The Orville season 2 episode 1: Seth MacFarlane on series’ reintroduction

Come Sunday night on Fox, The Orville season 2 episode 1 will air — and it goes without saying that this is a cause for great celebration! This is a chance to actually dive in and enjoy some fantastic science fiction that is funny at times, heartfelt at others, and overall imaginative. It’s also got more of a chance to be its own thing this season — the show knows what it is in a way that it certainly did not before, and there is a certain degree of excitement that is going to come from watching this story play out.

With all of that said, is it possible for new viewers to jump in with the premiere and actually understand what’s going on? While it certainly seems like having an understanding of season 7 helps, it does also feel as though Seth MacFarlane wants as many people as possible to be on board watching the show even if they haven’t seen an episode before.

Speaking via USA Today, the star / executive producer notes that “the first episode is a re-acquaintance with the crew … We’ve been off the air for a little while, and hopefully by the end [the audience] will feel like [we] never left.” Ultimately, there will be some information as to who everyone aboard the ship is and what some of their goals are moving forward.

In general, though, a big part of what makes this show interesting is how much is being left to the imagination entering it. Fox has been rather careful in terms of the amount of information that they’ve put out there in advance, mostly because there’s a clear emphasis on trying to tell stories that are unexpected and will keep viewers on their toes a little bit. It’s harder to do that when the majority of viewers out there have a reasonably good sense as to what’s coming.

Beyond all of this, we do think that MacFarlane is out to replicate, at least to some extent, the feeling of joy and wonder that diehard Star Trek fans had earlier on in that show’s run being able to watch stories play out without knowing where they are going to go. Each episode, in that way, feels very much like its own movie with a defined beginning, middle, and end. It’s an ambitious goal, but the first season gives us hope that The Orville can make it there.

Related News – Be sure to score some other information right now regarding the new season, including a video behind the scenes

What do you think is going to be the best part of The Orville season 2 as we start to circle the show’s return to the air? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments. (Photo: Fox.)