Fans have received some unfortunate news in regards to a new season of The Orville. After months of waiting, Orville star Adrianne Palicki has chimed in with her doubts on a fourth season for the sci-fi comedy-drama series. But thanks to some tie-in material, the series has already laid the groundwork to keep its adventures going.
It’s been over a year since the third season of The Orville ended and fans have been eager for any news about a potential fourth season. Unfortunately, actor Adrianne Palicki, who portrays Commander Kelly Grayson, gave a disappointing update while talking with Michael Rosenbaum on the podcast Inside of You.
When asked about the return of The Orville, Palicki responded “No, no longer doing that“. Between the time it took for series creator Seth MacFarlane to write the show and the low amount of episodes The Orville produced in over half a decade, Palicki didn’t see the show as financially viable and cast doubt on a new season.
A Live-Action Fourth Season May Not Happen For The Orville
The Orville is a comedy-drama show created by Seth MacFarlane that follows the titular space vessel and its crew as they travel the stars. The sci-fi story is largely a loving tribute to Star Trek, though it managed to find its own unique voice. While the episodes made up the bulk of the franchise, The Orville expanded into other mediums. One episode, initially written for the show’s third season, evolved into the series’ first tie-in novella, The Orville: Sympathy for the Devil. The Orville also had several tie-in comics, written by show writer and executive producer David A. Goodman.
The tie-in comics were set in between The Orville’s seasons and helped explain several off-screen developments (such as the sudden aging of Bortus and Klyden’s daughter, Topa). Sadly, there haven’t been any new comics since there hasn’t been a word on the show’s fate.
But now it seems like The Orville’s live-action days are done. While that’s certainly something no fan wanted to hear, the comics have opened up a potential avenue for the show to continue. Unlike the costly and time-consuming efforts of making a television series, the comics could easily and quickly get more Orville content into the hands of eager fans.
The Orville’s Fourth Season Could Still Happen as a Comic
Previous Orville Comics Make a Comic Continuation Incredibly Exciting
While The Orville’s last season tried to end on a satisfying note, there are plenty of plot threads that have been left unresolved such as Ed Mercer’s half-Krill daughter and the Arachnids of the Kalaar Expanse. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but the reality is that fans are highly unlikely to see these stories addressed in future episodes. They could, however, be finished along with new stories set in The Orville universe in the form of comics. The groundwork has already been laid with the show’s previous tie-in books and if The Orville really isn’t coming back for a new season, then a comic cotinuation could be the next best thing.
