Seth MacFarlane to Star in, Produce Live-Action Sci-Fi Series for Fox

“Family Guy” creator lands straight-to-series order for new futuristic dramedy in 2017-2018 Season

Seth MacFarlane, "Cosmos"
Chicago Tribune

Seth MacFarlane will star in and executive produce a new live-action sci-fi dramedy series for Fox, TheWrap has confirmed.

The untitled series is set 300 years in the future. It follows the adventures of the Orville, a not-so-top-of-the-line exploratory ship in Earth’s interstellar fleet.

The 13-episode, one-hour show has already landed a straight-to-series order under MacFarlane’s longstanding overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV. The pilot is currently scheduled to shoot later this year, with the rest of the episodes to be filmed in 2017.

“I’ve wanted to do something like this show ever since I was a kid, and the timing finally feels right,” MacFarlane said. “20th and Fox have been good to me for many years, and of course, Dana [Walden] and Gary [Newman] have been fantastic bosses and true pals, so it was a no-brainer to come to them with the project. I think this is gonna be something special.”

MacFarlane is best known for creating the hit Fox animated series “Family Guy,” on which he provides several voices.

Along with “Family Guy,” MacFarlane serves as co-creator, executive producer and voice actor on “American Dad!,” and he serves as an executive producer on Fox’s animated series “Bordertown.” MacFarlane is also an executive producer on the Starz comedy “Blunt Talk,” starring Patrick Stewart and written by Jonathan Ames. Additionally, he executive-produced the documentary series “Cosmos.”

He also created the popular film franchise “Ted,” in which he plays an foul-mouthed CGI teddy bear.

This will be his first live-action role in a TV series and his first live-action series.

MacFarlane has played live roles on film, including the 2014 comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” That film was critically panned, but it managed to make over $87 million at the box office on a reported $40 million budget.

The project will be produced by 20th Century Fox Television. MacFarlane wrote the pilot episode and serves as executive producer and creator of the series.

MacFarlane is represented by WME and Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein.

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