‘The Orville’ Just Had Its First ‘Star Trek’ Cameo

The Orville creator Seth MacFarlane had promised fans that the show would feature some cameo appearances by actors from the Star Trek franchise, and he followed through on that promise with tonight’s episode.

SPOILERS for The Orville episode 10, “Firestorm,” follow.

In the episode “Firestorm,” Lt. Alara Kitan freezes in place when confronted by open flame en route to rescue a crew member trapped under a bulkhead in engineering. When the officer dies, she blames herself.

In an attempt to understand why she reacted to the fire the way she did, Alara calls her parents back home on Xeleya. She speaks with both her mother and her father, and her father is played by none other than Robert Picardo, one of the stars of Star Trek: Voyager.

Picardo played the fan-favorite Emergency Medical Hologram, also known as The Doctor, on Star Trek: Voyager. In addition to his Star Trek role, Picardo was also nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years, and appeared in another popular science fiction franchise, Stargate, as Richard Woolsey.

When ComicBook.com spoke to The Orville star Mark Jackson (Isaac) earlier in the season, we asked if he had a wishlist of Star Trek actors he’d like to share a scene with during an upcoming episode.

“Yes. And without giving too much away, I already have,” Jackson said. “So, I’m very happy about that and it’s very exciting, and we’re very privileged to have these fine actors working with us. There’s a few more I’d like to see, but if I said their names, then you’d know that they’re not in the season, so I won’t. I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise for you guys.”

Jackson will have plenty of time to try to get through his acting wish list, even with the first season of The Orville being cut short, since The Orville has already been renewed for a second season by Fox.

The Orville airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.