THE ORVILLE - ROBERT KNEPPER - Personally Signed Autograph Card - Rittenhouse 2018

Robert Lyle Knepper (born July 8, 1959) is an American actor best known for his role as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in the Fox drama series Prison Break (2005–2009, 2017), Samuel Sullivan in the final season of the NBC series Heroes (2009–2010), Angus McDonough in The CW series iZombie (2015–2018) and Rodney Mitchum in Showtime's revival of Twin Peaks (2017). He has also appeared in films such as Hitman (2007) and Transporter 3 (2008).

Early life

Knepper was born in Fremont, Ohio, and raised in Maumee, Ohio, the son of Pat Deck and Donald Knepper, a veterinarian. He was interested in acting from an early age, due to his mother's involvement as a props-handler at a community theater, and after graduating from Maumee High School in 1977, he attended Northwestern University. During this time, Knepper also obtained professional roles in plays in Chicago. Nearing the completion of his degree, Knepper quit Northwestern and went to New York City, where he continued to work in theater.

Career

Although Knepper never intended to work in film and television projects, he began his television and film career in 1986 with The Paper Chase and That's Life!. Knepper went on to have larger roles in such films as Wild Thing, Young Guns II, When the Bough Breaks and Everyone Says I Love You. He made appearances on such television series as The Twilight Zone, Star Trek: The Next Generation, ER and Law & Order. In 2005, after a recurring role on the HBO series Carnivàle, Knepper was cast in his best-known role, as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in Prison Break. The series received positive reviews upon release, and "T-Bag" is often considered to be one of the greatest television villains of all time. During his time on Prison Break, Knepper also starred in a number of films; Good Night, and Good Luck, Hitman, Transporter 3 and The Day the Earth Stood Still.

After Prison Break ended in 2009, Knepper was cast as villain Samuel Sullivan in the fourth and final season of Heroes. After this, he went on to have a recurring role in Stargate Universe in 2010. He guest-starred on season six of Criminal Minds as Rhett Walden, a serial killer. The same year he played the titular character in the film adaptation of Burning Daylight.

In addition, Knepper appeared as Honolulu Police Internal Affairs detective Rex Coughlin in two episodes of Hawaii Five-O.

In 2011, he reprised his role of T-Bag in one episode of the A&E series Breakout Kings. The next year he played Frank Sinatra in My Way, a biopic of Claude François, a French pop singer who wrote the song "Comme d'habitude", the original version of Sinatra's song "My Way".

Knepper was cast in the 2013 television series Cult as Roger Reeves, an actor playing Billy Grimm on a show called Cult. The show was canceled after only one season. The same year, he appeared in R.I.P.D., Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and guest starred on the television series The Blacklist (episode: "The Courier"). At the end of 2013, the TNT series Mob City premiered, in which Knepper played gangster Sid Rothman. In 2014, Knepper guest starred in episodes of Arrow and The Flash as master hacker and time-and-motion study expert William Tockman / Clock King.

Since 2015, Knepper has had a recurring role on iZombie as Angus McDonough, the estranged and abusive father of Blaine DeBeers (David Anders). It was announced in July 2017 that Knepper would be promoted to the show's main cast for season 4.

Knepper was cast in the reboot of David Lynch's Twin Peaks as gangster Rodney Mitchum. He later voiced the audiobook adaptation for the tie-in epistolary novel of the show called The Secret History of Twin Peaks.

