The Orville season 2 finale ratings rise; do season 3 prospects rise as well?

For those of you looking for any sort of good news when it comes to The Orville season 2 and its ratings, we have a small sliver to deliver! This may not guarantee a season 3, but it does at least give us a feeling that season 2 is ending in a satisfying way, not only with a great season finale but with a rise in the ratings!

Before we dive into the ratings, here’s a quick reminder to check out our video discussion all about season 3 below! Subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for some more updates, and also view our official Orville playlist for more discussion, including our full take on the season 2 finale.

Overall, Thursday night’s “The Road Not Taken” ended up generating a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic — that’s not a significant improvement from the past few episodes, but it does at least mark the best total performance for the Fox series since the February 28 installment. Given that this was also an episode airing opposite the NFL Draft (yes, there is an enthusiastic audience for people to sit around and discuss players being chosen, something that you can easily just read about later), you have to give the show even further credit. The Orville performed better than all of NBC’s comedies save for Superstore and was stronger than finales for Supernatural and Gotham. It also tied new episodes of Law & Order: SVU and SWAT. When you consider all of this, we do think that it paints a hopeful case for a season 3 renewal.

If nothing else, this should prove further that The Orville fans are among the most passionate group out there. We know that the numbers this season are down 40% versus season 1 — while that looks awful, also remember that the season 1 averages for The Orville were heavily front-loaded by airings after NFL games. This is one of those crummy cases where in which if the show was as strong from the start as it is now, it would probably be consistently pulling in better numbers.

Now, the ball is officially in the court of some Fox executives, ones who have definitely had their hands full determining the fates of a number of other shows while also dealing with all of the aftereffects of many other properties merging with Disney. That corporate change has muddied the waters a little bit since it’s hard to accurately predict what the current leadership is looking to prioritize — is it quality, or just getting shows on the air that are cheap to make and draw reasonably good ratings? The Orville is beloved, but it also carries a price tag and a lot of post-production time in order to perfect.

For some other news regarding The Orville…

Be sure to head over here if you want to read our full review for last night’s finale!

What do you think about The Orville and its season 2 finale ratings at Fox? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and remember to check back soon for some additional news. (Photo: Fox.)