You’d be hard-pressed right now to find a better original science fiction series than The Orville: New Horizons. Season three is truly firing on all cylinders. The writing’s outstanding, the cast is nailing it, and can we talk about that Dolly Parton cameo? How incredible was that?
The Orville: New Horizons cast and producers hit the stage at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con to discuss season three, now airing on Hulu. They also took part in roundtable interviews in support of what I consider to be the show’s best season yet.
During our roundtable, executive producer Brannon Braga and editor/co-producer Tom Costantino credited series creator/star Seth MacFarlane with securing the Dolly Parton cameo. “The Dolly Parton references began fairly early. We really took a gamble by writing her into the actual story without fully knowing whether she would do it,” explained Braga. “It’s definitely a little bit of a YOLO,” added Costantino.
“Seth worked his magic and she did it, which could not have been [better]. The hard part was keeping it a secret. We wanted it to be a surprise. And COVID helped us there because we shipped the set to Tennessee to film it with a skeleton crew. So, it actually helped that it was filmed in isolation. Word didn’t get out,” said Braga.
Costantino added: “Most of the crew on Dolly’s side was Dolly’s studio crew. And they were the nicest people ever. But, yeah, I think it was one of those things with a lot of wishful thinking and the sheer will of Seth.”
“It turns out she likes science fiction! Makes you love her even more,” said Braga.
One of the benefits of moving from Fox, where seasons one and two aired, to Hulu is that the episodes aren’t limited to 43 minutes.
“I think what you’re seeing in the move to Hulu and the New Horizons of it all is really about the ability to do the stories, to take the time they need to take. And the reward of that is that you can find yourself crying when you watch an episode. I think that’s the cumulative effect of all the changes that have been done,” explained Braga. “It’s an investment in the characters and it’s a testament to the writing and the editing and the acting – all of it. But I do believe that Seth’s genius move to get the stories more breadth and depth has resulted in very powerful emotional moments we might not have gotten in a 43-minute running time.”
I feel like The Orville has really hit its stride this season. Did it feel that way to you?
Penny Johnson Jerald: “Oh wow, that’s a good observation. However, I just beg to differ a little bit because I think that season one, we delivered what it is we were going to deliver in season one, which was real stories sprinkled with comedy. And with season two, we started to see the dramedy, truly the dramedy. And season three, I call it the tripod of The Orville, which is now you’re seeing the adventure, you’re seeing the dramedy, and there are some funny moments.
And so, I think that there are three separate things, but in the third season it’s able to encompass everything on a level that is palatable. Palatable meaning that you really want to take it in because it matters and the subject matters matter.”
Mark Jackson: “And what I love about it is the comedy…we are always asked about the comedy and the content of the show. It started off a lot more humorous, I’d say, which is a fair enough observation but the great thing about this season is that you’ll have beautiful drama which is undercut now and again with a bit of classic Seth MacFarlane comedy. And it’s observational and it’s that slightly biting East Coast undermining kind of sense of humor, which I really like, and I think the fans really enjoy.
It’s refreshing. You know, it’s the sprinkle of lemon juice on your pancake. You need it. [Pointing at Anne Winters] Well, you don’t. You don’t like anything on your pancakes. But you need it. It’s balance.”
Anne Winters: “I’m just happy to be here this third season so…”
You’re shaking things up a little.
Anne Winters: “Yes. Yes, luckily. I come in hot, but I hope the audience sees her journey, which I think people are starting to see. There are a couple more episodes of the season so I’m hoping that there’s still a bit more room for everyone to change their opinions.
People are like, ‘Oh, she’s just a hater,’ you know? I love what you said – love and hate are kind of the same emotions. She definitely has something that she’s holding onto, but I think that they have a great relationship. And at the end of the day, she kind of, you know, changes a little.”
Mark Jackson: “I was doing a roaring trade in Charly Burke dartboards. I don’t know if you’ve seen them. I’ve got one ordered as well.”
Anne Winters: “I’d order one.”
Charly came in with a lot of rage. Was it a questionable decision to be on board the same ship as Isaac? Why did she make that choice?
Anne Winters: “I think it was her only option, it seems like. I mean, all the other ships pretty much burst into flames. I don’t think she really had the choice.
