The Orville Is Headed for San Diego Comic-Con 2019

The Orville has set course for San Diego Comic-Con. Disney Television today announced that The Orville will have a panel in Ballroom 20 on the Saturday of the convention. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. and will have the show's cast and creatives reflecting on season two and offering a sneak preview of season three. Here's the event description:

"From Emmy Award-winning executive producer and creator Seth MacFarlane, The Orville is back for season 3 and stopping in San Diego! Join the full crew of the U.S.S. Orville: Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Jessica Szohr, J Lee, Mark Jackson & Chad L. Coleman and Executive Producers David A. Goodman, Jon Cassar & Brannon Braga to get an exclusive look back at some of our favorite, never-before-seen moments of season 2 and a special sneak peek at the new and exciting missions in the upcoming third season! Ballroom 20."

The Orville is set 400 years in the future and follows the adventures of the USS Orville. The vessel is a mid-level exploratory spaceship with a crew of humans and aliens. Together they face the wonders and dangers found in outer space, as well as the more mundane issues that come with everyday life on a starship.

Seth MacFarlane created The Orville and stars as the ship's captain, Ed Mercer. The cast also includes Adrianne Palicki as Cmdr. Kelly Grayson, Ed's first officer as well as his ex-wife. Other cast members include Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, J Lee, Mark Jackson, Chad L. Coleman, and Jessica Szohr.

The Orville is now considered a contender for the Emmy Awards. MacFarlane has explained that the original plan for the show was to be more of a comedy. He now admits but that may have been a subconscious cover story to make the real show he wanted to create.

"When we began this, it was designed to be a little bit more of a hybrid, straddling the line pretty evenly between comedy and drama," MacFarlane said. "I have been a big sci-fi fan since I was a kid. I think secretly that was the show I wanted to do, but I figured there's no way in hell anyone would swallow that from me."

MacFarlane thinks going with the more serious tone for The Orville was the right decision. "With an hourlong show, in order to sustain it, you have to have real stakes," he said. "That was my fear at the beginning. If people aren't with us on that side of it, we're probably not going to last very long. But they were, so we really leaned into that."

Are you excited for a new season of The Orville? Let us know in the comments. The Orville returns for its third season in 2020.