The Orville star says production on season 4 will begin early 2025

The Orville is the little Star Trek homage that could. The first and seasons aired on Fox two years apart before the show jumped to Hulu for its third season, subtitled new horizons. That season had a bigger budget and took three years to come out, landing in 2022.

It's been two years since then. We've heard actors and producers express hope in the meantime, with MacFarlane himself saying "there will be more" just a few months ago. There still isn't anything rock solid, but the signs are looking better and better. According to multiple people who attended his performance at the Star Trek Las Vegas con this past weekend, The Orville star Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy) said that a fourth season will start filming in early 2025.

Once again, this isn't the same thing as Hulu or Fox or whoever wants to pick up the show next dropping a teaser or even confirming the existence of a fourth season, but it feels like the actors and producers who talk about the show sound more confident whenever it comes up. I have high hopes that it will actually happen!

The Orville has a lot to cover in season 4

The Orville is a gently comedic, optimistic sci-fi series about a crew on a spaceship exploring the universe on behalf of the Planetary Union, dealing by turns with inter-planetary crises, strange space-logged phenonema, and interpersonal drama. The Orville is so obviously inspired by Star Trek that it kind of skirts the edge of copyright infringement at times, but it's also a warm, inventive series that definitely deserves another go.

Given that the show has been on the bubble for so much of its life, I imagine a fourth season would be the last, which I'd be fine with. I want an ending to the story, since season 3 left off with several big plotlines unresolved. On a macro level, the Union had made peace with the artificially intelligent Kaylon people, who had been menacing the universe for seasons. However, the Moclan people had teamed up with the fanatical Krill aliens. That alliance will probably be the big problem to overcome in season 4, if there is one.

Meanwhile, ship doctor Claire married her Kaylon boyfriend Isaac, a large and weird step forward for the unlikely couple. I want to see more of all of it! Hopefully we get solid news soon.

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h/t ComicBook.com