The Orville Season 3 Air Date Has Been Announced

I make it no secret, I like space the same way that Zombie kid on YouTube liked turtles in 2007. I’ve also made it no secret that I am a bit of a fan of Star Trek and Doctor Who. I like my sci-fi to build to the wars and have a personal/philosophical feeling. So it was no surprise that within 52 articles for the site out of nearly 950 at this point, I wrote about The Orville; Seth MacFarlane’s space comedy with heavy influences from Star Trek across the board. This was prior to any announcement, and it was basically a plea for a third season which was yet to be announced.

Unless you’ve not noticed, May 2019 was a long time ago and filming began that October, but COVID-19 struck months later. Since March of 2020, production has been in and out like the Hokey Pokey, only wrapping in August. Then earlier this month voice actor, comedian, and all-around one of the most admired people in comedy, Norm Macdonald passed away after a long battle with cancer he didn’t publicly speak of. Macdonald voiced the gelatinous blob Lt. Yaphit, which apparently he also finished up lines on before his passing. This is putting aside the fact that since Disney bought out Fox, the show will now air on the streaming service the two had shares in, Hulu. Disney will wholly own Hulu in early 2024 when Comcast sells its shares.

New home. New missions. #TheOrville New Horizons arrives March 10, 2022. pic.twitter.com/59B252sJ1f

— The Orville (@TheOrville) September 23, 2021

However, after such a long time, we finally have the season start date of March 10th, 2022 in the US. A brief teaser shared on social media of The Orville: New Horizons (as it is called) gives a slow pan over the two command chairs on the bridge with voice-over lines. I’ll admit, I saw the video, glanced at the caption, and gasped so hard I almost choked on thin air. To say I am excited would be an understatement. I try to get everyone I know to watch this show and even convinced our Editor-in-Chief Alexx to give it a go. Sadly, there is no word on when or where exactly season 3 will air outside the US. One might assume Disney+ in Canada and the UK, though there has been nothing official to say otherwise.

I don’t care, I am beyond happy and can’t wait for February-March now. Seth MacFarlane’s balance of serious drama aand light-hearted personal and comedy-focused episodes not only make it one of the best comfort shows, but season 2 was some of the best Star Trek since The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. If somehow you haven’t seen The Orville or you have friends who haven’t, do it or convince them. There is plenty of time to catch up between now and March 10th, there is no excuse to miss out on some wonderful sci-fi.