Adrianne Palicki first drew attention as one of the stars of Friday Night Lights, a beloved but low-rated football drama. Since then, she’s worked steadily, most recently as one of the stars of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Currently, Palicki’s starring in friend Seth McFarlane’s passion project, The Orville, a Fox series that serves as a tribute to MacFarlane’s favorite sci-fi show.But The Orville isn’t just a Star Trek send-up. Over the course of half a season, MacFarlane and the cast have been able to give us some surprisingly nuanced storytelling that lives right alongside the kind of slapstick, sh*t-taking comedy you’d expect. We chatted with Palicki about doing comedy with a seasoned pro like MacFarlane, sex scenes with Rob Lowe, and that one storyline from Friday Night Lights we still can’t get over. Thank you for making a sci-fi show set in space that doesn’t involve any armageddon nonsense. Right? Isn’t it nice to have a good optimistic feeling when you’re [watching this]. Especially since I’m worrying about the world ending in real life all the time right now, so I don’t want to see that on TV. It’s coming, it feels like it’s coming. You’ve been friends with Seth MacFarlane for a long time. What was his pitch to you for this show? Secretly I’m hoping it was just that first scene when we meet Kelly and she’s getting it on with a blue alien played by Rob Lowe. Yeah, that’s actually what sold me on the whole thing. I’m not kidding. First of all, I was rolling, but also I’m like, “How does she come back from this?” And to play that character and to take on that challenge, was why I wanted to do this. The show has really evolved from the pilot. I read a few of the scripts before we started shooting the pilot, and the pilot is like every show. It’s a way to introduce people and characters and the idea, but it’s not going to be what the show is usually. I think now that we have the time and space and people really, really love these characters, thank God, [Seth’s] able to delve into every specific character.

Were there any nerves in taking on a comedy and knowing you were going act opposite someone like Seth, who’s really experienced in this realm? The nice thing about Seth, and the fact that he is such a good friend, it was like I’m going into this with a partner. That trust was already there, and I know he felt the same way with me with the dramatic aspect of things, which was new to him. So it was like we went in with this very clear partnership, and I think that’s what is on screen, that’s what you can see. It was a very trusting environment. What’s the response been from the sci-fi fans, because they can be a very intense, very passionate group of people, especially when it comes to shows that borrow from Star Trek? It is the most important thing, but there’s also this level of trust where Seth’s concerned, because this was his baby. His dream was to make a show like this since he was five. The support that we’ve been getting is massive, and lovely, and beautiful, because having been in the genre world for a very long time, it’s so important to have those fans. It’s so important because nothing will work without them. Talking about the trust with you and Seth, there’s a lot of great back and forth between your character, Kelly Grayson, and his character, Captain Ed Mercer. Where will their relationship go in the second half of the season? Here’s the thing, it’s the Ross and Rachel … Just in space. It’s the Lois and Clark, it’s the thing that will go on for as long as it can, the will-they-won’t-they. And they’ll have maybe moments where they get together, they might have moments when they don’t. It’s that really interesting line that I know Seth is trying to balance in the writing, because you can’t go too far too soon.