The Orville: New Horizons ended Season 3 over at Hulu in August of 2022, and fans are still no closer to learning whether or not Seth MacFarlane's series will return for Season 4. Just days after actress Penny Johnson Jerald posted a video about the situation, fans received an update from one of Hulu's top brass about the show's renewal odds. Unfortunately, the response is super wishy-washy, and it's a little frustrating.
Craig Erwich, formally known as ABC Entertainment's President for Hulu & Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals, was approached for comment by TVLine about the odds of The Orville coming back for Season 4. Sadly, he didn't have much to offer. Erwich said:
We don’t have anything to share right now. It’s a great show and I know that the fans loved having it back in their lives. And Seth [MacFarlane] did a great job, uniquely as he can, in front of and behind the camera. But we don’t have anything to share right now.
"Nothing to share" is quite an ambiguous statement to make, as well as annoying for the fans who have been waiting for news for a long time on the subject. To be clear, fans have worried about The Orville's status since before Season 3 even premiered on Hulu. Rumors circulated at the time that Hulu didn't intend to renew the series and that Season 3 would be the end of Seth MacFarlane's show. But nothing in this statement indicates it's officially over, either.
Interviews with the cast and Seth MacFarlane since have indicated cancellation wasn't a sure thing, but that viewership and fan interaction online could certainly play a factor in the show's renewal. The Orville: New Horizons has been made available to those with a Disney+ subscription in addition to Hulu in recent months, but that's about the biggest development from the series in a while.
If the show is over, why doesn't Hulu just announce it? Perhaps it's because Hulu would like more episodes but there's another roadblock standing in the way.
As it stands right now, The Orville: New Horizons played out the back half of Season 3 in such a way that it could prepare for both renewal and cancellation. The penultimate episode "Domino" made major changes within the show's universe that would undoubtedly pick up in Season 4. The ironically titled Season 3 finale, "Future Unknown," could definitely serve as a series finale if need be, though there are still fans out there hoping that's not the case.
The Orville's current situation actually feels even worse to me than outright cancellation, however, because the show's just hanging around in limbo. At least if it were cancelled, fans could rally around encouraging networks to save the series or have some closure. Instead, many are still waiting for any sign that Season 4 might happen, and if it does, there's no telling how long it'll take for anyone to see it.
We're still no closer to answers on The Orville returning for Season 4, but the series is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+. More eyes on the series might just help someone make a decision on whether to renew it, so stream early and stream often.
