Adrianne Palicki And Penny Johnson Jerald On The Differences In The Orville Season 3 - Exclusive

Fans of "The Orville" were excited when the futuristic sci-fi series got picked up by Hulu for Season 3. The cast that viewers love — along with a few new faces — will be returning on June 2. 

Two of the beloved characters coming back to the series are Kelly Grayson, played by Adrianne Palicki, and Dr. Claire Finn, played by Penny Johnson Jerald. You may also recognize Palicki from her time as Tyra on "Friday Night Lights," along with her appearances in "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and "John Wick." Jerald will be familiar to any "Castle" fans for her role as Captain Victoria Gates.

During an exclusive interview with The List, the co-stars discussed their experience filming Season 3, opening up about some of the most challenging elements of their shooting schedule. Both also agreed that this season is taking "The Orville" in an even more exciting direction than the past two seasons.

"The Orville: New Horizons" has moved from Fox to Hulu for its third season, and according to two of its lead actresses, Adrianne Palicki and Penny Johnson Jerald, that's not the only change fans have to look forward to. Palicki talked about how they were able to push the show further than before, saying, "The gravity of it, the bar went from ... it was pretty high, but it's now here. The amount of freedoms we had, and the intensity of the episodes ... It's been quite a journey."

Jerald agreed, adding that this season will cover relevant topics in a complex way. Though it's still a futuristic and fantastic show, some of the episodes may challenge the way viewers see our world. "Sometimes, when I was reading this season, there are topics where I may have had a different thought, and because of the writing and because of the execution, I [had] to think, get in my quiet space, and go, 'You know what, I never thought of it that way,'" she said. "To learn something, to change someone — good or bad — is a powerful tool. And we will do that this season. Definitely."

Season 3 was also a long time in the making because they had to break partway through filming for COVID-19 lockdowns. The cast and crew expected to come back to set within a few weeks, but the return got pushed back each month. When they finally got back on set, the shooting schedule was completely different. "We got massively out of order — not even just episodes; we're talking pieces of episodes," Adrianne Palicki said. "We didn't know what we were doing day to day or moment to moment, which kept us on our toes and probably kept things very fresh."

One episode took them over a year to film because they started it before the lockdown and didn't finish until after they'd returned and shot other scenes in the meantime. "Even [in] Episode 3, there was some of that we shot, and then the rest we didn't shoot [until] the very end because Keyali [Jessica Szohr] had a baby," Jerald. But the whole cast pulled together, and they were very proud of what they created despite the challenges. After watching the finished Season 3 episodes, Jerald said, "I'm a fan of 'The Orville.' I have to say, I'm a fan."

The Orville Season 3 premieres June 2 on Hulu.