Q: When is the next season of "The Orville" going to start? It could not have been canceled because everybody I know talked highly of the show!
A: I answered this question several months ago, but the answer has changed. Before, it appeared the show was going to be back on Fox sometime in early 2020. Now the plan is for later in 2020 — and on the Hulu streaming service instead of the broadcast network.
Various reasons have been offered for the delay and the changed venue. "Orville" overseer Seth MacFarlane said this summer that the sci-fi series "has evolved and become more ambitious production-wise," which meant it would be difficult to deliver it on a timetable that worked with Fox's plans. Hulu provided a home which, as Deadline reported, "allows more flexibility with episode orders and running times as well as production schedules, which was important to MacFarlane."
But corporate maneuvers may also have played a role. Disney recently acquired the Fox corporation's movie and television productions, including "The Orville," along with controlling interest in Hulu. And moving "The Orville" gives Hulu another shiny enticement to potential customers.
A jewel of a role
Q: I am disappointed that Sela Ward left "FBI." Also, she always wore a curious design on her necklace. Can you give a bit more on its background or why she left?
A: Ward reportedly had a one-year contract with the CBS show and left when she was done. But the necklace generated a lot of discussion online. Many pondered its resemblance to the Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol, for instance. Ward said on social media that the necklace "is a piece by Maria Gersh that represents spiritual awareness."
No second take for 'Take Two'
Q: I've really enjoyed the lighthearted TV show "Take Two." I know it has been canceled. Any chance it will be renewed on another channel?
A: Considering how many shows have found life after cancellation, I am always reluctant to say never to a show's return. "Take Two," the comedy-drama starring Rachel Bilson and Eddie Cibrian, was reportedly shopped to other operations after ABC canceled it in November 2018. But I have not seen any news about this show finding a new home.
About Peggie Castle
Q: On "Lawman," Lily was played by Peggie Castle. Was she in anything else? Is she still alive?
A: "Lawman" was one of the westerns that Warner Bros. churned out in the 1950s and '60s; this one originally aired on ABC from 1958 to 1962. The main stars were John Russell and Peter Brown as a marshal and his deputy, with Castle's character Lily Merrill running the local saloon.
Castle worked in movies and TV beginning in the early '50s, including on other western series and two movies based on novels by Mickey Spillane. But "Lawman" was her longest- lasting credit, and just about her last. She retired from acting in 1962, the year "Lawman" ended. She died from cirrhosis of the liver in 1973, at 45 years old.
E-mail brenfels@gmail.com.
