The opening sequence is chef kiss

So this is how M'Benga isn't the CMO by the time of Kirk? This storyline still has many more seasons to go, it seems.

Strange New Worlds would be the most similar in terms of modern production values, and in many ways the production far exceeds The Orville.

Voyager also feels like The Orville, with a quite similar crew - awkward captain and first officer relationship, a flyboy pilot, a hothead engineer, a young forever ensign, an experienced and trusted security officer, and eventually someone who talks like a robot coming from the crew's nemesis. It lacks a Bortus, but if you want more Bortus, go look for shows with Worf.

We are certainly taking the (Reddit-)Sphere data away from (spez's) Control as far as possible.