The Orville season 3 renewal hopes: What Fox should be considering
In a post on Twitter, Seth MacFarlane insisted that having Isaac be a part of the deceptive, murderous Kaylon race was in the works from the beginning. Maybe that makes it all the more reason to scream our shared pain into the heavens. Isaac, a character that we love so much, is evil! Or … is he evil? In the video at the bottom of this article (subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for more insight — and also check out our full The Orville playlist), we detail our theory that Isaac was somehow rebooted with evil intentions, and that somehow, there is a more benevolent version of him creeping underneath the surface.
Regardless of how the epic “Identity” arc ends (the next episode is coming your way next Thursday and you can preview it here), the same conclusion can be drawn: This show desperately needs a season 3. We yearn for it, the cast and crew deserve it, and there are even some shreds of evidence that it could be lucrative — take, for example, a tax credit that was already issued out. If there is a way for a network to both keep a great show and also drive decent profits, they’re almost certainly going to do that. There’s also another important factor here: Fox not wanting a new generation of sci-fi fans furious. They’ve been there, done that with Syfy.
“Identity: Pt 1” last night drew a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic — the most important rating measurement for a show like this. The Orville doesn’t run a lot of commercials, and that makes funding the ones they have all the more important. It’s been reasonably steady — it’s averaged this same demo and just over three million viewers since it made its time-period premiere. That at least tells Fox what they’re going to get in continuing to keep the show on the air.
Stability is one reason to bring the series back. What are some others?
1. Quality – Technically, Fox wouldn’t care less what the reviews were if the show was generating 2.5 ratings like The Masked Singer. Yet, doesn’t it still matter that this is quite possibly one of TV’s most-underrated shows? Don’t they value that they have a gem on their hands, one that gets better with almost every passing week? We do think quality matters from this standpoint: It ensures that there will be viewers moving forward and that more people will get on board as word spreads of how good this show is.
2. DVR numbers – Not everyone wants to plop down on the sofa and watch a show live anymore. This has been the case for a while. Viewers of The Orville are tech-savvy — not so much that they’ve got their own personal Isaac (back when he was good mind you), but they know how to watch on other devices when it is convenient for them. They don’t really fall in line with archaic TV measurements.
3. What else does Fox really have? – Think about it. Gotham is ending, The Gifted is almost for-sure done, and Lethal Weapon is both super-polarizing and also on the bubble. Proven Innocent looks dead on arrival, the future of The Passage is unclear, and even Empire, the network’s signature scripted hit, is venturing into uncharted waters due to factors completely unrelated to the show itself. They need stability with their programming … and to not tick off the viewers that they have.
While it remains to be seen if The Orville actually gets another season, make no mistake it deserves one.
If you’re reading this article, we imagine you share our sentiment — but we want to hear from you regardless! (Photo: Fox.)