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It's been a long time since fans have been able to feast their eyes on brand new episodes of Seth MacFarlane's ode to Star Trek, The Orville. After the switch from Fox to Hulu, and a long wait to get back into production on Season 3, the series finally wrapped filming back in August. Now, we actually know when The Orville Season 3 will land on our TV screens, and that it has its own title. Be ready for The Orville: New Horizons on March 10, 2022!
Hulu announced today that The Orville: New Horizons will launch relatively early next year, and Season 3 of the space adventure will find the crew of the eponymous ship continuing to explore the outer reaches of space, while also navigating "both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships." You can take a look at the official announcement video, below:
The Orville has had a terribly extended journey toward Season 3. The sci-fi dramedy (which stars MacFarlane, Penny Johnson Jerald, Adrianne Palicki, Scott Grimes, Chad L. Coleman, Jessica Szohr, and more) ended Season 2 on Fox way back in April 2019, and while we knew by fall of that year that the next season would lead to some major changes (fewer episodes, but each with longer runtimes, for instance) fans were told about a major shakeup when it was revealed that Hulu had picked up the show.
Luckily, this means that viewers will at least get to see new adventures with Captain Ed Mercer, Commander Kelly Grayson, Doctor Claire Finn and all of the rest of our favorite characters. While the teaser for The Orville: New Horizons, doesn't exactly give anything away for the new set of episodes, it seems like we'll be treated to the same funny and heartfelt moments from the characters, as well as exciting (and sometimes wacky) adventures that will keep us talking for months to come.
When revealing that Season 3 had wrapped, MacFarlane (who directed many of the episodes for The Orville: New Horizons) also noted that the visual effects team pulled out all the stops for the upcoming installments, saying they "raised things to the next level," so it appears that audiences will also be in for a treat when it comes to the new worlds and / or creatures explored on the series.
It's great to finally know when we can look forward to the return of The Orville, but I'm sure fans are already wondering about the potential for Season 4. MacFarlane noted his hope that Season 3 wouldn't be "the last time we all go into space," so it seems that the decision on that front is still up in the air. We can always hold out hope, and with The Orville: New Horizons arriving on Hulu on Thursday, March 10, 2022 (with weekly releases of its 11 episodes), at least we'll all have something to tide us over until we know more.
