If you’ve been a bit bummed out by the dystopian storylines in film and television lately, you’re not alone — Seth MacFarlane readily agrees. That’s why he’s going out of his way to offer some hope.
Appearing on SiriusXM’s “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” podcast hosted by Ted Danson this week, the “Family Guy” creator explained that he created his show “The Orville” specifically as an antidote to some of the bleaker stories onscreen nowadays.
“That’s why I did that show,” MacFarlane explained on Wednesday. “Because when I was a kid, Hollywood was providing that voice in various forms. There was a lot of hope, and we’re doing a really — you know, some of the blame lies right here in this town.”
“Like, the dishes that we are serving up are so dystopian and so pessimistic and yeah, there’s a lot to be pessimistic about,” he continued. “But it’s so one-sided. There’s nothing we’re doing that’s providing anyone an image of hope.”
MacFarlane pointed to Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” as an example, though he was quick to note that he loves the show itself.
“It’s a great f–king show, beautifully written, beautifully directed, but it’s — there’s a lot more of that than there is of what we used to get from Captain Picard,” he lamented.
MacFarlane also called out shows like “The White Lotus” and “The Sopranos,” though once again pointing out that they’re excellent series, objectively. So, the writer and director called on fellow creatives to add more aspirational characters and stories to the mix.
“I think if we did a little bit of that in this town, even just a little bit, we actually, that’s the only thing, really, that Hollywood can do that’s worthwhile,” he said.
“What we do well is tell stories and we’re not doing the best job right now of telling those stories in a way that gives people hope,” MacFarlane concluded. “And I think that’s part of the problem. And that may be like an oversimplification of things, but I do think that’s — it’s incumbent upon us to take a good f–king hard look at that and see what we can do to change.”
