Gizmodo have published an interesting interview with several of The Orville's production leadership focusing on its relation to Star Trek.

Including Seth MacFarlane though his contributions boil down to little more than thinking there's still room for The Orville among all of the new Star Trek series.

Executive Producer Jon Cassar had this to say:

I think also we don’t have the anchor of what Star Trek was that those other shows that have... from what I’ve read, and I have a lot of friends that work on the shows, it’s been difficult on them trying to live up to that standard, trying to keep that standard alive, trying to keep the canon alive. All of that. From our point of view, we’re who we are. We’re just The Orville. We get to sort of make up the rules ourselves and follow our own rules. So I think that’s a bit of an advantage for us.

Less can definitely be more.

Executive Producer Brannon Braga offered:

When the new incarnations of Star Trek came along, there had [already] been a thousand episodes. So [the current creators] have a lot to pay attention to, because the fans definitely know every detail of the show. So there is, I agree with Jon, a certain blank slate that’s been fun.

From our perspective, Discovery in particular explicitly trampled all over canon.

Their portrayal of both Klingons and Vulcans was wildly at odds with established history.

Also dentistry.

Even the main character of Michael was bizarre.

A fully human sister of Spock who he had never previously mentioned. 

Sure, Spock's not chatty but that kind of detail would be in service and medical records so Kirk and Bones would both know.

Even if Paramount's ultimate plan had always been to effectively exile Michael under a veil of absolute secrecy, it was incredibly conceited of them to think that fans would keep watching long enough to learn their "clever" explanation.

Not the first time the studio has made this mistake either.

Enterprise gave us uncharacteristically viperish Vulcans and some plot several seasons in to explain it, but how many fans were still watching by then?

Not watching anything is always an option - even when there isn't the perfect replacement like The Orville handily available.

The Orville: New Horizons will premiere on SBS on Demand on June 3 with new episodes releasing weekly.

Seasons one and two of The Orville are available now on SBS on Demand and also Disney+.

[ Main Image: The Orville - Old Wounds. Credit: Hulu via IMDb.com. ]

References

Eddy, Cheryl (May 26, 2022). The Orville's Seth MacFarlane on Those Star Trek Comparisons. Gizmodo.