The Cast of 'The Orville: New Horizons' Are Ready to Boldly Go Into Season 3

After a long hiatus, a global pandemic, and Fox being bought by Disney, the long awaited return of the crew of The Orville joins the Hulu streaming galaxy.

When The Orville debuted its first season five years ago, few knew that the Seth MacFarlane creation would end up where it is today. That isn’t simply the fact that Orville parent-company, Fox was purchased by Disney, and eventually landed the show on Hulu, it’s also the fact that The Orville really found itself and its audience in its second season. Originally much more of a spoof and loving homage to classic Trek, MacFarlane decided to lean a little more into the dramatic tone. in an era of disappointing modern Trek shows like Picard and Star Trek: Discovery, MacFarlane’s contagious love for shows like The Next Generation have made The Orville: New Horizons the best trek through the stars for many fans.

Producer David A. Goodman addressed the shift in tone from the expected lighthearted comedy that creator Seth MacFarlane is known for, to the more dramatic tone of season 2. “The show started leaning into the comedy a little more, and we've gotten away from that. That really spoke to Seth. Seth made that decision. He's a master of comedy, I've worked with him for over 20 years, nobody understands comedy better than him., and he was leaning into that at the beginning, [but] now he says, ‘this is a drama’, and this is what the show is.”

The Production team, who also feature heavily as the writing team wants to also let audiences know that we can expect more drama, and perhaps even darker, horror based episodes this season. Goodman at one point in the interview had to point out there is an episode that Executive Producer Brannon Braga cowrote that Jon Cassar directed that goes “right to those hard genre elements this season. It's crazy scary.” while Braga blurts in with “Oh, yeah. We have a zombie movie episode.”

New crew member Charly Burke (Anne Winters) has a frank discussion with Isaac (Mark Jackson)

If last week’s season premiere was any indication of the serious topics the show will tackle, it appears the show may be more than merely ‘leaning’ into the drama darker elements this season. Goodman continues to say the show has “set off political things in motion, [somewhat] beating the politics of the Orville universe. So that that was where we started the conversation, which is how we want those story beats to pay off this season? What are the ramifications of season two? We had a pretty close call with the Kaylon attacking earth and all those people who died defending Earth, so what are the ramifications? What are the personal ramifications of that? Going into season three, and that was a really important thing for us. Right in episode one, it figures prominently in the story.”

Goodman is referring to the absolutely beautifully crafted dynamic between two of the featured characters from last weeks’ premiere. Isaac (Mark Jackson), the only ‘good’ Kaylon in the entire Orville universe remains on board after his people have declared that all biological life must be extinguished. This creates a lot of tension within the crew, especially with newcomer Ensign Charly Burke (Anne Winters). Winters describes Burke as a bit of a strong-willed firecracker. “She definitely comes in very strong in her point of view and she's not holding back her thoughts. She's one of the only survivors from one of the other ships that they destroyed. So she's coming in with a massive hatred towards the Kaelyn. So her and Isaac definitely have a massive storyline and arc, and I'm excited for the audience to see that.”

While dynamics might be challenged, new characters and plot lines introduced, and darkness may creep in, that’s not to say that this isn’t the beloved fun-loving show that MacFarlane and crew set out to make nearly five-long years ago. Fans have come to love the cast of The Orville, and the crew they play because of their quirky comedic characteristics. One of the more popular ‘quirks’ created a memorable moment from season 2 when Lieutenant Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes) serenaded Isaac before the resident artificial lifeform was shipping off to his home world. When asked if we can expect future Malloy masterful melodies, Grimes couldn’t even finish his answer before J. Lee, who plays Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander Lamar jumped in. “Oh, does he! Oh, boy. Oh, does he get to sing!” Grimes was a little more reserved with his response, indicating that’s all they could hint at without spoiling anything, but did promise more music. Winters, no slouch when it comes musical theatre was asked if Burke and Malloy might get a chance to sing together as well. While equally as secretive, Winters simply said “that’s a really good question” with a telling smile plastered across her face.

As we venture further into this ‘new horizon’, it is refreshing to know that the entire cast and crew are extremely excited that the work they started almost three years ago will finally be seen by all Orville fans. Jessica Szhor who plays Lieutenant Talla Keyali ended her interview with “Buckle up, enjoy the ride. It's gonna be a fun one.” At the same time, resident Moclans, Chad L. Coleman (who plays Klyden) and Peter Macon (who plays stoic Lieutenant Commander Bortus) couldn’t contain their laughter when thinking about what to expect this season. Their giddiness was palpable and contagious. Coleman simply chuckles as he states “No exaggeration, you're not gonna believe what you got to experience.” while Macon adds there’s “no way to prepare you.”