Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville , availablewith a Hulu subscription, started life as a comedic take on classic Star Trek, and while it never lost the humor, over the course of three seasons, the show became a loving homage to the sci-fi franchise, complete with the same positive and inspirational message. A show with such unbridled optimism is somewhat rare today, which is exactly why MacFarlane says he made it.
Appearing on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, hosted by Orville cast member Ted Danson, Seth MacFarlane says he specifically created The Orville as a sort of counterbalance to the rest of television, which he says is too pessimistic. MacFarlane said:
The dishes that we are serving up are so dystopian and so pessimistic. And yeah, there's a lot to be pessimistic about, but it's so one-sided.
It’s difficult to argue with Seth MacFarlane’s assessment. Optimistic just isn’t a word you would use to describe most shows on television right now. Those shows are still good. MacFarlane himself calls out the dystopian The Handmaid’s Tale by name as a show that he says he loves, but he just thinks there are too many shows that take its same approach,
Seth MacFarlane clearly believes that Hollywood has the power to influence people, but he thinks there’s too much focus on stories that are about characters and worlds that we should try to avoid. He thinks we should also get stories about heroes that we want to be and about worlds that we may be able to live in if people make the right choices. MacFarlane continued:
They're certainly giving us a lot of cautionary tales, but where are the blueprints that they once gave us for how to do things correctly? It can't all be just, 'Here's what's going to happen to you if you fuck up.' You do need, 'Here's what you can achieve if you change your ways and do things right.’
MacFarlane actually uses the old He-Man cartoon series as an example of a show that gave him the sort of aspirational message that he now thinks is lacking in pop culture. He-Man would occasionally save his own enemies, because he knew that was the right thing to do. MacFarlane doesn’t think we have as many heroes on screen who act as examples of the sort of people we should want to be.
In the end, Seth MacFarlane feels that making those positive stories is something Hollywood should be doing because he believes the industry can impact people in a positive way. While some celebrities try to effect change by speaking out politically, MacFarlane says that doesn’t really work because people don’t care. What people care about are the stories those celebrities tell. He said:
It’s the only thing really that Hollywood can do that’s worthwhile because, as we all learned from this election, nobody gives a fuck what celebrities think. We can tweet, we can talk. Like, people don’t care. They don’t care. What we do do well is tell stories. And we’re not doing the best job right now of telling those stories in a way that gives people hope.
Of course, without The Orville making new episodes, we are without that optimistic viewpoint once again. Interestingly, MacFarlane references a potential Season 4, saying it has yet to be made, which would seem to indicate that might be happening. There were been reports of The Orville Season 4 going into production this year, though it's unclear if another season will ever actually happen. It certainly would be nice to have that optimistic voice again.
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