Seth MacFarlane: 'The Orville filled Star Trek void'
Comparisons have been drawn between Seth MacFarlane's The Orville and Star Trek: Discovery, but MacFarlane believes that his show fills the "void" left behind by classic Star Trek.
Speaking to Digital Spy, the creator and star of The Orville said that he was heavily inspired by the themes and direction of classic Star Trek – aspects which he feels haven't been replicated much since then.
"I kind of miss the forward-thinking, aspirational, optimistic place in science fiction that Star Trek used to occupy," he said.
Related: How to watch The Orville in the UK – what time is it on TV?
"I think they've chosen to go in a different direction which has worked very well for them in recent years, but what has happened is that it's left open a space that has been relatively unoccupied for a while in the genre.
"In the same way that when James Bond kind of moved into a different area than classic James Bond, Iron Man came along and sort of filled that void.
"So for me, it's a space that's kind of waiting to be filled in this day and age when we're getting a lot of dystopian science fiction, a lot of which is great and very entertaining, but it can't all be The Hunger Games."
MacFarlane added: "It can't all be the nightmare scenario.
"I think there's some space for the aspirational blueprint of what we could do if we get our shit together, and that's something that's been missing for me for a while.
"And again, it's something that meant a lot to me when I was a kid, that Star Trek did, and this is sort of an attempt to kind of fill that void in the genre."
MacFarlane also discussed the show's tone, explaining that the fact episodes are one hour long informs the approach he and the writers take.
"If this were a half-hour, it would be cut and dry what this is," he said. "Because we're an hour-long show, the story has to come first. And it can't just be gag, gag, gag, gag, gag. There has to be some reality to where the comedy comes from.
"And if you break down where the jokes come from and how they are laid out, you'll notice that there really isn't anything that exists in the Spaceballs or Family Guy realm.
"It's all things that come out of who the characters are or that adhere to the reality of a science fiction world.
"We really do see it as a sci-fi, comedic drama in that we allow ourselves room for levity in ways that a traditional hour-long sci-fi show doesn't. We're trying to break some new ground here. And whether we've succeeded is obviously up to the viewers."
The Orville airs on FOX UK on Thursdays at 9pm.
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