McFarlane has been noted to saying that the trailers were very misleading -- The Orville is *not* an all-out comedy, but a dramedy.

I'm apt to look at The Orville as being ST:TNG "Lite" edition (note: ST:TNG -- "Star Trek: The Next Generation"). From the second episode onward, the episodes have pretty much played out like a TNG episode (though lighter in tone). I do find it amusing that the opening credits for The Orville pretty much mirrors the one for Star Trek: Voyager.