Personal life

Knepper has a son, Benjamin Peter (born 2002), from his first marriage.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	That's Life!	Steve Larwin
1987	Wild Thing	Wild Thing
	Made in Heaven	Orrin
1988	D.O.A.	Nicholas Lang
1989	Renegades	Marino
1990	Arduous Moon	Andrew	Short film
	Young Guns II	Deputy Carlyle
1991	Session Man	Torrey Cole	Short film
	Where the Day Takes You	Rock Singer
1992	Gas Food Lodging	Dank
1993	When the Bough Breaks	Lt. Jimmy Creedmore
1994	Under the Heat	Milo
1995	Search and Destroy	Daniel Strong
1996	Dead of Night	Christian
	MugShot	Joe
	Everyone Says I Love You	Greg
	The Undercover Kid	Bo the Dog (voice)
	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Frollo's Soldiers (voice)
1997	You Are Here	Jack
1998	Phantoms	Agent Wilson
	The Stringer	John
	Jaded	Freddy
2000	Love & Sex	Gerard Boussard
2001	Lady in the Box	Chris Stark
2002	Topa Topa Bluffs	Frank
	Swatters	Daniel Steinberg
2005	Good Night, and Good Luck	Don Surine
	Hostage	Will Bechler
2007	Hitman	Yuri Marklov
2008	Turok: Son of Stone	Chickak (voice)	Direct-to-DVD
	Transporter 3	Johnson
	The Day the Earth Stood Still	Colonel
2010	Burning Daylight	Elam "Burning Daylight" Harnish
2011	Earth's Final Hours	John Streich
2012	My Way	Frank Sinatra
2013	R.I.P.D.	Stanley Nawlicki
	Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters	Kronos (voice)
2014	Ride	Peter
	The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1	Antonius
2015	The Hoarder	Vince
	The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2	Antonius
	Cold Deck	Turk
2016	Hard Target 2	Aldrich	Direct-to-DVD
	Jack Reacher: Never Go Back	General Harkness
2017	Badsville	Mr. Gavin
2018	Frat Pack	Kush
	Edge of Fear	Victor Novak
2018	1st Born	Joe
2019	Defended War
	Voice of the Nation
2019	S.W.A.T	Sam
TBA	Redemption Day	Mr. K	Post-production
	Lena and Snowball	Percy	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	The Paper Chase	Howard	Episode: "Graduation"
1986–1993	L.A. Law	George 'Georgia' Buckner / David Orcott	3 episodes
1987	Tour of Duty	Racist Soldier	Episode: "Burn, Baby, Burn"
	The Twilight Zone	Alonzo	Episode: "Joy Ride"
	Tour of Duty	PV2 Allen	Episode: "Burn Baby, Burn"
	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Wyatt Miller	Episode: "Haven"
1989	Gideon Oliver	Paul Hecht	Episode: "Kennonite"
1990	E.A.R.T.H. Force	Dr. Peter Roland	3 episodes
1990–1991	China Beach	Long / Vietnam Vet	2 episodes
1991	Perry Mason: The Case of the Fatal Fashion	Kim Weatherly	Television film
	Civil Wars	Joey D'Amato	Episode: "Have Gun, Will Unravel"
1992	Tequila and Bonetti	Ren Philips	Episode: "Runt of the Litter"
	Red Shoe Diaries	Nick Willard	Episode: "You Have the Right to Remain Silent"
1993	Zelda	Wilson	Television film
	Doorways	Thane	Pilot
1993–1996	Murder, She Wrote	Charles George Drexler / Owen McLaglen / Robbie Dorow	3 episodes
1994	Pointman	Johnny	Television film
	Getting Out	Carl	Television film
1995	Law & Order	Igor Smith	Episode: "Rebels"
	New York Undercover	David Carson	Episode: "Buster and Claudia"
	New York News	Ex-Con	Episode: "Fun City"
	Pointman	Ronnie McCusak	Episode: "Here She Comes, Miss Murder"
1996	Voice from the Grave	Milosh	Television film
	Central Park West	Randy Boyd	Episode: "Guess Who's Come to Annoy You?"
	The Big Easy	Jack Gentry	Episode: "The Gambler"
	Desert Breeze	N/A	Pilot
1997	The Visitor	Alex Burton	Episode: "Dreams"
1998	ER	Keith Reynolds	Episode: "My Brother's Keeper"
	Brimstone	Assistant D.A. Stewart Lambert	Episode: "Executioner"
1999	Strange World	Gil Sandifer	Episode: "Azrael's Breed"
	Kidnapped in Paradise	Renard	Television film
	Absence of the Good	Glenn Dwyer	Television film
	Star Trek: Voyager	Gaul	Episode: "Dragon's Teeth"
2000	Harsh Realm	Priest	Episode: "Camera Obscura"
	Profiler	Martin Lewis	Episode: "Tsuris"
	Seven Days	Major Gene Hastings	Episode: "Space Station Down"
	La Femme Nikita	Henry Collins	Episode: "Toys in the Basement"
2001	The West Wing	Morgan Ross	Episode: "Ellie"
	Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot	Robert F. Kennedy	Television film
	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Dr. Peter Kelmer	Episode: "The Good Doctor"
2001	Thieves	Special Agent Shue	10 episodes
2002	Haunted	Henry	Episode: "Pilot"
	The Pennsylvania Miners' Story	Mark Popernack	Television film
2002–2003	Presidio Med	Sean	5 episodes
2003–2005	Carnivàle	Tommy Dolan	13 episodes
2004	Species III	Dr. Abbot	Television film
	CSI: Miami	Freddy Coleman	Episode: "Addiction"
2005	Point Pleasant	Demon Dance Host	Episode: "Last Dance"
2005–2009; 2017	Prison Break	Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell	75 episodes
2009	Prison Break: The Final Break	Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell	Television film
2009–2010	Heroes	Samuel Sullivan	19 episodes
2010	Stargate Universe	Simeon	6 episodes
	Chase	Jack Druggan	Episode: "The Comeback Kid"
	Criminal Minds	Rhett Walden	Episode: "Reflection of Desire"
2011	Shameless	Rod	2 episodes
	Breakout Kings	Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell	Episode: "The Bag Man"
2012	Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden	Lieutenant Commander	Television film
2013	Cult	Roger Reeves /Billy Grimm	13 episodes
	The Blacklist	The Courier	Episode: "The Courier"
	Mob City	Sid Rothman	6 episodes
2014–2015	Hawaii Five-0	Internal Affairs Officer Coughlin	2 episodes
2014	Arrow	William Tockman / Clock King	Episode: "Time of Death"
	The Flash	William Tockman / Clock King	Episode: "Power Outage"
2015	Chicago Fire	Adrian Gish / Trenton Lamont	Episode: "3 Bells"
	Chicago PD	Adrian Gish / Trenton Lamont	Episode: "A Little Devil Complex"
	Texas Rising	Empresario Buckley	3 episodes
	Public Morals	Captain Johanson	4 episodes
	NCIS	Benson Long	Episode: "Personal Day"
	American Horror Story: Hotel	Lieutenant	Episode: "Room Service"
2015–2018	iZombie	Angus McDonough	17 episodes
2016	From Dusk till Dawn: The Series	Ranger Gary Willet	2 episodes
2016–2018	Homeland	General Jamie McClendon	5 episodes
2017	Prison Break: Resurrection	Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell	6 episodes
	Twin Peaks	Rodney Mitchum	6 episodes
	The Orville	Hamelac	Episode: "If the Stars Should Appear"
	Spirit Riding Free	Harlan Grayson	Voice 2 episodes
	Dating Game Killer	Detective Jim Hamell	Television film
2019	Paper Empire	Konstantin	6 episodes
2020	Nova Vita		9 episodes	Post-production
TBA	The Pact	Jay	Episode: "Mean Bastards"	Post-production

