Star Trek fans waited almost 20 years for The Next Generation after the original series ended in 1969. By comparison, The Orville faithful have only put up rookie numbers so far. It’s been over four years since we last saw the crew of the USS Orville. Seth MacFarlane originally began work on the series as an actual Star Trek pitch. CBS passed on the show about a working-class starship, only to develop Star Trek: Lower Decks years later. For his part, MacFarlane developed the series beyond the Federation and gave us a completely new IP that could stand on its own. The Orville has made fans wait before. The gap between Season 2 and 3 was just about three years, though Disney’s acquisition of Fox and Hulu caused some of those delays. After three seasons, the series has never been officially cancelled by Hulu, lingering in a hiatus/development limbo. A post on Reddit, though, has given fans a new reason to mark their calendars.
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The latest signs of life from the show are coming from a “small shop owner” on Reddit. The poster says their business recently received an order from The Orville‘s prop department and shared an image of the shipping information. According to the poster’s profile, it appears the user is the co-owner of a weapons customization shop called JTF Consulting. So a specialized order for a prop weapon wouldn’t be out of line. The order is labeled Orville Brad Props, with a delivery address for Orville S4. The address itself is for the Fox backlot in Century City, in the same offices the production team occupied during previous seasons. The shop owner claims they can’t reveal what was ordered, but also noted they didn’t sign an NDA when asked by commenters. The most important detail for fans counting the days until the return of Captain Mercer and company is that the prop is needed for an October shoot date.
Well my little shop had an interesting order come through.
byu/Retired_at_work inTheOrville
Timing is Everything, But Who is Brad?
Earlier this year, there were reports of an October production in both the US and Prague. Director Jon Cassar publicly pushed back on those details, but that doesn’t mean they were wrong. Much like securing a release date, productions have to compete for available space. In 2015, reports said studio space had been rented for Joseph Kosinski’s planned third Tronmovie before Disney shelved the project. Resources need to be secured in case the productions move forward. This mystery item could be a more definitive piece of evidence the show is about to come back. If production is getting underway in October, the first weeks of September would be the ideal time to order and fabricate objects needed for filming.
For fans of the show trying to figure out what exactly is being made for the show, there isn’t much to go on. The order is labeled as Orville Brad Props. It’s the Brad that catches our attention. The only major crew member with the name Brad is a Foley artist. Since JTF Consulting works exclusively in firearms, it’s not likely this is the Brad we’re looking for. Another amusing possibility is hiding in some Orvillecast history. Scott Grimes, chief pilot Lt. Gordon Malloy, famously played Brad Brown, defending his farmhouse from aliens in Critters. The name could be code for a prop meant for Grimes. If it is a code name, you’d think they would have come up with a name for the show itself, instead of referencing it twice on the order. Occam’s Razor tells us that the easiest explanation is often the most likely. One obvious explanation is that there may be a character named Brad in Season 4, and the poster has been commissioned to create a unique sidearm. Whatever “Brad” turns out to mean, the rest of the label is clear about the order being for the show.
When The Orville premiered, sci-fi fans were thrilled to have a positive, intelligent show to watch in the spirit of Gene Roddenberry. Star Trek fans felt like they had found lost seasons of a Next Gen spin-off. Seth MacFarlane has been clear about wanting to return. Season 4 has already been written. Now, a devoted audience has a new piece of evidence that their hope isn’t wasted. We still don’t have any official news that The Orville is leaving dry dock, but that doesn’t mean fans have to stop imagining what awaits on the next Orvillian voyage.
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