the orville executive producers brannon braga and david a. goodman have given a possible explanation why (some) classic star trek fans prefer their trek-inspired series over the current trek series, discovery.

speaking to cbr at new york comic con, the eps tried to explain their series' roddenberry-esque optimistic vision for the future, and why it's such a hit with a lot of trek fans. "there’s no getting around that there’s some star trek inspiration in this show," goodman said. "[the orville creator] seth [macfarlane] wanted an uplifting show; a show that presented an optimistic view of the future, which is what roddenberry [did]. so, they share that philosophy."

he added, "i think the difference for us, is that seth was very much aware...he’s making a show for everybody. that’s what gets lost in the discussion of star trek fans liking and not liking a show. the original star trek was a show that millions of people watched, all over the world. a subset of them -- like me -- are super passionate star trek fans. i’ve written three star trek books. i’m a big fan, but we represent a very small, tiny part of the audience that watch that show."

related: discovery vs. the orville: which does star trek better?

goodman concluded, "seth wanted to do a show that was for everybody. and i think that may be closer to the reason that people are making that connection. that, this is a show, that people don’t need to know the backstory of that universe to get into it."

"and you don’t need to watch every episode to swing into the story," braga said. "it’s more classical storytelling."

airing sundays at 9:00 p.m. on fox, the orville stars seth macfarlane, adrianne palicki, scott grimes, peter macon and norm macdonald.