FOX revealed their upcoming slate of TV programming today, including first looks at their high-profile projects, likeBrian Singer’sX-MenseriesThe Giftedand theX-FilesinspiredAdam ScottandCraig RobinsoncomedyGhosted. The network is going in big on genre this season, and another Sci-Fi series on the docket isThe Orville, the first live-action series from creator and starSeth McFarlane.
The Orvillestars McFarlane as Planetary Union officer Ed Mercer, a down on his luck divorcee who finally gets the chance to command a ship, only to find out the first officer assigned to his ship is none other than his ex-wife (Adrianne Palicki). The rest of the rag-tag crew is filled out by Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes), who has problems with authority, but is the best helmsman in the fleet; Dr. Claire Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald), one of union’s best doctors, Bortus (Peter Macon), an alien from a single-sex species; Isaac (Mark Jackson), an artificial life-form who hails from a machine society that looks down upon biological creatures; John LaMarr (J. Lee), who keeps things humorous in even the most dire situations; Alara Kitan (Halston Sage), a young, inexperienced security officer with super strength, courtesy of her home planet’s strong gravity; and Yaphit, a gelatinous alien creature voiced byNorm Macdonald.
The pilot episode was directed byThe Jungle BookandIron ManhelmerJon Favreau. Watch the trailer below.
Here’s the official synopsis:
The Orville is a one-hour science fiction series set 400 years in the future that follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Orville, a mid-level exploratory vessel. Its crew, both human and alien, faces the wonders and dangers of outer space, while also dealing with the familiar, often humorous problems of regular people in a workplace…even though some of those people are from other planets, and the workplace is a faster-than-light spaceship.
Down on his luck after a bitter divorce, Planetary Union officer Ed Mercer (Seth MacFarlane) finally gets his chance to command one of these ships: the U.S.S. Orville. Determined to prove his worth and write a new chapter in his life, Ed finds that task all the more difficult when the First Officer assigned to his ship is his ex-wife, Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki).
Somehow, Ed and Kelly must put the past behind them and, with the help of the crew, navigate fascinating and sometimes dangerous adventures in outer space, as well as the tumultuous and captivating day-to-day personal relationships with their colleagues.
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