Between Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville and the triumphant return of the franchise to the small-screen with Star Trek: Discovery later this month, it’s a good time to be a Star Trek fan. And it also might be a good time to be a classic Star Trek actor, as they might have some new work lined up on a high-profile comedy series.
While there have been no revelations surrounding Trek actor cameos on Discovery, it’s now been indicated — by MacFarlane himself — that his Star Trek parody show is aiming to beam aboard past Trek actors for cameos on the FOX comedy series.
Asked in a Reddit AMA if there are any cameos from old Trek actors lined up, MacFarlane teased, “We got one or two in the lineup…”
RELATED: What Star Trek: Discovery Can Learn From Previous Trek Shows
MacFarlane — a well-established, self-proclaimed Star Trek fan — is extremely connected to the franchise’s creators and actors. The Next Generation cast reunited to lend their voices to an entire episode of MacFarlane’s Family Guy, while MacFarlane himself is good buddies with veteran Star Trek scribe Brannon Braga, having co-produced the Cosmos documentary series with the former Ronald D. Moore collaborator. MacFarlane even hosted a roundtable with the core writing staff of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4 for a Blu-ray special feature. So, it’s pretty clear that MacFarlane could easily get Trek cameos lined up for The Orville. The question remains: Who would return to TV for the new comedy series?
The Orville is set 300 years in the future and follows the exploits of the of the U.S.S. Orville and it’s motley crew, led by the recently-divorced Ed (MacFarlane) who is taking command of a ship for the very first time. Joining MacFarlane’s captain are his ex-wife, Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), his best friend (Scott Grimes), an alien from a single-sex species (Peter Macon), and a gelatinous creature voiced by comedian Norm Macdonald, among others.
RELATED: New Star Trek: Discovery Plot Details Explain Presence of Two Ships
In the United States, Star Trek: Discovery debuts Sunday, September 24 on CBS, before moving to the CBS All Access streaming service for follow-up weekly installments. In Canada, the series debuts on CTV and Space at 8:30 pm ET, with its second episode set to air immediately after on Space — subsequent episodes will air Sundays through November 5. Internationally, the series will debut on Netflix.