It probably is her first time working on the Orville, and the Orville – and just the show in general – is just a very encompassing ship of multiple different worlds and everything, and that may not be every single U.S. ship. Just like maybe not every single state has the same laws…random things like that. So, I think it was her first kind of experience on such an open-minded ship and that’s why she ends up changing her mind and seeing different perspectives throughout her stay on the Orville.”
Charly’s role is to remind the audience that what Isaac did was heinous. There are consequences, and that seems to be a theme this whole season.
Mark Jackson: “I think you’re absolutely right, yes. Yes. You know, it was so important to address right at the beginning of the season what had happened and the role that Isaac had played in that and how that can’t be brushed under the carpet. And what I find is really interesting is when Gordon later on in the season comes to [Charly] and says, ‘Well, listen, I kind of feel the same.’”
Penny Johnson Jerald: “I think it’s art imitating life imitating art.”
Anne Winters: “It was also having a new character coming in because I feel like everyone on the Orville and those bonds that you guys already had, it wouldn’t really make sense for someone to genuinely hate Isaac with the bond that everyone has.”
Penny Johnson Jerald: “I don’t think she hates him. I never thought that she hated Isaac.”
Anne Winters: “That I did?”
Penny Johnson Jerald: “No. I got that your word was more correct – rage. Because rage, there’s a reason for rage and you show that in the character.”
Anne Winters: “I understand what you’re saying.”
Penny Johnson Jerald: “Rage is something that is real. Hate – you could just put that on somebody.”
Anne Winters: “I understand. A lot of people say the hate word, but as an actor obviously I’m not like, ‘I just hate Isaac.’ There’s other things but in a simpler form. I mean, hate is kind of…”
Penny Johnson Jerald: “Hate is strong.”
Anne Winters: “But I like rage. If I could correct something, I would correct people to say rage.”
Penny Johnson Jerald: “Because they get enraged and you were raged. But when I see it – because I do read it – and when they say that Charly’s hateful and all that… No, I never saw her that. She had a reason.”
Anne Winters: “Passionately rageful.”
On the topic of emotions, obviously this season there are a lot more emotions from Isaac in a couple of different scenes. How did that affect you on the set filming those scenes? Was it jarring?
Mark Jackson: “Well, that only happened in that one scene where he did have the emotion chip. We knew it was coming and we talked about it beforehand.”
Penny Johnson Jerald: “What we talked about was the fact that it was new. It wasn’t just new for Isaac; it was new for Claire, too. So, we talked about being kids like that.”
Mark Jackson: “Teenagers, I think it was that kind of thing.”
Penny Johnson Jerald: “We wanted to explore something for the first time. That’s what emotions are. When your kid discovers they’ve got toes and it tickles when they touch them, it’s something like that.”
Mark Jackson: “Yeah, but we did have to talk about it first. So, we kind of went to the set understanding each other.”
I love Bortus and Klyden’s relationship so much. How much fun has it been to play this evolution in your characters’ relationship?
Chad L. Coleman: “The chemistry was always there. Both of us are trained classical actors who are just batshit crazy.”
Peter Macon: “And it’s like, ‘You’re my kind of crazy so let’s go. Are we going to have a food fight today? Let’s do it! Are we going to smoke some cigarettes? Let’s do it! Let’s go.’ Whatever it is.
There’s a level of trust and understanding, and it really is a dance. It’s like we take care of each other. Somebody asked me a long time ago, we both grew up in the theatre and someone asked me a long time ago – or someone told me a long time ago, ‘If you ever want to know if you have a good show, ask your scene partner how the show went.’ And I check in with him, like, ‘Was that good?’ We just ask questions about each other. We just get in there, we do it, and I miss it when we don’t get to do it. It’s so easy. It’s easy.”
Chad L. Coleman: “Yeah, we got some…what do you call it? We don’t need words. We could look at each other. We can go places because we just get it.”
Peter Macon: “And the stuff that we are asked to do is, okay, not your typical day at work. But the fact that whatever we get thrown at us we handle it together in conflict, right? So, that’s the execution of great writing with great practitioners. You have great writing, and you have the personnel to handle the score, as it were.”
Chad L. Coleman: “It creates a different level of anticipation. Like, I love not knowing. We get in there and we just gotta go.”
Peter Macon: “We are going to get in there and surprise each other and take care of each other and go for it 100% until they yell, ‘Cut!’ And we’re like, ‘Let’s go again. Let’s see what we can get this time.’ That’s the kind of juice, that’s the kind of workplace I love to be in.”
