, honestly it has been so long between seasons now that any momentum Orville had is long gone by now and I don’t even know if people will still remember the show is airing. This is why I highly doubt it will continue past this upcoming season, I hope I am wrong as I enjoy the show but looking at it realistically doesn’t give me much hope.

Yeah this is what I’m thinking as well. Sure I understand the virus slowed things down but the last episode of this show was way back in early 2019; so I don’t get why it took so long since most shows got back up and running after a year. This show will have been off the air nearly 3 years by the time it premieres. I know there is a hardcore contingent of fans out there; but I don’t know how big that group is these days.

Hopefully we’ll be proven wrong. Just like Discovery, I would like to see Orville go a few more seasons too.

I couldn’t believe when I was looking over the episode list that season one premiered in 2017! It boggles the mind.

Yeah, the pandemic has obviously taken its toll on The Orville’s production. Three years off the air seems almost incomprehensible. The show’s hard core fans will surely watch and as long as it returns to CITY TV up here in Toronto, I will be watching too. Let’s hope enough viewers feel the same way and it gets picked up for S4. The more science fiction on tv, the better!

FYI: As mentioned in the article, The Orville: New Horizons is expected to be on Disney+Star in Canada, that’s where Hulu Original content is funneled in markets outside the USA.

More details here:
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/23/22291848/disney-plus-star-launch-europe-canada-international-streaming-hulu-breakdown

It is not likely going to be sold to 3rd parties, that’s not how things are done now, exclusive content stays exclusive, Disney has a streaming service in Canada, so it will go there.

The previous seasons were done in a different climate, Disney didn’t even officially own Fox yet when Orville season 2 was made, let alone have Disney+ launched.

Thanks for the update Matt That is tough to hear but completely understandable from the standpoint of Hulu and Disney+. Looks like I will have to binge watch it sometime next summer.
Meanwhile I will count myself fortunate that CTV Sci Fi channel continues to be the Canadian home for Trek… at least for now! Looking forward to tomorrow’s Discovery episode and especially Center Seat’s take on DS9!

I’m just not buying that excuse given Kurtzman Trek just continues to produce season after season, roughly on schedule, in spite of the pandemic.

I think the obvious reason for these delays is that the series was nearly cancelled twice, and each time McFarland had to work to get a new line of studio support set up to proceed with the next season, and that takes time.

That’s what advertising is for, isn’t it? If Hulu thinks that people have completely forgotten the show they can promote it as a new show. There are lots of shows that people don’t remember airing just because they haven’t aired before. Otherwise, Hulu can just remind the audience that this show still exists and invite them to watch a new season. They probably shouldn’t just sit back and wait for the audience to find the show on their own.

It took me a while to become a fan. Season 2 made it for me. Less slap stick. Now they are going to bring it back in the Spring? They had more then enough time to bring it back by at least January. You know, when people are stuck in their homes because of the Pandemic and weather. I was planning on signing up with Hulu just to watch this. Now, I’ll just wait until it comes out on DVD and get it out of the Library.

Very much looking forward to season 3 – about to do a rewatch on the first 2. Happy to have Seth & Co. back for more.

I might do a rewatch as well. It’s been so long since I watched it I forgot a lot of the episodes.

I thought it said Senator Balsak and snorted.

$10 says Gordon will also think that.

Season 2 really turned things around. We got away from them doing as many trite sub-Voyager morality plays (the social media planet one sticks with me as being painful) and mining some good material with characters like Isaac. The jokes still don’t always land and Seth MacFarlane’s enthusiasm and reverence is not matched by his on-camera acting abilities, but the show deserves to keep going, it is genuinely coming into its own.

They turned things around in that they abandoned the thing that made them unique. The comedy. Season one was about 35-40% comedy and most of the gags worked. Quite well. But in season 2 they moved to perhaps 5% comedy tops. It became a drama that had one or two jokes in the hour. Which made it nothing more than a TNG clone.

I often wonder how good LDX could have been had Seth created it and was heavily involved in it. Maybe good. Maybe not. Family Guy’s humor has taken a dip since he announced he wasn’t going to be making fun of certain subjects any longer. We’ll never know.

Comedy is very subjective, of course, so we have very different POVs. I liked Orville less when it was full of gags and I didn’t think they worked most of the time, but agree that’s what kept the show most differentiated from 90s Trek. I also actively despise Family Guy. I’m firmly in the King of the Hill/Bob’s Burgers camp when it comes to animated humor that’s not so tawdry, though I recognize MacFarlane as being talented as a voice actor and both clever and funny in-person. And his nerdy priorities from using his clout to revive Cosmos to hiring umpteen Trek actors, writers and composers in his shows makes him a good egg, on balance. I just don’t really like his writing or sense of humor when committed to the screen, and his ego when it comes to acting on camera and making music albums is… well, it makes him happy.

I always bring up the comparison of how Family Guy staged a TNG cast reunion with how Futurama handled one for TOS. The latter was affectionate, smart, gently teasing. Family Guy just wanted an excuse for Patrick Stewart to say, “Look, I’ve got girl boobs!”

Fair enough. I don’t think Family Guy is anywhere close to as funny as it used to be. I think there are a handful of reasons for that. I will say that Bob’s Burgers never really spoke to me. But I did enjoy Judge’s King of the Hill. I do enjoy the more subtle comedy that produces a smile or a mere chuckle. But truth be told, I’d rather get a lough out loud, so funny I have to pause the show because I can’t stop laughing kind of comedy. Those don’t happen very often. Early Family Guy… Early South Park… Early Archer. Early Rick & Morty. But it’s really hard to keep that up.

I liked both the Futurama TOS show as well as the Family Guy TNG show. Both produced really good laughs. For me, the bottom line is did I laugh. I honestly don’t care if the comedy is “organic” or “toilet humor” or of high wit. The bottom line is laughs. The danger of low brow slapstick is if the joke doesn’t land it leaves you open to criticism of just going for the “low hanging fruit” so to speak.

At any rate, of course humor is subjective.

Humor… it is a difficult concept. It is not logical.

We learn by doing.

Oh for sure. Agree with several of your thoughts.

I find that a show having a sense of heart ends up outweighing the importance of the laugh per minute meter for me. That’s what I like so much about early Simpsons, pre-Comedy Central Futurama, Bob’s Burgers and King of the Hill, and I am starting to see it in Lower Decks now. The Orville has it as well, even if it’s spotty which characters I might care about. But they all have some actual emotional developments that even people more cynical than me might think about empathizing with. Family Guy doesn’t have that at all IMO, it’s about horrible people being horrible to each other, then resets. Non sequitur jokes that are sometimes inspired and admittedly funny, but also feel like lazy attention grabbers.

I loved the social media planet episode. I like my shows to be about something, unlike most shows.

I just thought it was trite as heck, mining TOS Let That Be Your Last Battlefield or Voyager Memorial (“Massacres are bad! Tell everyone!”) territory. But the intentions were good.