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By TeeJay Small
| Published
In 2026, Star Trek is a franchise that dates back over 60 years, spanning dozens of films, television series, and novelizations. Fans of the series who grew up in the late 20th century had the luxury of catching the wave when there was still a realistic chance to see everything, but modern audiences lack that opportunity. These days, it can be quite daunting for new fans to break into the franchise, not knowing if they should dive right in with the latest season of Strange New Worldsor strap in for a prolonged binge of The Original Series.
If you’re not sure where to begin, there’s a helpful alternative on Hulu that might be a little less daunting. The series in question, The Orvilleis a total Star Trek clone with only three seasons of material, which you can use as a litmus test to see if The Original Series or The Next Generation is right for you. Star Trek purists may balk at the idea of using the comedic sci-fi show as a jumping off point, but some say that The Orville captures the spirit of the franchise better than most of the newer entrants you’ll find on Paramount+.
More Star Trek Than Star Trek
For those not in the know, The Orville was created by animation legend Seth MacFarlane. MacFarlane also stars in the program, alongside Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Peter Macon, J. Lee, and American Dad‘s Scott Grimes. Legendary performers including Norm Macdonald, Chad L. Coleman, and Ted Danson round out the cast in bit parts. Rumor has it, the series was originally pitched as an official Star Trek show, but executives at Fox greenlit the series as an independent venture instead.
To say that The Orville is inspired by Star Trek is a massive understatement. For all intents and purposes, the show is Star Trek without all the in-universe baggage and continuity. Creatures known as Moclans, Krill, and Kaylon are obvious stand-ins for Klingon, Romulans, and Borgs, and Seth MacFarlane spends much of the first season doing a James T. Kirk impression to mixed results. In any other show, these similarities might feel like a tepid ripoff, but The Orville manages to wear its influences on its sleeve while bringing some bold new ideas to the table.
Each episode of The Orville centers on the space-faring team aboard the eponymous space shuttle as they investigate new worlds, grapple with alien antagonists, and navigate complex cultural barriers between different alien species. Occasionally some Family Guy style humor rears its head, but it never feels completely out of place, or undercuts the severity of the main plot. Over three seasons, the series continually gets better and better, culminating in a stunning batch of episodes titled New Horizons.
Whether you’re interested in getting into Star Trek and don’t know where to begin, or you’re just looking to scratch that Trekkie itch while you wait for new installments of Strange New Worlds, The Orville is a great unofficial companion series. It carries the heart and soul of the franchise, without getting bogged down in decades of existing material.
The Orville is streaming on Hulu.
