Why is ‘The Orville’ moving to Hulu?

Question: I have read that one of my favorite shows, “The Orville,” is moving to Hulu for Season 3. And that it’s the showrunners who have decided to move it.

Are they nuts? They will certainly lose many viewers. And that’s a shame.

There are so many streaming services out there right now, and I’m certainly not buying into another one. This move could very possibly kill the show when Hulu sees how many viewers don’t jump to their service to watch it. What were they thinking? — JC

Matt Roush: This surprise announcement triggered quite a bit of mail this week. Starting with this angle: that airing for two seasons on Fox obviously made “The Orville” available to more viewers than will probably be following it to Hulu (where new episodes won’t premiere until late 2020).

But in today’s very complicated marketplace, it isn’t always all about ratings, and with Hulu and the Fox studio (which produces “The Orville”) both now controlled by Disney, this is an example of corporate synergy that may also be meant to appease the show’s creator and star, Seth MacFarlane — who according to The Hollywood Reporter is currently a free agent, his overall deal with the Fox studio having expired.

No explanation about production demands is likely to satisfy fans who’d prefer to see the show stay on regular network TV, and for them, this is clearly an unfortunate blow.

To submit questions to TV Critic Matt Roush, go to tvinsider.com.