Chad L. Coleman: That’s why I’m able to watch it and lose myself in it because we are so committed.”
Peter Macon: “I forget what we did and I’m like, ‘Oh, that was that take we did, and they cut this together.’ I almost watch it as a fan because we do six, seven, eight, nine takes or whatever and you don’t know, you don’t remember it was months ago, but you know that whatever they chose you can trust the editor. And I get to watch it like, ‘Which one is it?’ They put this together. I’m watching it not as, ‘Oh, I can’t – I can’t look.’ It’s exciting and it’s brand new.”
Chad L. Coleman: “That scene we did – the dinner scene – and then we had the conflict after. I forgot that was so charged.”
You guys have had an incredible storyline this season.
Chad L. Coleman: “They served us up some really juicy stuff.”
Peter Macon: “Great writing and also, I feel like not necessarily a book end but like how we were presented and set up. Our relationship throughout all of season one, season two, season three, and now it’s culminating in this way. And it’s relatable in the sense that anybody who’s in a long-term relationship, like parents, that you go through the trials and tribulations and all these tests of conflict, and tests that challenge your relationship, and it’s so great to play that and be in there.”
Chad L. Coleman: “People care because we care. They care because we care. It matters to us. We know what’s on the table. We know what we didn’t sidestep. We are taking on stuff that many people…it’s polarizing for people, it’s frustrating, and people don’t know how to have the conversations about things. And Seth’s writing – and all the other things as well – just go at it in such a 360 way.”
Peter Macon: “I know that I haven’t seen this last episode because we’ve been on the road; I haven’t seen it because we’ve been traveling for days.”
Chad L. Coleman: “He’s in a traveling band.”
Peter Macon: “Yeah, there’s a harmonica. There’s like a jug. [Laughing] But, yeah, I remember shooting this last episode when I’m like screaming and calling out trying to find Topa. And I have two small boys and I’m getting a little choked up right now, but I remember when we were shooting that I broke. I just dropped to my knees because I’m imagining screaming out, trying to find my child.
This is the writing that got served up to me and I feel so grateful to sort of compartmentalize and organize that ethos of understanding what it means to be a parent and bring that to [this] – not that it was like a therapy thing. But it surprised me because we were shooting and shooting and I’m screaming for Topa and then I just ran off in the woods. I just dropped to my knees and I was sobbing and crying because I was thinking about what that would be. And so, when you have this relationship with someone, you make that real.”
Chad L. Coleman: “Our kids play together.”
Peter Macon: “Yeah, we are parents. Our kids come over and they hang out. And that’s such a gift because that’s not every day. It’s just wonderful, man. [To Chad] I love working with you.”
Chad L. Coleman: “Me too.”
This season seems to be a lot about consequences. What other consequences are left for Bortus and Klyden?
Chad L. Coleman: “I’m curious. I haven’t completely mulled that over. Now is when I’m starting to go, ‘Okay season four, where are we going to go with this thing now?’”
Do you think there are still lingering issues from season three to be addressed in season four?
Chad L. Coleman: “Well, I feel like it’s a complicated fence-mending deal. We’re trying, so I don’t know for sure. Something that was teased with you and Adrianne…”
Peter Macon: “Why are you looking at me like that? I see the way you are looking at me. You’re looking at me like a cheating husband!”
Chad L. Coleman: “You cheated in the simulator. I don’t know.”
Peter Macon: “You’re looking at me like a cheater. I didn’t write it!”
Chad L. Coleman: “But wouldn’t that be the ultimate betrayal? The one that I couldn’t stand the least and then we bridged the gap and invite her in, back into my home.”
Peter Macon: “Okay, okay, I’m guilty before I haven’t done anything. I’m just saying! But on a macrocosmic level I feel like where we level off, again, I haven’t seen this episode, but I know what happens but macrocosmically if like the Union – the Planetary Union – I feel like the notion or the identity of the Planetary Union is in question. You can go for two, 10 seasons. Five seasons.”
Chad L. Coleman: “He’s absolutely right. We denounced our citizenship to our home. What are the consequences of that?”
Peter Macon: “Just like Isaac has done. So, it’s like, ‘Well, is the Planetary Union a good thing where everybody has to turn their back on their own planet?’ I don’t know. I’m just saying can we all get along?”