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Prison Break: The Conspiracy	Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell (voice)

Theatre

A Little Night Music – Northwestern (1977)

• The Ruling Class – Northwestern (1979)

• The Merchant of Venice – Northwestern (1979/80)

• Ties – Chicago (Victory Gardens) (1981)

• Class Enemy – Evanston (Next) (1981)

• Lakeboat – Chicago (Goodman) (1982)

• The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby – Chicago (1982)

• Dark of the Moon - Sarasota (1983)

• Life Signals – Sarasota (1983)

• Sherlock Holmes – Sarasota(1983)

• The Philanthropist – New York (Stage 73) (1983)

• Savage Amusement – New York (1984)

• Romance – New York (Young Playwrights Festival) – (Joseph Papp Public Theater/Martinson Hall) (1984)

• The Person I Once Was – Louisville (1984)

• The Very Last Lover of the River Cane – Louisville (Theatre of Louisville) (1985)

• Available Light – Louisville (Theatre of Louisville) (1985)

• Groves of Academe – Cluj (Romania) (1985)

• A Midsummer Night's Dream – New York (New York Shakespeare Festival) (1987)

• Romeo and Juliet - New York (1988)

• The Legend of Oedipus – Williamstown (Williamstown Theatre Festival) (1988)

• Les Liaisons Dangereuses – Williamstown (Williamstown Theatre Festival) (1988)

• Nebraska – La Jolla (1989)

• Ice Cream With Hot Fudge – New York (1990)

