The Orville Season 4 Canceled? Leading Star Crushes Fans’ Hearts
The Orville might be spacedocked for good, with the potential for a Season 4 looking bleaker than ever. Since first airing in 2017, Seth MacFarlane’s Star Trek fan series has released three seasons with fans anticipating an announcement of the fourth season since the summer of 2022 when Season 3 first aired.
Adrianne Palicki Not Returning
Unfortunately, it’s been a year and a half of silence from Command Central at Hulu. However, according to TV Line, Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson) has at least confirmed she will not be returning to the show.
In a recent interview on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, actress Adrianne Palicki dropped a bombshell that has left fans of the popular space-themed comedy-drama series, The Orville, fearing the worst.
Half The Leading Stars
Palicki, who plays the role of Commander Kelly Grayson, a key character in the show, revealed, “No, no longer doing that,” when asked about turning to The Orville Season 4.
Considering that Palicki is one-half of the leading stars of The Orville, it’s unlikely Hulu will opt to do a Season 4 without her. It’s still possible, though, and since Hulu has remained tight-lipped about the renewal, anxious fans can still hold on to hope. For now.
Many Delays
The uncertainty surrounding the fate of The Orville Season 4 has been growing since the series went on hiatus in August 2022.
Fans have eagerly awaited confirmation regarding the show’s future from Hulu, the streaming platform that aired Season 3.
Between delays caused by COVID-19 and then the actors’ and writers’ strikes of this year, there have been many signs pointing towards a potential cancellation, yet nothing official has been announced.
Financial Instability For The Cast
When pressed about whether The Orville Season 4 was officially canceled during the podcast interview, Palicki cautiously responded, “I don’t know, truly, the answer to that. I think there’s talk that it could possibly be something that certain people want to do… but it’s a really difficult show to shoot, man.”
Palicki highlighted that over six years, The Orville produced 33 episodes, averaging only 5.5 episodes per year, and that created financial instability for the cast.
Length Gaps In Seasons
The Orville has been known for its unique blend of humor, drama, and space exploration, reminiscent of classic sci-fi shows like Star Trek.
In addition to the unorthodox filming schedule, the series has faced other challenges as well. MacFarlane took on the ambitious task of writing most of The Orville‘s content himself, which would include Season 4 if it’s renewed, and this has contributed to the lengthy gaps between seasons.
Just Too Busy
MacFarlane is known for his work on animated series like Family Guy and American Dad and is also currently working on a Ted prequel series for Peacock.
As such a busy guy, it makes sense that he might have difficulty consistently writing up the scripts for The Orville, which could also suggest the cancellation of Season 4.
MacFarlane had previously mentioned the challenges surrounding the show in response to the uncertainty surrounding The Orville Season 4. Despite the difficulties, he expressed his emotional investment in the series and vowed to find a way to continue if Season 4 were greenlit.
