Seth MacFarlane offers mix of old and new on return of ‘The Orville’

After a successful first-season mission, Fox’s “The Orville” orbits back for Season 2 Sunday (7 p.m., following an NFL game).

With the possibility of a turbocharged ratings boost from NFL coverage that precedes it, series creator and star Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy,” “Ted”) plans to reintroduce the series to potential new fans and those who haven’t seen a new episode since last December.

“The first episode is a reacquaintance with the crew,” including his U.S.S. Orville character, Capt. Ed Mercer, he says. “We’ve been off the air for a little while” – a year, to be precise – “and hopefully by the end [viewers] will feel like [the show] never left.”

MacFarlane, a multitalented former Oscars host who produces, writes, acts and sings, chatted with USA Today about “The Orville” and other projects. But he declined to answer questions about sexual misconduct allegations aimed at Neil deGrasse Tyson, host of MacFarlane’s other space project, “Cosmos,” and whether that will affect the series.

Q. What can we look forward to in Season 2 of “The Orville,” besides the “first contact” with a previously unknown civilization and the return of an enemy race, The Krill?

A. People can expect to see a visual expansion, an expanded knowledge about the characters and their relationships and a show that’s been worth the wait. The budget is bigger for Season 2. We obviously have a first-rate visual-effects and costume and makeup team. All the money is on the screen. I think people will be shocked with the level of feature-quality cinematic work they’re going to see.

We’re part of this new, experimental program that creates a different balance between ad time and programming time, so the episodes are about seven or eight minutes longer than last year [which] allows you to let things breathe in a way that streaming shows are able to do. … That’s been a big boon for our storytelling process.”

Q.Is the tone similar to Season 1? A drama with comic overtones and character and relationship developments?

A. As with any show that walks a hybrid line, there’s a little bit of a learning curve. I think we settled into it early enough in the season that by [the finale] we had a show that was self-assured. We always look to “M*A*S*H” as the ultimate achievement in that regard, and even that was a show that took a minute to find its tonal footing. You can’t just be an hour-long jokefest. That works for a movie, but not for a television series where you want people to come back week after week and care what happens to these characters. … Going into this, I was not sure if viewers would insist everything be joke, joke, joke, joke. And it really wasn’t that. They were responding to the science fiction and the feedback I got was they wanted more of it.

Q. “Family Guy” recently honored Carrie Fisher, who died two years ago, with a Peter Griffin tribute to the character she voiced, brewery boss Angela. What was it like working with her?

A. I loved having [Carrie] come in. She was always so much fun, full of surprises. You never knew what she was going to say next. Above all, she was a vibrant, warm presence. We all miss her very much.

Q. As a former Oscars host, what do you think of the Kevin Hart controversy and his withdrawal from the assignment?

A. It’s a tough gig to fill these days. There’s a lot of eyeballs on it, so everybody is going to have an opinion. The interesting thing about the Oscars is it’s an easy thing to be angry with. All it requires you to do is look at the screen and be angry and tweet or blog, so it’s an an easy target in a lot of ways. There’s a reason people are saying no [to hosting], and it’s that there’s a lot of focus on it. … There’s a real push to try and update [the ceremony] and make it more dynamic and friendly to an audience that’s used to many different types of media. But at the same time, you are locked into this very classic format of the awards show.

Q. How are things proceeding on Showtime’s Roger Ailes miniseries, in which Russell Crowe portrays the former Fox News chief and you play his onetime lieutenant, Brian Lewis?

A. It’s going beautifully. I never met Roger Ailes, and I suppose in many ways I’m grateful about that. But watching Russell play this part is like being in the room with [Ailes]. You experience how it must have been. He’s such an extraordinary actor and he just transforms into this character. He’s got such a great take on the guy’s personality.

Q. As someone who has had a long working relationship with Fox News’ parent company and has criticized Fox News, was it weird being part of this project?

A. Yes and no. I have a very warm personal relationship with the company, and yet I’m very open and honest about my feelings about the news division. I think it’s incredibly destructive, and I don’t make any secret of that. But at the same time, I have good relationships with the people I work for. So, it’s a political balance that I suppose maybe we could maybe use more of in this country.

Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

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