'The Orville' Season 2 Renewed or Canceled? Creator Seth MacFarlane Confident FOX Will Renew
Seth MacFarlane has full confidence that his sci-fi comedy show on FOX will receive a season 2 renewal. "The Orville" has been generating a lot of buzz from sci-fi fans ever since it debuted in September.
Speaking during the New York Comic-Con event, MacFarlane said that he's counting on a season 2 because of how viewers respond to his show. Recent ratings for "The Orville," which aired five episodes so far, received 3.44 million viewers on its Thursday 9:00 p.m. slot. The previous show that occupied the same slot netted 2.84 million viewers only.
It might, however, be too early to say if FOX will renew "The Orville" for season 2. The show isn't ranking well on Thursday nights against NBC's "Will & Grace" or ABC's "Scandal." Its ratings week-to-week also dropped from 8.5 million in the series premiere to the current 3.44 million. It's also losing the numbers among its demographic viewers ages 18 to 49.
Regardless, MacFarlane will be wrapping up post-production of "The Orville" season 1 this week and he's got some ideas for stories for season 2. He would like one story to focus on Isaac, the robot crew member on "The Orville."
Meanwhile, "The Orville" featured high-profile guest stars so far in Holland Taylor, Victor Garber, Robert Knepper, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson and Jeffrey Tambor. MacFarlane's co-star Adrianne Palicki stated that she hopes "Star Trek" icon Patrick Stewart will grace the series.
MacFarlane developed "The Orville" based on his love for "Star Trek" and other space-themed movies and films. Some of the comedy series' writers and directors actually worked on the "Star Trek" franchise.
It can't be helped, however, that "The Orville" would be closely compared to the new "Star Trek" series "Star Trek: Discovery" on CBS All Access. Critics observe that the FOX comedy follows the classic "Star Trek" format better than the true franchise's new show.
"The Orville" airs every Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. EST on FOX. The network ordered 13 episodes for season 1.
