How The Orville's Seth MacFarlane Is Taking More Control With Season 3 On Hulu

The Orville Fox

The Orville Season 3 is set to be different in many ways as we have learned in the past few months, and many of the changes so far sound positive. The latest will ensure creator Seth MacFarlane is in control of a lot of the upcoming episodes.

The news comes from someone who is typically notorious for giving out new information on Star Trek: Jonathan Frakes. The actor spoke to ComicBook.com about the upcoming season of The Orville, and dropped a surprise reveal when asked if he would return to direct episodes of the science fiction series.

I'm not involved with the third season. They made a decision to have Seth and John Cassar, who's the producing director, direct all the episodes of the third season of that show, much to my chagrin, but that's the way it goes.

The decision for Seth MacFarlane and John Cassar to direct the entirety of Season 3 is unprecedented for The Orville, though not as drastic as a change as one would think. Season 2 saw either MacFarlane or Cassar directing for 7 episodes, which accounts for half of that season. So while it may be a bummer that Jonathan Frakes won't be getting behind the camera in Season 3, both MacFarlane and Cassar have the experience to get the job done and carry this new season on their own.

This new development sets the stage for what will be a very interesting time for The Orville. The jump to Hulu will allow for the show to try a lot of different things creatively, such as push the raunchiness a bit further than primetime network television would allow, and to extend the lengths of episodes. Consistent directing across the board will allow Seth MacFarlane and Jon Cassar to shape this story the entire way through, without having to worry about micromanaging guest directors or compromising their shared vision.

Of course, while there may be many excited about all this change to The Orville, there may be a crowd equally as concerned. With so much changing both behind the scenes and with the show overall, there's a chance that the series premieres on Hulu looking like another show entirely. We have no idea one way or another if it will be, though it's worth saying the show has done a solid job at adjusting to change in its first two seasons.

The Orville Season 3 is going to arrive on Hulu at some point in 2020, unless we hear otherwise in the coming weeks. Be sure to stick with CinemaBlend to stay on top of all things related to The Orville, and for other breaking news happening in the world of television and movies.

Mick Joest
Content Producer

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.