• Bobby, Can You Hear Me? – Waterford (1990)

• Buster Comes Through – Waterford (1990)

• Lake No Bottom – New York (1990)

• Dinosaur Dreams – Waterford (1991)

• Home Grown – Waterford (1991)

• Orestes – Los Angeles (1992)

• Salomé – New York (1992)

• Pal Joey – Boston (1992)

• Sweet Bird of Youth – London (UK) (1994)

• Pride's Crossing – San Diego (1997)

• The Summer Moon – Seattle (1998)

The Orville is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by and starring Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on Sunday, September 10, 2017. MacFarlane stars as Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union's line of exploratory space vessels. After his career takes a downturn following his divorce, he is given the ship Orville as his first command, only to discover that his ex-wife, Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki), has been assigned as his first officer. Inspired by several sources, including Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, the series tells the story of Mercer, Grayson, and the crew of the Orville as they embark on various diplomatic and exploratory missions.

The Orville is a joint production by Fuzzy Door Productions and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television.

New episodes aired Thursdays on Fox during the 2017–18 season.[7] On November 2, 2017, Fox renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on December 30, 2018. On May 11, 2019, Fox renewed the series for a third season.

Premise

The Orville is set on the titular USS Orville (ECV-197), a mid-level exploratory space vessel in the Planetary Union, a 25th-century interstellar alliance of Earth and many other planets.

Cast and characters

Main

• Seth MacFarlane as Captain Ed Mercer, who commands the Orville. Mercer was an up-and-coming officer, believed to be on the fast track to commanding his own heavy cruiser by age 40. However, during the year following the end of his marriage on account of his wife Kelly's adultery, he is cited for being lax in his duties and being hung over while on duty. Eventually, he is informed that the Orville, a mid-level exploratory ship, needs a new commanding officer.

• Adrianne Palicki as Commander Kelly Grayson, the first officer of the Orville and Ed Mercer's ex-wife. The two divorced after Mercer caught Grayson in bed with an alien and resulting in Mercer's year-long emotional crisis. Unbeknownst to Mercer, Grayson personally appealed to Admiral Halsey for her ex-husband to be given a command, stating that, despite personal setbacks, he merited it. She requested her involvement be kept confidential after Mercer is assigned to the Orville. When Grayson is assigned as the Orville's first officer, she and Mercer agree to set aside their differences to work as a team and stay friends.

• Penny Johnson Jerald as Doctor Claire Finn, the chief medical officer on the Orville, holding the rank of lieutenant commander. A physician of exceptional credentials, she has expertise in molecular surgery, DNA engineering and psychiatry, which afforded her a choice of assignments on heavy cruisers. She instead chose a mid-level exploratory vessel. As she explains to Mercer in the pilot episode, she prefers to serve where she feels she is needed, finding such assignments more stimulating. When she tells Mercer she felt he could use her assistance on his first command, he interprets this as her lacking confidence in him, though she discounts this. Having never found the ideal opportunity to marry, she chose to become a single mother. Her two sons, Marcus and Ty, travel aboard the Orville with her. She repeatedly rebuffs Lt. Yaphit's advances, though they become physically intimate in "Cupid's Dagger" after falling victim to a Retepsian sex pheromone.

• Scott Grimes as Lieutenant Gordon Malloy, the helmsman of the Orville and Mercer's best friend. Considered the best helmsman in the fleet, he was relegated to desk duty after he attempted to impress a girl with a precarious shuttle docking, damaging the vessel and losing cargo in the process. Mercer specifically requested he be assigned to the Orville despite Admiral Halsey's lingering concern over Malloy's history of crude and juvenile pranks. He is generally comfortable with his reputation for limited intelligence, to the point where he willingly answers a series of questions from Grayson, with the expectation that his answers would demonstrate in a Moclan court that males are not always superior to females.

