Exclusive Interview: Jessica Szohr and Anne Winters Talk The Orville: New Horizons

Jessica Szohr and Anne Winters are two of the stars of The Orville: New Horizons.

Set 400 years in the future, The Orville: New Horizons finds the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continuing their mission of exploration, as they navigate both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Jessica and Anne about The Orville: New Horizons, what’s ahead for each of their characters, the powerful women in their lives who shaped the artists they are today, and more!

PC: Jessica, fans have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Season 3. What’s ahead for your character this season? What can you tease?
Jessica: It’s a bumpy ride for Talla this season. She has some ups and downs with her career and some of her relationships, but Ed does find this trust in her and gives her some more responsibility. I’m excited for not just the journey with Talla but also introducing Charly (Anne Winters) and Season 3 in general. We’ve worked really hard for a long time—everything from the storylines to the visual effects to the music to the acting, every little piece of the puzzle from pre-production to post. We all worked hard, and we’re really excited to put this show out into the universe.

PC: Anne, you’re one of the new actors joining this season. What should audiences know about your character, and what attracted you to this project?
Anne: I was attracted to this project because, first of all, I’ve never gotten to play in space or on board a spaceship, which was really cool. Our set was phenomenal this season. It really felt like I was in space. But also the character was something different that I’ve never really played before. She’s very strong. She’s very stubborn and has this very big point of view. She comes in really hot with hating the Kaylon. You’re fresh off the battle with the Kaylon. In the first episode, you get to see why she hates Isaac going onto the Orville. That’s a big thing for her character this season. I’m excited for everyone to see that play out and what they think about it. Who wouldn’t want to be on this show?

PC: Perfect segue for this next question. Both of you have played these incredibly powerful female characters throughout your career. Who were the women in your life who shaped the artist that you are today?
Anne: Of course, my mom who raised me.

Jessica: My grandma. I have had incredible teachers.

Anne: Also, being on set and seeing all these different strong women. I always say Eva Longoria because she really embodies to me what a boss woman is. She was directing, acting, and producing while pregnant. She was there every single day, hands-on, and she would have to lay down in between takes. She was so nice to everybody. Seeing the example of that in Hollywood really shaped me personally.

Jessica: A lot of women in my family have played a big part in that. We’re very strong women, we’re very opinionated, we’re very funny—and I come from a big family. We always supported each other and had each other’s backs. We still do. So for me, it’s mostly family—and I’ve worked with some amazing women. Some of the producers on this show. Stephanie Savage from Gossip Girl. She wore a lot of different hats. There have been a lot of different women who have helped.

Anne: Seth [MacFarlane] has created really strong women characters with individual personalities on this show. It was really cool to see how each character had their different storylines throughout.

PC: Jessica, one of the reasons why I think this show has resonated with audiences is its ability to blend comedy and drama. How much fun has it been for you to play in these worlds? Why do you think this genre lends itself to this type of storytelling?
Jessica: It’s been so much fun. When you have someone like Seth who is writing and directing these episodes and to see where his mind goes, it’s such a fun world to play in. I wake up and I get made up as an alien in the morning, and then I’m on this spaceship. We get to touch on all these subjects and topics while we’re in outer space. We get to look at it from a broader lens. We’re speaking all this space jargon, and yet it’s serious stuff (but with a flavor of comedy because this is Seth). I was saying in an earlier interview that I have to pinch myself. Am I really getting paid to be an alien on a spaceship with all these amazing actors around me? It’s a pretty epic and cool situation to be in.

PC: Anne, did you feel any pressure heading into this project, just given how beloved this series is and the fact you’re joining a cast that has two seasons under their belt? How were you able to build that connection with each of them as you filmed during a pandemic?
Jessica: It was a bit intimidating coming in with a cast that has two seasons under their belt, but I will say I was welcomed very warmly. Jess was really, really sweet to me since she was new last season. She was the one to reach out to me the most and said, “If you ever need anything, I was in your spot last year.” She was very sweet. But at the same time, once I was on set, I was super new. But I felt very accepted. My first day on set was such a big day. It was actually two of the scenes in Episode 1 which were my biggest scenes. I was very focused on coming in hot, and I couldn’t think of anything else. But the cast was amazing to work with and have been very nice since the beginning. I didn’t feel intimidated after working with them.

PC: A question for the both of you. The move to Hulu has created this opportunity for Seth and the writers to increase the scope of this project and expand on these stories because you don’t have to account for things like commercials. Jessica, did you feel that change from an actor’s perspective heading in? Anne, as a new member of the cast, did you also feel that?
Anne: I don’t know what it really was like before, but I will say this felt like we were shooting movie after movie after movie. Every single episode has a completely different journey of its own while still maintaining a massive arc that we have as a season in general. With different sets, locations, and storylines, every episode was so fast. When you finish, you are going to feel like you binge-watched every single movie of Batman. It’s so long and great. Every episode brings something new. That was my takeaway.

Jessica: I agree with a lot of that. They’re like mini-movies. When you’re reading the script, you have in your mind what it will look like, but they blew everything out of the water. Every time I watched a scene, I was like, “Oh my God. I expected this, but they did way better than my imagination.”

Anne: I was thinking about when you have to imagine something that they’ve said in the script, like something that looks like a dinosaur. In your mind, you picture something. Then when you see it come to life, you’re like, “This is way cooler, way different, and way more imaginative than I would even have ever thought.”

Jessica: Even with the music. The orchestra that Seth used, they really knocked it out of the park.

Anne: They do that music live. I wish I could have gone. It’s like a symphony. It’s so cool. It’s an entire symphony recording in real time the music that you hear in our show, which I think is very unique and unusual.

Make sure to follow Jessica (Twitter/Instagram) and Anne (Twitter/Instagram). Watch The Orville: New Horizons on Hulu today.