The Orville season 3: Seth MacFarlane offers update on premiere plans

Seth MacFarlane offers an update on the status of The Orville season 3.

From the moment it was first announced The Orville would be making the jump from FOX to Hulu, the pressing question on most fans’ minds has been when The Orville season 3 would arrive on the streaming service.

In announcing the show’s move to Hulu during the show’s 2019 San Diego Comic-Con panel, it was revealed that the series would not return until 2020 due to the show’s ambitious and high production levels. Production on season 3 officially began in Fall 2019 and was undeway through March 2020, right up until the moment production was shut down due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

So what exactly does this mean for the fate of season 3?

The Orville season 3 could be delayed due to production shutdowns

Dropping by The Tonight Show, creator and star Seth MacFarlane opened up about the status of season 3 and there seems to be some good and bad news for fans. The good news is the creative team has completed about half of The Orville season 3’s episode prior to the production shutdowns; however, the fate of season 3 all depends upon when it will be safe to resume production.

"“It depends on when we get back to work,” MacFarlane revealed when asked about The Orville season 3 premiere date. “It depends on what conditions we get back to work. We shot about half the season, and it’s looking amazing. We’re basically gonna be delivering a little movie every week.”"

While it’s a positive sign that the production team was able to finish half of the season prior to the shutdowns, if production is not able to resume until late summer it seems safe to assume The Orville season 3 could very well be delayed. If it took six months to produce the first half of the season, it seems safe to assume another six months might be required to finish the remaining half of season 3.

As such, it’s hard not to wonder whether The Orville season 3 might be delayed until early 2021 unless Hulu opts to release the season in two halves, though that plan seems unlikely.

Check out Seth MacFarlane’s complete Tonight Show interview:

For the latest The Orville season 3 spoilers and news, plus more on other original programs currently streaming on Hulu, follow the Hulu Originals category at Netflix Life.