The Orville Season Two - Thoughts?

Aeson · Mar 29, 2019

March Madness, spring break, baseball season starting. Most likely March Madness.

CapnZapp · Mar 29, 2019

Legatus_Legionis said:
Damn, I heard the next two weeks will be a re-run of the previous two part episodes.

Thanks for the heads-up!

CapnZapp · Mar 29, 2019

Apparently there's a (rather specific :uhoh:

) site called "CancelledSciFi dot com" which predicts Orville might be axed because of Disney's buyout of Fox.

Umbran · Mar 29, 2019

CapnZapp said:
Apparently there's a (rather specific ) site called "CancelledSciFi dot com" which predicts Orville might be axed because of Disney's buyout of Fox.

If it gets axed, it isn't, "because of the buyout". It'll be because while its ratings were good for the network in the first season, they're much more like average this time around.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/single-parents-orville-tvs-average-rated-shows-1189209

CapnZapp · Mar 29, 2019

Umbran said:
If it gets axed, it isn't, "because of the buyout". It'll be because while its ratings were good for the network in the first season, they're much more like average this time around.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/single-parents-orville-tvs-average-rated-shows-1189209

If you say so.

(Please note: I have no affiliation with the site and I am definitely not an expert on American TV exec decision-making!)

But to be honest, S2 HAS been "much more like average". That edge that set Orville off (from just being much like yet another season of TNG) has been sandpapered down quite a bit. I guess that's what happens when you listen more to the critics (that hated S1) than the viewers (which were quite happy). :-/

Dannyalcatraz · Mar 29, 2019

If it gets axed, it’s not an either or situation. Both could be factors....and neither might be the biggest factor. Imagine, for instance, if unpublicized but very credible allegations reached upper management that Seth McFarlane had done some things that would be scandalous to the general public. Or if, for some reason, costs were spiraling out of control.

lowkey13 · Mar 29, 2019

*Deleted by user*

Umbran · Mar 29, 2019

CapnZapp said:
But to be honest, S2 HAS been "much more like average". That edge that set Orville off (from just being much like yet another season of TNG) has been sandpapered down quite a bit. I guess that's what happens when you listen more to the critics (that hated S1) than the viewers (which were quite happy). :-/

That narrative would hold if it had been a slow erosion over time, with Season 2 opening with Season 1 ratings, and folks dropping off as they realized the "edginess" was gone.

But that's not supported by the data. Season 2 opened with a 33% drop in overall viewership, and 44% drop in the key 18-49 demographic, from its season 1 premier. That means a third of the viewers who watched the Season 1 premier didn't even try Season 2. Season 2's lack of edge can't be blamed for their drop off if they didn't try it.

Another bunch dropped off after the season 2 premier, without going on to Episode 2 of season 2. You'd have to argue that the first episode was *SO INCREDIBLY* indicative of lack of edge, that folks didn't come back for a second episode.

From there, the ratings have been pretty constant, minor ups and downs, resulting in an overall net slow *rise* in viewership after that initial drop at the start of the season.

A narrative that fits this data better is:

Season 1 has a whole lot of buzz. There's lots of curiosity. Viewers of all types flock in - some like Mac Farlane, others like Trek, others are just curios about buzz, and so on. Lots of folks are willing to give a show one season to prove itself...

But a lot of them didn't come back. Some did come back. They saw the premier, and about half of those said, "Yeah, I guess it was like I remembered from last season. Bleah! I'm not going to keep watching," and left after this season's premier.

What's left is actually the core audience.

Ryujin · Mar 29, 2019

lowkey13 said:
(As a side note- Disney also got the FX networks and Fox Television animation . yes, the House of Mouse owns pretty much everything from Buffy to Boba Fett).

Making both Klinger from MASH and Cordelia Chase Disney Princesses.

Fox is very intolerant of "OK" and "Good." If they don't get "Spectacular", they bring down the cancellation hammer. Hopefully this doesn't happen to "The Orville."