• Peter Macon as Lieutenant Commander Bortus, the second officer aboard the USS Orville. Bortus is from Moclus, a planet where the primary industry is weapons manufacturing, and whose society is dominated by males. This is explained in the first season as the result of the rarity of female births, one of which occurs when Bortus and his Moclan spouse, Klyden, bear a female at the end of the series' second episode. Per Klyden's wishes, but against Bortus' the infant undergoes sex reassignment surgery in the following episode, and is raised as their son, Topa, following a controversial legal ruling on their home planet. This development, and the attitudes prevalent among Moclans toward females that Klyden himself harbors, subsequently persist as a source of tension for the couple, and is a sensitive matter for Bortus in particular, who harbors resentment over it. It is later revealed in the second season episode "Sanctuary" that female births are far more frequent than Moclan society publicly admitted, and that an extensive network of adult Moclan females exist in hiding from the Moclan authorities. Among the unique aspects of Moclans biology is that they urinate only once a year, with this event being of such significance that Moclans return to their home planet with those closest to them to urinate in a sacred spot chosen by each individual. Moclans reproduce by laying eggs, which must be incubated for 21 days by a parent. Politically, Moclus enjoys considerable political clout because it is a weapons manufacturer on which the Union depends.

• Halston Sage as Lieutenant Alara Kitan, the Orville's young chief of security. Kitan is from Xelaya, a high-gravity planet that gives her greater-than-human strength in Earth gravity. She can knock down doors and walls, and crush a solid block of titanium and reshape it into a small sphere with her bare hands. She receives the Sapphire Star for her role as acting commanding officer after Mercer and Grayson are abducted by the Calivon during Bortus' incubation of his egg. Sage departed the series in the third episode of the second season when her character resigned her post to be with her family on her home planet after it was discovered that she was losing her strength due to her long period away from her home planet's gravity, using the opportunity to reconnect with her parents.

• J. Lee as Lieutenant (later Lieutenant Commander) John LaMarr. He is navigator of the Orville for most of the first season. He and Malloy strike up an immediate friendship in the first episode. Though intellectually gifted, he learned to hide his intelligence and settle for modest ambitions growing up in order to fit in with his peers. When Grayson discovers his high aptitude in "New Dimensions", she encourages LaMarr to fulfill his potential. As a result, he acquits himself so well during that episode's crisis that he replaces the outgoing Lt. Commander Newton as the Orville's chief engineer.

• Mark Jackson as Isaac (named after Isaac Newton), the Orville's science and engineering officer. Isaac is a member of the artificial, non-biological race from Kaylon-1 that views biological lifeforms, including humans, as inferior. In the pilot episode, Isaac explains to Mercer that the Union's Admiralty offered a posting to any willing Kaylon, as an attempt to initiate relations between the two powers. Isaac accepted the offer as an opportunity to study human behavior. During the course of his time with the crew, he comes to observe and understand aspects of human behavior, such as relationships, sarcasm, slang, and practical jokes. Isaac perceives his surroundings with his body's internal sensors. His two glowing blue "eyes" are purely anthropomorphic, with Gordon once putting a Mr. Potato Head face on him without Isaac realizing it.

• Jessica Szohr as Lieutenant Talla Keyali, the ship's second Xelayan Chief of Security, who replaces Alara Kitan after her resignation in season 2.

Recurring

• Victor Garber as Admiral Halsey, Mercer's superior and old friend of Grayson's father

• Chad Coleman as Klyden, Bortus's mate and father of their child. He revealed that he was actually born a female and had the procedure to correct his gender when he was an infant, only learning about it when he was first examined by a non-Moclan doctor after joining Bortus on his first ship assignment.

• Norm Macdonald as the voice of Lieutenant Yaphit, an amorphous, gelatinous, shapeshifting engineer on the Orville, who repeatedly attempts to obtain a date with Dr. Finn, and frequently flirts with other females on the ship. Despite his telling her in "Cupid's Dagger" that he is in love with her, she does not reciprocate his attraction, though they become physically intimate in that episode after falling victim to a Retepsian sex pheromone. Despite his jocular manner, he was actually the original front runner to replace Newton as the ship's chief engineer before LaMarr was given the position. When the ship was taken over by the Kaylons, Yaphit played a key role in retaking the ship and assured Claire that he would protect her son Ty when Ty was the only person who could assist him at a crucial moment, Yaphit later helping the crew restart Isaac based on his encounter with another Kaylon during the crisis giving him a good understanding of how Kaylon components worked.

• Larry Joe Campbell as Lieutenant Commander Steve Newton, chief engineer of the Orville until episode 1.11, when he leaves to take a new job designing space stations, and is replaced by the promoted Lieutenant Commander LaMarr

• BJ Tanner as Marcus Finn, elder son of Doctor Claire Finn.

