'The Orville' Premiere: Divorced Couple to Command Exploratory Vessel in 25th Century; Hilarity and Hijinks Ensue

FOX's upcoming comedy series "The Orville" may be set in space, but there's more to it than what meets the eye. Although the wonders and dangers of outer space could still pose a threat, the real complications are the ones confined within the walls of the titular exploratory vessel — the U.S.S. Orville.

Bearing the twisted family comedy of "Family Guy" and the comic sci-fi hilarity of the 1999 space movie, "Galaxy Quest," the hour-long comedy series will chronicle the adventures of both human and alien crew members of Orville. It's the 25th century, and Earth has become part of a far-reaching, advanced, and peaceful civilization known as the Planetary Union.

The Union has, in its command, a fleet of 3,000 ships, and it has always been Planetary Union Officer Ed Mercer's (Seth MacFarlane) dream to fly one of those ships. So when his marriage ends up in a divorce, bitter and down on his luck, Ed wastes no time at all to take the opportunity of commanding the U.S.S. Orville.

But just when he thinks everything in his life is about to change for the better, he finds out that the First Officer assigned to his ship is none other than his ex-wife, Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki). Additionally, Ed has brought together a rather eccentric crew of qualified individuals that include his best friend Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes), the accomplished physician Dr. Claire Finn (Penny Johnson), the single-sex alien Bortus (Peter Macon), the gelatinous creature Yaphit (voiced by Norm Macdonald), and the navigator John Lamarr (J. Lee) among others.

The official trailer also teases one of the ragtag crew's biggest missions, which involves protecting a machine that can manipulate the speed of events. A villainous alien species hopes to use it as a weapon, and it is up to Ed and his crew to make sure that the enemies do not get anywhere near the said machine.

Although it seemed impossible in the past, Ed and Kelly will have to learn to work with each other in order to lead their crew accordingly, because they seem to be the only ones standing in the way of a potential intergalactic war. This trip also happens to be Ed's last chance to prove himself.

"The Orville" will have special series premieres on Sept. 10 and Sept. 17 before it officially debuts on Sunday, Sept. 28, at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.