Following a brilliant season 2, ‘The Orville’ show-runners decided to shift networks and moved from Fox to Hulu. This sudden change in the network of the popular space adventure series flustered many as they feared that show might as well be cancelled or worse take a fall in quality. Why did the show-runners decide to go another way? Keep reading to find out!
Season 2 of ‘The Orville’ went out making a loud noise and just as fans were wondering whether Fox would renew the popular space-adventure series for a third season, the show-runners decided to take it to Hulu. While most fans were worried that the step might cause the show to lose some good many viewers, it was still one of the best decisions the creators could have made. Here’s why!
Highlights —
- ‘The Orville’ changed network for season 3
- Why did the show-runners decide against Fox?
- The Fox to Hulu move was the best decision by ‘The Orville’ bosses
‘The Orville’ changed network for season 3
Originally brought to television by Fox, ‘The Orville’ is a sci-fi comedy-drama created by Seth MacFarlane who also plays the lead man, Captain Ed Mercer, in the series.
Essentially a space adventure series, ‘The Orville’, presents MacFarlane’s character, Ed Mercer as a 25th-century officer captain of the Planetary Union’s line of exploratory spaceships. It is said that the ‘The Orville’ has taken its inspiration from quite a few sci-fi sources, although it seems that ‘Star Trek’ and its ‘Next Generation’ have had a major influence on the show. For the most part, ‘The Orville’ acts as a refreshing parody on its two major sources as it follows the adventures of the crew members of the “USS Orville” spaceship.
Although season 1 of ‘The Orville’ received fairly negative critical reviews, season 2 of this space adventure made it into the good books of the critics and the viewers alike. Naturally, it was a shock for most when news of the ‘The Orville’ switching networks from Fox to Hulu made the drop. It was surprising that despite season 2 of ‘The Orville’ bringing in considerably high viewership ratings, Fox decided to let the show go off to Hulu. In fact, ‘The Orville’ even made the title of being the “most viewed debut drama” on Fox’s listings since 2015. However, with the possibility of season 3 rising by the inch, ‘The Orville’ moved on to Hulu, which in our opinion, did more good than harm.
Why did the show-runners decide against Fox?
Many of us wondered about the decision of ‘The Orville’ shifting base from Fox to Hulu when creator Seth MacFarlane made the announcement at a comic-con panel. As it turned out, the decision of the move sourced from the fact that the series had evolved, but the production timelines were pushing for delivery.
MacFarlane’s busy schedule added with the amount of time needed to perfect the special effects on the series made it impossible for season 3 to have been ready for the usual mid-season premiere. Following Disney’s acquisition of the 21st Century Fox assets, Hulu became a corporate partner to the production house, 20th TV, that handles ‘The Orville’ production. MacFarlane has been a long associate of 20th TV, and under a contract, the move of ‘The Orville’ from Fox to Hulu seemed reasonable.
Seth MacFarlane said in a statement,
“The Orville has been a labour of love for me, and there are two companies which have supported that vision in a big way: 20th Century Fox Television, where I’ve had a deal since the start of my career, and Fox Broadcasting Company, now Fox Entertainment, which has been my broadcast home for over 20 years … But as the show has evolved and become more ambitious production-wise, I determined that I would not be able to deliver episodes until 2020, which would be challenging for the network … I am hugely indebted to Charlie Collier and Fox Entertainment for their generosity and look forward to developing future projects there. And to my new friends at Hulu, I look forward to our new partnership exploring the galaxy together”.
The Fox to Hulu move was the best decision by ‘The Orville’ bosses
Most of the fans feared that the shift from Fox to Hulu for ‘The Orville’ might bring in less viewership eventually getting it cancelled. That, however, was far from being true. While it is true that a move to Hulu would mean lesser number of episodes, it also meant that the episodes would have a longer runtime giving the story arcs more to play out. Moreover, there would be hardly any network restrictions on the part of Hulu limiting the experience. Again, the traditional television viewership ratings would not matter, which would mean lesser chances of getting cancelled and might also open up opportunities for spin-offs. Finally, Fox does not really enjoy a good reputation for great sci-fi ventures and moving to Hulu might therefore attract more viewers for ‘The Orville’.
Do you think ‘The Orville’ moving from Fox to Hulu was a smart idea? Let us know in the comments below!
