Season 4

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Season 4
No. of episodes	-
Season chronology
Previous	Season 3

Season 4 is a possible future season of The Orville. Hulu and showrunner Seth MacFarlane have not yet renewed the series for a fourth season, and both parties planned to discuss whether to renew the show following the completion of Season 3.

In late July 2023, various news agencies began reporting that The Orville had been renewed for a "Season 3" - sparking confusion among fans over whether that means the show has been renewed for a fourth season or not. The question has not yet been resolved. Journalists who cover Disney+ news remain undecided whether this means the show is (or will be) renewed.

MacFarlane has stated that if The Orville is renewed for a fourth season, he may consider shooting the novella Sympathy for the Devil as a television episode.

Changes to cast

Actor Norm Macdonald (Yaphit) died of cancer on September 14, 2021, while The Orville was still in post-production for Season 3. Seth MacFarlane had been unaware how ill Macdonald had become, and the death was a surprise to the writing team, who had not scripted Yaphit with Macdonald's illness in mind. Between May 27 and June 2, 2022, the writing team created plans to deal with the character of Yaphit if the show were renewed for a Season 4.

During an interview on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, Adrianne Palicki said, “No, no longer doing that,” when asked about her reprising her role on the series.

Renewal

Whether Hulu wants to renew the show for a fourth season is an unanswered question even to MacFarlane and production heads like Jon Cassar. On the other side of the studio desk, Hulu executives have stated that future seasons of the show remain "an open conversation." Executive producer David A. Goodman confirmed the producers have fashioned Season 3's storyline to leave open the possibility of renewal.

Controversy about renewal

Though Hulu and executive staff have consistently stated the show is not cancelled and can be renewed for a Season 4, controversy erupted on October 12, 2021, when actress Adrianne Palicki (Kelly Grayson) said Season 3 would be the final season. "I'll miss everyone," she added. "That was definitely a family for sure. We spent so much time together on that ship."

In response, co-producer and editor Tom Costantino said that in reality, whether the show would get a fourth season was still undecided and would depend on the audience's reaction to Season 3. MacFarlane then retweeted Costantino's message on Twitter. Fan news channel Egotastic FunTime observed that cast members in the past had mistakenly believed that earlier seasons would be the last of The Orville.

In a group interview held on February 7, 2022, actors Peter Macon (Bortus), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy), and J. Lee (John LaMarr) agreed they were ready to return to the set to film Season 4. The interviewer then asked if the show would be renewed for a fourth season. Jackson replied, "I don't think it's over," and Grimes added, "If it does amazing on Hulu and the reaction is great, there's your answer right there." Grimes continued that MacFarlane wants to make a Season 4.

In a group interview on May 27, 2022, interviewer Anthony Pascale asked if the show had been cancelled, to which director Jon Cassar answered "definitely not" and executive producer David A. Goodman said, "The show is absolutely not cancelled. Absolutely not. That is definitive."

In interviews following the finale of Season 3, creator Seth MacFarlane described the show's renewal chances at "50-50." He also described the addition of the series to Disney+ in the United States on August 10, 2022 as a potential game-changer that could draw new viewers to the series, thus increasing its chances of renewal.

In terms of content, Seth MacFarlane described a possible Season 4 as being a "blank slate" because so many unexpected things had happened in the third season that while there are many plotlines that lend themselves to a fourth season he doesn't know how things would intertwine and develop.

On August 30, 2022, it was reported by The Wrap that The Orville was one of only two originals on Hulu along with Only Murders in the Building that was in the top 10 of most on-demand titles on the service, indicating the series as a proven performer for Hulu and thus boosting the likelihood of renewal.

In January 2023, Hulu executive Craig Erwich, asked about the possibility of a fourth season, stated only that Hulu did not have anything to share, but that they knew fans loved having the show back in their lives and that Seth MacFarlane did a great job.

In March 2023, Chad L. Coleman (Klyden) shared a "positive update" regarding the show's future, stating that the cast were still of the belief that Season 4 would happen, that it was up in the air, but that Seth MacFarlane had some great meetings with Dana Walden, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment.

On April 17, 2023, Adrianne Palicki (Kelly Grayson) said people were talking about renewal but nothing official had broke. She hopes that if the show is renewed, it will place Kelly as captain of the Orville. She added that MacFarlane knows about her request and is not "completely opposed" to the idea.

In November 2023, however, Palicki seemed less optimistic regarding the future prospects of the show. When asked about her role on the series in a podcast, she stated that she was "no longer doing that." When, however, asked if the program had actually been canceled, she stated "I don't know, truly, the answer to that." However, she continued that the program had been incredibly difficult to shoot, noting that the show did not provide a steady income stream at an average pace of just 5 1/2 episodes per year. She stated that it had become an actual issue, having so much time between seasons, such that "At one point, we were like, 'We have to fight the studio to give us a holding fee or something'."

On August 3, 2024, it was reported that Scott Grimes had stated during a Star Trek Las Vegas show that filming on a fourth season would begin sometime after New Year's 2025. However, it was emphasized that this information was secondhand and that no official statement had yet been made by either Disney or Hulu. Planetary Union Network, the official podcast for the series, stated that the information is true and that it was something they had known about for quite a while, but hadn't been able to tell anyone prior to Grimes's statement.

Budget

Whether Hulu would renew The Orville for a fourth season was a question asked of journalists throughout production of Season 3, a question that intensified once the global Covid-19 pandemic stalled filming for over a full year and greatly delayed Season 3's premiere.

Hulu had allotted The Orville a generous budget in Season 3, though the exact amount is unknown. While in production for the third season, Seth MacFarlane realized he needed to limit their reliance on expensive techniques like special effects so that if Hulu renewed the show at a reduced budget, The Orville would not look worse by comparison in Season 4.

California tax credits

News broke in December 2019 that the Orville had not received or applied for tax credits from the state of California for production of a Season 4 in the year 2020, sparking rumors that the show would conclude at the close of Season 3. Associate producer and editor Tom Costantino dismissed the rumors, stating the staff were concerned with production of Season 3.

On August 3, 2020, the California Film Commission announced that The Orville and 24 other "legacy" television series had been selected for an inaugural round of tax credits under the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program 3.0. Presumably, the Orville would apply for Season 4 tax credits at a later date.