• Kai Wener as Ty Finn, younger son of Doctor Claire Finn. He is the one most attached to Isaac, explicitly stating that he sees Isaac as a father. When the Orville was taken over by the Kaylons, Ty assisted Yaphit in transmitting a distress signal as he was the only other person who could fit in the ship's air vents. When Ty was captured by the Kaylons, the Kaylon Primary ordered Isaac to kill Ty to prove his loyalty to the Kaylon objective, which prompted Isaac to make his choice and turn on his own people to protect Ty.

• Gavin Lee as Nurse Park

• Mike Henry as Dann, unnamed alien species member of the engineering staff, who suggests music be played in the Orville's elevators and makes unsuccessful attempts to befriend fellow crew members

• Rachael MacFarlane as the voice of the Orville computer

• Ron Canada as Admiral Tucker

• Kelly Hu as Admiral Ozawa

• Chris Johnson as Cassius, a teacher on board the Orville who had a relationship with Grayson until they broke up during season 2

• Blesson Yates as Topa, Bortus and Klyden's son

• Kyra Santoro as Ensign Jenny Turco, a member of the engineering staff in a relationship with LaMarr

• Ted Danson as Admiral Perry

• Rena Owen as Heveena, a Moclan woman

Guest stars

• Rob Lowe as Darulio, the Retepsian archaeologist whose affair with Kelly ended her marriage with Mercer. He came back to the ship to consult during a crucial research mission, where his pheromones caused Mercer and Grayson to be attracted to him and Claire to have sex with Yaphit (although he declines to confirm if his pheromones were the reason for Grayson's original affair).

• Brian George as Doctor Aronov, the leader of the Epsilon II science station

• Jeffrey Tambor as Ben Mercer, Ed Mercer's father

• Holland Taylor as Jeannie Mercer, Ed Mercer's mother

• Jonathan Adams as the Moclan arbitrator

• Robert Knepper as Hamelac

• Giorgia Whigham as Lysella, a barista in "Majority Rule" who helps rescue John on a planet where public votes determine a person's social status; Lysella learns of the crew's alien origin when she sees Alara's ears and subsequently provides them with understanding of how to rig public support in John's favor.

• Liam Neeson as Jahavus Dorahl, captain of a derelict multi-generation ship in "If the Stars Should Appear"

• Charlize Theron as Pria Lavesque, a time-traveler from the future who attempts to steal the Orville in "Pria"

• James Horan as Sazeron, the Krill high priest on the Krill destroyer Yakar

• Michaela McManus as Teleya/Lt. Janel Tyler, a Krill teacher serving on Krill destroyer Yakar, who has developed a particular focus on Mercer after he destroyed her ship

• Steven Culp as Wilks

• Brian Thompson as Drogen, a survivalist on a planet where Finn, Isaac and Finn's children crash in "Into the Fold"

• Ralph Garman as Kanoot, a karaoke announcer on the Orville

• Robert Picardo as Ildis Kitan, father of Alara Kitan

• Molly Hagan as Drenala Kitan, mother of Alara Kitan

• Candice King as Solana Kitan, sister of Alara Kitan

• John Billingsley as Cambis Borrin, the angry father of one of Ildis Kitan's students

• Jason Alexander as Olix, an alien bartender on the Orville

• Patrick Warburton as Lt. Tharl, an alien who temporarily takes over Alara Kitan's position when she goes back to her home planet. His species has a second esophagus that resembles an elephant's trunk, to make it easier for them to eat large amounts.

• Bruce Willis as Groogen (the Katrudian "flower alien," uncredited)

• Tim Russ as historian Dr. Sherman, who presents a 2015 Earth time capsule to the crew in "Lasting Impressions"

• Leighton Meester as Laura Huggins, a time capsule contributor from 2015 simulated in "Lasting Impressions"

• Marina Sirtis as a school teacher on board the Orville

• F. Murray Abraham as a Planetary Union hearing speaker

• Tony Todd as a Moclan delegate

• J. Paul Boehmer as a Navarian Ambassador.

