The Orville

The Orville is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as series protagonist Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union's line of exploratory space vessels in the 25th century. It was inspired primarily by the original Star Trek and its Next Generation successor, both of which it heavily parodies and pays homage to. The series also uses inspiration from the Star Wars franchise and games like the Mass Effect series. It follows the crew of the starship USS Orville on their episodic adventures, as well as a serialized story which develops over the length of the series. Produced by Fuzzy Door Productions and 20th Television, The Orville premiered on September 10, 2017 and ran for two seasons on Fox, and became available on streaming service Hulu the following day; followed by a third season exclusively on Hulu. Season one received generally negative reviews, but seasons two and three received critical acclaim. The show had relatively successful ratings on Fox, becoming the broadcaster's highest-rated Thursday show as well as Fox's "most-viewed debut drama" since 2015. Premise The Orville is set on the titular spacecraft: USS Orville (ECV-197), a mid-level exploratory vessel in the Planetary Union, a 25th-century interstellar alliance of Earth and many other planets. The show consists of adventures encountered by the ship's crew, usually involving planet exploration and visits to various parts of the galaxy. Cast and characters