Summary

• The Orville fans have been eagerly waiting for news about a potential fourth season.
• Seth MacFarlane remains hopeful about the show's future, stating that there is no official cancelation.
• The show's fate is still uncertain due to various factors and ongoing talks between MacFarlane, Disney, and Hulu.

Fans of The Orville have been anxiously awaiting details about the possibility of a fourth season of the sci-fi show being green-lit by Hulu. Over the last several months, members of the cast have given a range of opinions on whether they believe the show will return at all. Now Seth MacFarlane, someone who really should know the answer, has shared his positive take on the future of the sci-fi series.

While speaking to The Wrap ahead of the arrival of his Ted series on Peacock, MacFarlane gave a cryptically hopeful outlook on the chances that The Orville will take flight once more. He said:

All I can tell you is that there is no official death certificate for ‘The Orville’. It is still with us. I can’t go any further than that at the moment. There are too many factors.

Previously, The Orville star Chad L. Coleman delivered a much brighter ray of hope to the renewal chances of the series. Although still cautious, Coleman, who plays Klyden in the series, suggested that a good relationship between creator MacFarlane and Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden could give The Orville: New Horizons its best chance. He told CinemaBlend:

“We’re all in the loop and out of the loop. We think it’s gonna happen, but it’s still up in the air. There’s so much going on with all of these studios that it’s just like, ‘Well, we gotta settle this thing first, then we can really decide on that thing.’ A bunch of that is going on. We hope so. Seth has an amazing relationship with Dana [Walden] and with Disney, who’s running it now. And they said they’ve had promising meetings, so we’ll see.”

The Orville has found itself becoming one of the many properties to be caught up in the merger between Fox and Disney, which resulted in the third series being delayed for some time and then finding a home on Hulu or Disney+ depending where in the world you live. While that season ended on a note that was both final and open to continuation, there are many who hope that it was not the last adventure for the crew of The Orville.

Related:

The Orville: The Best Episodes, Ranked

Seth MacFarlane Previously Gave The Orville a 50/50 Chance of Renewal.

Although his latest update certainly hints that talks are still ongoing about The Orville's return, MacFarlane previously rated the chances of getting a fourth season a 50/50 split. While the show has continued to gain positive reviews, it was the switch to Disney+ that he really saw as a “game-changer” for the show. He said:

“[The renewal odds are] 50-50. My hope is that when the show drops on Disney+, the people who haven’t yet discovered [The Orville] will suddenly give it a chance. That’s a potential game changer for us. I think that creatively and audience-wise, when people sit down and give the show a chance, it upends their expectations. The biggest burden with the show is preconceptions. People think it’s one thing — there are people out there who think it’s a sitcom — and when they sit down to watch it they realize its something completely different. Once you get people’s eyeballs on it, the show does the work, its speaks for itself, and people tend to be hooked.”

The most recent update from Hulu boss Craig Erwich did not add much to what is currently known about the renewal, other than to praise MacFarlane’s vision and work on the series. For now, it seems the fate of The Orville continues to hang in the balance for now. Meanwhile, the previous seasons of The Orville can be found on Hulu/Disney+ depending on your territory.