While it’s still a bit early for Fox to officially say whether or not they’ll be extending their stay on the U.S.S. Orville, the show’s creator, executive producer and star, Seth MacFarlane, had a few reassuring words to offer up on the show’s status at New York Comic Con.

On Friday night, The Orville’s panel saw cast members Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald and Scott Grimes and executive producers Brannon Braga and David A. Goodman joining thousands of fans at a packed Hammerstein Ballroom in the Manhattan Center. Although attendees were bummed that MacFarlane, who was originally set to appear, was unavailable to attend the panel in person, he called into the panel via Skype roughly halfway through to field some questions from audience members.

During his answer for one question about the size of the show’s universe, MacFarlane alluded to the idea that “next season” The Orville will dive deeper into Mark Jackson’s robot character Isaac. For the next audience question, a fan followed up on MacFarlane’s comment by jokingly asking “how many episodes have been ordered?”, despite the fact that a second season hasn’t been ordered yet.

The multi-talented performer honestly answered, “Let me put it this way – we’re very optimistic. We don’t have an official order yet but we’re confident… that based on the fan reaction and based on the numbers and the overall reaction, that… I’m exhaling for the first time since we started, let me put it that way.”

He also touched on how, moving forward, he has a general “blueprint” for where he wants to take the ship next but expressed that he’s also completely “open to spontaneity” and wants to see what direction the show naturally goes in without adhering too closely to a regimented path.