'The Orville' season 2 to air later this year, Seth MacFarlane confirms

Sci-fi series “The Orville” season 2 will air sometime later this year, according to creator, writer, executive producer and star Seth MacFarlane. He added that there won’t be any crossover with “Family Guy,” in which he’s also an executive producer.

There were some concerns about the series returning in 2019, but MacFarlane has now confirmed (see below) that the wait will not be too long. The actor did not announce an exact release date yet. He called reports of a crossover with “Family Guy” as “misreporting,” which means that such will not happen, at least in season 2.

There’s more good news for fans. The next season will have a total of 14 episodes, compared to 12 in season 1. The success of the series allows the producers to make 22 episodes, which is the industry standard for broadcast shows, but MacFarlane told TV Guide that he prefers to make fewer episodes with better content than add filler episodes just to increase the count.

Originally, the first season had a total of 13 episodes. However, one of the episodes was pushed to season 2. This means that 13 episodes may be the standard for the show moving forward from season 3.

Talking about season 1, MacFarlane said his favourite episode was the one where Claire (Penny Johnson Jerald) and Isaac (Mark Jackson) got trapped on a planet. The producer said that this episode was a “real test” on how far they can take “the genuine science fiction aspect to it.”

If “The Orville” season 2 premieres sometime in September, just as the first season did, then fans can expect the first trailer to be released in May.