This article mentions suicide.

Seth MacFarlane's TV shows, in part due to its identity as a hard sci-fi show - which he hadn't done before. As well as casting himself as Captain Ed Mercer, the USS Orville's commanding officer, MacFarlane has written most of the show's scripts to date. However, he hasn't just focused on one particular genre.

The Orville season 4 remains unconfirmed, although there have been several teases from the cast and crew that suggest another run of episodes will eventually happen. When and if the show returns, I would be surprised if The Orville reverted to its original form, but I wouldn't be disappointed either.

Isaac's Suicide Storyline In "Electric Sheep" Proves The Orville Became Far More Than Just A Star Trek Parody

The Kaylon Taking His Own Life Really Shocked Me

When The Orville began, I being caught a little off-guard by Seth MacFarlane's blend of a faithful Star Trek homage and a deluge of Family Guy-esque jokes. That said, I quickly came to love the combination. What I found even more interesting was how much the joking aspect started to fade over time, and The Orville became far less of a parody and solidified itself as a standalone space opera. By the time The Orville season 3 premiered, the run's first episode with Isaac's suicide confirmed the show wasn't against breaking a few hearts.

The Orville season 3 was marketed as The Orville: New Horizons, but is a continuation of season 2.

Mark Jackson's Isaac goes on a deeply emotional journey in "Electric Sheep," which is compounded by the fact that the Kaylon is incapable of experiencing emotion. The decision to end his own existence is routed in his own cold logic, and I watching the episode feeling like it was from a different show. The rest of The Orville season 3 levels back out into something like the comedy/sci-fi/drama blend of seasons 1 and 2, but never quite at the same ratio. As such, "Electric Sheep" took The Orville down a compelling route from where it couldn't return.

"Electric Sheep" Helped The Orville Season 3 Earn Its "New Horizons" Subtitle

The Orville's Less Comedic Tone Was Solidified By Isaac's Suicide Storyline

The New Horizons subtitle was added to The Orville's main banner as a way of acknowledging the three-year gap between seasons 2 and 3. There had been a wait of just one year between the first two seasons, so MacFarlane and his creative team felt that couldn't be ignored. If the show had simply returned exactly how it had been, it would have made the title change a little pointless. So, "Electric Sheep" kickstarted The Orville's new era by trying something very different, which further justified the new subtitle.