One year after his marriage fell apart Ed Mercer's dream comes true when he is assigned to captain a Union exploratory vessel – only to find his ex-wife, Kelly, assigned as his First Officer. On the ship's first mission, they must stop the menacing Krill from stealing time manipulation technology from an advanced research station.

After the Captain and First Officer fall into an alien trap Alara is left in command of the ship, and must decide whether to put the crew at risk to rescue them. Meanwhile, Bortus is sidelined by family matters after he lays an egg.

After Bortus and Klyden's child is born female they request a controversial conformity surgery, prompting an ethical debate amongst the crew.

The Orville encounters a massive, millennia-old vessel adrift on the frontier, where a colony of humanoids live in ignorance of the true nature of their world. While Ed makes contact with a local family, Kelly and Alara have a run-in with a hostile force.

After the Orville rescues a mining captain from certain death Kelly grows suspicious about their new guest, butting heads with a smitten Ed about whether Pria can be trusted. Meanwhile, Gordon tries to teach Isaac the art of the practical joke.

Captain Mercer and Gordon go undercover on board a Krill vessel in an attempt to learn more about their enemy's religious beliefs, but find more than they expected when they discover the ship's mission.

When a team goes in search of a pair of missing Union anthropologists on a planet at a twenty-first century level of development, Lt. LaMarr is arrested for committing a lewd act – putting his life into the hands of the planet's public voting system.

While en route to a recreation planet Isaac, Dr. Finn, and her two children are trapped on an uncharted world, where the hostile native population suffers from a horrifying ailment.

With the Orville playing host to a pair of warring species Ed and Kelly are shocked when Darulio, the man Kelly cheated with, arrives to aid in the mediation. Meanwhile Yaphit declares his love for Dr. Finn.

After an accident inside a plasma storm leaves a crew member dead, Alara and the crew begin to experience frightening manifestations of their deepest fears.

The Orville encounters a doorway to a two-dimensional region of space, presenting a dangerous hazard to passing ships. Meanwhile, Kelly pushes Ed to consider Lt. Lamarr for a major promotion after discovering that he is smarter than he lets on.

After the Orville encounters a planet from another universe that periodically appears in our own, Kelly renders aid to an injured girl and winds up honored by the alien civilization as a god. Meanwhile, Ed and Kelly consider renewing their romantic relationship.