Production

Development

MacFarlane originally wrote The Orville as a spec script, which was given a 13-episode order by Fox on May 4, 2016, making it the first live-action television series created by MacFarlane, as well as his first live-action show on television. Following the project's greenlight, MacFarlane stated, "I've wanted to do something like this show ever since I was a kid, and the timing finally feels right. [...] I think this is gonna be something special."[7] According to MacFarlane, The Orville was inspired by The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. He was also encouraged to sell the series due to the success of Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool.

On November 2, 2017, Fox renewed the series for a second season. On November 15, it was reported that one of the thirteen episodes for season one would be held back and instead air during the second season due to a gap in broadcast dates caused by the broadcaster's lengthy Christmas programming. It will be a sequel to "About a Girl".

On December 10, 2018, it was reported that the California Film Commission had approved $15.8 million of tax credits for a potential third season.

Casting

On July 29, 2016, MacFarlane's role was revealed to be Ed Mercer, the captain of the Orville, while Adrianne Palicki had been cast as Kelly Grayson, Ed's ex-wife and the newly appointed first officer of the Orville, and Scott Grimes, who voices Steve Smith on American Dad! (another show created by MacFarlane), was cast as Gordon Malloy, Ed's best friend whom he has assigned to pilot the Orville. On August 19, Peter Macon and J Lee were cast as series regulars. On October 31, Halston Sage and Penny Johnson Jerald joined the cast. On December 8, Mark Jackson was cast. On April 3, 2017, Chad L. Coleman was added as a series regular and Larry Joe Campbell was cast in a recurring role.

At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2017, MacFarlane said that Charlize Theron would guest-star in an episode. The two had previously co-starred in A Million Ways to Die in the West. Theron appeared in the series' fifth episode, "Pria".

On February 12, 2018, Jessica Szohr was cast as a regular for season two. On February 21, Chris Johnson was cast in a recurring role.

Filming

On August 24, 2016, Jon Favreau signed on to direct the pilot. Production on the pilot episode began in late 2016, and the rest of the episodes began filming on March 27, 2017. Production wrapped on August 23, 2017, with a total of $56.2 million spent in California. Star Trek veterans Jonathan Frakes and Robert Duncan McNeill, who have directed episodes within the Star Trek franchise, have each directed an episode of The Orville. Four episodes were directed by Brannon Braga, a long-time Star Trek alum who began as an intern on Star Trek: The Next Generation, was producer of Star Trek: Voyager, and co-created Star Trek: Enterprise.

Filming for the second season began on February 26, 2018, and Frakes and McNeill each returned to direct another episode. Production for the second season concluded on October 16, 2018, having spent $69.2 million.

Visual effects

Studios hired to work on the visual effects of the show include Tippett Studio, CoSA VFX, Pixomondo, Crafty Apes, Fuse FX, Eight VFX and Zoic Studios.

Marketing

On May 15, 2017, the Fox Broadcasting Company released the first trailer of The Orville as part of their upcoming slate of television series including the X-Men series The Gifted and the supernatural sitcom Ghosted. To promote the series, Fox organized a panel at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con on July 22 featuring cast members Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Scott Grimes, Penny Johnson Jerald, Peter Macon, Halston Sage, J. Lee, Mark Jackson and Chad Coleman, and producers David A. Goodman and Brannon Braga. In addition, Fox established an Orville Space Training Station at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Law with a "Cryopreservation program" for fans.

On July 22, 2018, Fox released the trailer for the second season of The Orville at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con. To promote the series, Fox sponsored a series of Orville-themed pedi-cabs for people attending the San Diego Comic Con. In addition, Goodman moderated a Q&A panel on July 21 at the Comic Con alongside cast members MacFarlane, Palicki, Jerald, Scott Grimes, Braga and Jon Cassar.

To promote the series, Dark Horse Comics will be releasing a spinoff four-issue comic book set between the first and second seasons of The Orville. The comic book will be written by series executive producer and writer David A. Goodman, illustrated by David Cabeza, and colored by Michael Atiyeh. It will be released on July 17, 2019. The first storyline "New Beginnings" deals with Captain Mercer and Lieutenant Gordon responding to a distress call from a lost Union ship while Commander Grayson has to contend with a domestic dispute between Bortus and his spouse over their son's education. The second storyline "The Word of Avis" deals with the Orville crew investigating an Union ship heading into Krill space.