Seth Mcfarlane’s The Orville mashes together the classic Star Trek formula with his unique brand of humor to create a show that rides the line between a straight sci-fi drama and a goofball TV sitcom. With a creative team that includes Star Trek alumni and his crew from Family Guy, the show is neither and both at the same time. Adrianne Palicki (Cmdr. Kelly Grayson), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), and Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Alumn Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), discuss the relationships between their characters on the show.

SR: So, Gordon and John hit it off pretty quickly, will [we] get to see an episode where the two of them go off on an adventure together?

Scott Grimes: Yeah. I mean—well, we have mini adventures. I think there’s an episode coming up where we have a little, yeah. But again, next season—what we’re doing is seeing what the audience loves, and then the next season we’ll explore that we kind of have been briefly exploring this season.

SR: Dr. Finn voluntarily left a great assignment to join the Orville in order to help Captain Mercer with his first [officer]. Do you think having his ex-wife has first officer helps or hurts him?

Penny Johnson Jerald: Oh wow. Okay, I’m gonna answer as Dr. Finn, and then I’m gonna answer as Penny. I think that Dr. Finn want to make sure that, mentally, he’s equipped to be able to handle that. Because that can be something that can be quite disturbing, and take away from this leadership position that you have, so I think Dr. Finn is on the fence, and so she’s a watchful eye. Penny would say, “heck yeah!” That’s gonna up your game, because you’re not gonna make those mistakes that you probably made while you were in that relationship, I’m gonna blame it on the man this time. Cause she would’ve been doing the blue if he was doing the do.

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SR: Being Ed’s [Seth MacFarlane] ex-wife provides a wealth of material, do you see the relationship [being] rekindled over the course of the show, or would you rather the two characters don’t get back together?

Adrianne Palicki: I think that the fun is gonna come in “will they or won’t they?”. So, you know, who knows? They may get back together.

Scott Grimes: I think she should have an affair with somebody else on the ship.

Adrianne Palicki: Someone with red hair, perhaps?

Scott Grimes: I don’t know, that’s just my idea.

SR: Norm Macdonald’s character, Yaphit, seems to have a thing for you. Do you see it developing into a relationship, you do you wanna keep turning down his character?

Penny Johnson Jerald: Oh my goodness. You know, I live Tweet, and someone said, “give the goo the do, girl.” And I thought, “okay.” Well we will see during the thirteen episodes that you get, we’ll see some kind of relationship evolve, whether it’s good or whether it’s bad. But I have to say, playing opposite Norm is just—that voice alone, it gives me chills.

SR: If you had to do one mission with any one of your fellow crewmates, who would it be and why?

[They point at each other]

Scott Grimes: Why? Are you talking about Adrianne and Scott or Kelly and Gordon?

SR: Either way.

Adrianne Palicki: Well, Kelly and Gordon are pretty funny together. As dry as she is and as aloof as he is.

Scott Grimes: We’ve talked over this time that it would be great to have Kelly and Gordon be stranded somewhere and see how her intelligence and my ineptness get us out of that situation. That would be great.

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