The Orville season 3 image shows some of the main cast together, as well as some new faces. After being off the air for nearly 3 years, The Orville will return to screens on Hulu instead of the original channel Fox and will be titled The Orville: New Horizons as a way of indicating the change. The new season will consist of ten episodes and will premiere on March 10, 2022.
The Orville follows the adventures of the crew of the titular spaceship, led by Captain Mercer, played by series creator and head writer Seth MacFarlane. The series is a clear homage and parody of Star Trek with a similar premise and structure, but with a comedic edge that gives the show its staying power. The Orville had to delay filming due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as did many shows, but with the added wrinkle of being special effects-heavy and featuring a large ensemble cast.
The image from TVLine shows part of its cast on the bridge of the Orville. Along with MacFarlane, old regulars played by Adrianne Palicki, Scott Grimes, and Victor Garber can be seen, as well as new cast members played by Anne Winters, Lisa Banes, and Bruce Boxleitner in heavy prosthetics. Boxleitner previously was the lead of the long-running sci-fi series Babylon 5, another influence on The Orville‘s narrative.
Other cast members include Penny Johnson Jerald, Peter Macon, Mark Jackson, Chad Coleman, Mike Henry, and the late Norm Macdonald, who was able to finish filming his scenes for the third season before his death earlier this year. The Orville was also notable in its first season for carrying a strong disconnect between critics and audience reviews, with many critics citing the wavering tone and overstuffed episodes as factors, with audiences appreciating the show’s willingness to switch between serious drama and light comedy from episode to episode. The second season, however, was a hit with critics and audiences, with many commenting on the show’s more confident storytelling.
Even with a three-year wait, with the third season coming in March, fans, which include Star Trek alums, won’t have to wait much longer for the show’s return. The Orville is one of the few modern shows that cross science fiction with comedy, a genre mashup that has lost steam in recent years after being popularized by writers Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. With the inherent absurdity of science fiction as a premise, many forget just how fun the genre can be, and The Orville remembers that science fiction is about hope for the future, and the joy of humanity overcoming their differences to go boldly into the unknown.
