It's unbelievable that we're still waiting to hear whether or not The Orville will return for Season 4 or if the Seth MacFarlane series is over. Desperate for answers, fans have grasped at any little details they learn from actors or creatives about the potential future of the streaming series. On that note, we have some new insight into the situation from actress Adrianne Palicki, who was brutally honest about why shooting the show was difficult.
Palicki, who plays Kelly Grayson on The Orville, talked about the difficulties of shooting the sci-fi show, which may factor into why it hasn't been renewed or canceled yet, on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. The actress initially implied the show was finished, but when Rosenbaum asked her if that was definitive, she responded with what she knew and why shooting the show was an issue:
I don't know, truly, the answer to that. I think there's talk that it could be something that certain people want to do, but it's a really difficult show to shoot, man. We shot 33 episodes in six years...it became an actual real issue because there would be so much time in between seasons because Seth [MacFarlane] wanted to write everything himself. So it would just take so much time and at one point we were like, 'We have to fight studio to give us a holding fee or something.' J. Lee was eating saltines and Gatorade at one point because we couldn't afford anything. It was horrible.
These recent comments imply there's a greater story to be told behind the problem of renewing The Orville. Seth MacFarlane got real about it taking so long back in March, noting that the shift in the industry factors into why it's taking so long to return. However, Adrianne Palicki has pointed toward a different issue in making the series happen. Thirty-three episodes in six years is a sizable gap in production, and it can put a financial strain on actors who are hanging around waiting to work.
It's possible MacFarlane's busy schedule does impact the rate The Orville can produce episodes, especially given the amount of control he has over the series. Fans are eager for Season 4 to the point they commented on his Ted reveal to make it clear to the star. While Chad L. Coleman's positive update chalked the delay up to studio decision-making, Adrianne Palicki's comments show more nuance to the situation.
While Palicki didn't explicitly say whether or not she was interested in returning to The Orville for Season 4, there was a definite sense she wasn't thrilled about the show taking six years to make three seasons. It's possible some compromise will need to be made in how production moves forward, though what that means is up in the air.
Potentially, Seth MacFarlane could relinquish more creative control to streamline the writing process or shift his schedule to knock out a couple of seasons of the series. This would allow the actors to pursue other projects while those seasons air, and keep anyone off saltines and Gatorade for survival. If there was a simple solution to all of this, it's probable we'd have an answer on whether the series was renewed or not by now. As such, we can only take these latest comments and add them to the list, and share that hilariously relatable video of Penny Johnson Jerald wanting some answers on the situation.
As mentioned, The Orville is currently available to stream with a Disney+ subscription or a Hulu subscription. Check out a few episodes while we continue to wait for some sort of meaningful update on Season 4's status, and hope that whatever news comes is positive.
