As we have previously reported, Seth MacFarlane’s upcoming sci-fi dramedy The Orville features a number of Star Trek vets and is inspired by Star Trek. In fact, MacFarlane has said that even though the show is being promoted emphasizing the comedy, The Orville will try to tell serious science fiction stories and have “more in common with Star Trek than Futurama.”

And now The Orville executive producer (and former Star Trek writer/producer) Brannon Braga is saying something similar, replying to a fan on Twitter who was talking about one of his favorite Star Trek: Voyager episodes (“Distant Origin“) describing at is “surprisingly relevant.” Braga replied saying he missed that kind of storytelling and noted “we will do that on The Orville.”

Distant Origin is such a good episode co-written by @BrannonBraga and Joe Menosky. And surprisingly relevant – "WE ARE NOT IMMIGRANTS." pic.twitter.com/fDzV6AeCiE — Alex Perry (@alexandertperry) July 6, 2017

This is the kind of storytelling I miss – and we will do on @TheOrville https://t.co/FterDD8bw8 — Brannon Braga (@BrannonBraga) July 7, 2017

MacFarlane, Braga and the cast all headed to SDCC

Today the Saturday schedule for San Diego Comic Con was posted including details for The Orville panel revealing all the major cast and crew will be there, including Trek vets Brannon Braga and David Goodman. Here is the full description:

From Emmy Award–winning executive producer and creator Seth MacFarlane with a pilot directed by Jon Favreau, The Orville is a one-hour science fiction comedic drama set 400 years in the future that follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Orville, a mid-level exploratory vessel. Come meet the whole crew—Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Scott Grimes, Penny Johnson Jerald, Peter Macon, Halston Sage, J. Lee, Mark Jackson, and Chad Coleman as well as producers David Goodman and Brannon Braga —and get an exclusive extended first look at FOX’s new fall show. The crew, both human and alien, will face the wonders and dangers of outer space, while also dealing with the familiar, often humorous problems of regular people in a workplace . . . even though some of those people are from other planets, and the workplace is a faster-than-light spaceship.

The Orville panel is on Saturday, July 22nd at 4:15 in Room 6A. TrekMovie will be there to provide full coverage.

Emmy winning composers and full orchestra

Previously we have reported that Seth MacFarlane is using actual models for some of the effects shots in The Orville, and apparently that isn’t the only area where he is going old-school. In a tweet earlier in the week he touted two of his composers saying: “Joel McNeely, Bruce Broughton, and a 75-piece orchestra– The Orville is gonna sound pretty good.”

Both composers mentioned by MacFarlane are Emmy winners; in fact Broughton has won nine Emmys and has been nominated for two Oscars. And using a full symphony-sized orchestra is something more common with feature films these days, but MacFarlane and Fox seem willing to dedicate resources for The Orville.



The Orville’s ‘Ten Forward’ revealed?

One last thing, last week Seth shared a tweet noting that “people still drink in the future” showing off a futuristic bar set along with what look very much like a couple of Star Trek-like replicators on the far wall. It wasn’t clear if this was from a scene off the ship but seeing as how MacFarlane seems to be trying to ‘get the Trek band back together’ for The Orville, having a bar on the U.S.S. Orville may be another nod to Star Trek: The Next Generation and Ten Forward on the U.S.S. Enterprise-D. All he’s missing is a cameo from Whoopi Goldberg.

Keep up with all The Orville news at TrekMovie.