Much like John Carter and The Lone Ranger, The Orville seems to be one of those ventures that professional critics and fanboys alike hated before a single frame was viewed; it became cool to deride them.
Here are a few examples of why this criticism seems unfair. And a word of caution: everything from here on will be SPOILERS.
When watching the trailer for The Orville, the upcoming sci-fi dramedy from Family Guy creator and Ted director Seth MacFarlane, it’s impossible to not immediately think of Star Trek (and also Galaxy Quest). Hell, even Orville executive producer Brannon Braga wrote and produced Star Trek series The Next Generation, Voyager, and Enterprise (which he is credited as the creator of), and was a writer on movies Generations and First Contact.
For the 2017 Television Critics Association summer press tour, MacFarlane was asked about the comparison to Trek. Additionally, Fox was asked if they were worried about being sued over the show, especially with CBS having a brand new Trek series making its debut around the same time.
FOX has been releasing some trailers for upcoming shows this week, including one for the X-Men series The Gifted.
Another trailer they released is for a show titled The Orville. It’s a sci-fi comedy inspired by Star Trek (so a little closer to Galaxy Quest, but without the Seven Samurai storyline), and comes from Family Guy creator and Ted director Seth MacFarlane, with Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Jungle Book) directing. The show is set 400 years in the future, following the crew of a spaceship as they face everything from dangerous space situations to normal day-to-day workplace situations.
You can read much more about The Orville and watch the trailer below.
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