It’s been nearly two years since the third season of The Orville, collectively known as The Orville: New Horizons, finished its run on Hulu. And the wait for word about the fourth season has been excruciating. The show was conceived by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane as a sci-fi comedy series that doubles as his love letter to Star Trek. MacFarlane even stars in the series as Ed Mercer, the captain of the USS Orville.
To bring his vision to life, MacFarlane turned to Star Trek veterans like executive producer Brannon Braga, as well as directors Jonathan Frakes and Robert Duncan McNeill. Co-star Penny Johnson Jerald also had a recurring role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine before she was cast in The Orville as Doctor Claire Finn.
Unsurprisingly, The Orville now has its own fans who are eager to see the ship and its crew return for more adventures. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to everything you need to know about The Orville season 4.
Is The Orville season 4 happening?
As of May 2024, Hulu has not renewed The Orville for a fourth season. So for now, the answer to this question is no. There’s no definitive answer yet about why season 4 wasn’t given a green light during The Orville‘s third season, when the show was one of Hulu’s top performers.
But that inaction doesn’t necessarily mean that the show has been canceled either. During an appearance on The Mike Henry Show, MacFarlane indicated that he’s not done with the show yet.
“The Orville was a passion project,” said MacFarlane. “I say ‘was,’ but I don’t really mean ‘was’ because there will be more.”
Does the cast of The Orville want to return for season 4?
At least one member of the cast has indicated that she doesn’t want to return for The Orville season 4. During an appearance on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, Adrianne Palicki, who portrays Commander Kelly Grayson, was asked about her future on The Orville, and she responded “No, no longer doing that.”
Palicki acknowledged that she’s not sure if The Orville was canceled, but she added that “there’s talk that it could possibly be something that certain people want to do … But it’s a really difficult show to shoot, man.”
She also explained that the show’s erratic production schedule was keeping the cast locked in and unable to work on other projects.
“It became an actual, real issue,” added Palicki. “Because there would be so much time in between seasons because Seth wanted to write everything himself … At one point, we were like, ‘We have to fight the studio to give us a holding fee or something’ … It was horrible.”
Palicki is currently the only cast member to say that she’s not planning to come back if The Orville is renewed. Given her character’s importance to the series, it would definitely be a very different show without her.
Is there a trailer for The Orville season 4?
Since it’s unknown if The Orville is coming back for a fourth season, there is no trailer at this time.
When will The Orville season 4 release?
Your guess is as good as ours. Since the show hasn’t even been approved for another season, it will be a while, at least two years, before we see any new episodes of the beloved sci-fi series.
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