Seth MacFarlane Is Headed to Space with 'The Orville' on Fox

Seth MacFarlane is gearing up for a trek across the final frontier.

Fox announced this week that this fall, it will launch a new science-fiction TV series, called the "The Orville." The show will star funnyman executive producer and actor MacFarlane ("Family Guy," "Ted") as the commander of the titular starship. Adrianne Palicki ("Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.") will portray MacFarlane's executive officer — and ex-wife — with a ragtag crew rounding out the cast. Think "Galaxy Quest" meets "Family Guy," and you're on the right track.

"'The Orville' is a live-action, one-hour, ensemble comedic drama set 400 years in the future that follows the adventures of The Orville, a mid-level exploratory spaceship, as its crew, both human and alien, face the wonders and dangers of outer space, while also dealing with the familiar, often humorous problems of everyday life," Fox representatives wrote in a description of the new series.

"The Orville" is the brainchild of MacFarlane and director Jon Favreau ("The Jungle Book," "Iron Man"), according to Fox representatives. Fox unveiled "The Orville" Monday (May 15) with a series trailer on YouTube and a spiffy new website. 

"The Orville" isn't MacFarlane's first cosmic project with Fox. In 2014, the Emmy Award-winning executive producer teamed up with Fox and the National Geographic Channel for "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey," which was hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. The show was a 21st-century relaunch of the iconic "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage" series hosted by astronomer Carl Sagan in 1980.

So, space fans, what do you think? Are you excited to see MacFarlane command a starship? Or is "The Orville" destined to fade away at the end of the universe?

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.