Why Halston Sage Left The Orville

In the first season of the sci-fi comedy series "The Orville," actor Halston Sage appears as security chief Lieutenant Alara Kitan. Alara comes from the planet Xelaya, which has gravity much greater than that of Earth's, giving her amazingly high muscle density for her size. Although she's young and small, her super strength makes her a formidable fighter among Earthlings. The makers of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" must have been paying attention to "The Orville," as one of the core characters on the show, Lieutenant La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong), looks very similarly to Alara, wears the same colored uniform, is also a security officer, and is even similarly equipped with superhuman strength. (In La'an's case, though, it's due to genetic enhancements.)

Alara is a great character who's conflicted since her skill at fighting clashes with her secretly timid nature. Weirdly, however, she was written off the series in the third episode of season 2. It's explained that Alara's muscles have become used to Earth-like gravity, causing her to lose her superhuman abilities. Thus, she returns to her home planet to spend more time with her parents. Sage has only come back to play Alara periodically since then, turning up in one episode later in season 2 and then for one episode in season 3.

Even stranger, Sage didn't ask to leave the show. Indeed, the reasons why Alara was written off the series seem to be entirely for dramatic reasons. Sage had no beef with the show's producers, nor did she request to step away from the series. It seems that "Orville" creator/showrunner Seth McFarlane just wanted to give his show a dramatic character twist. Indeed, at a 2019 TV Critics panel (via ScreenRant), Sage merely said her departure was 100% about what was best for the series.

It's almost frustrating to report that there was no scandal or drama involved in Sage's departure from "The Orville." It's not like the time Denise Crosby asked to leave "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in 1988, causing its writers to kill off her character. Sage wasn't unhappy on set, didn't ask to leave, and, by all reports, McFarlane was pleased with her work. Her departure was just the show's way of saying life on a starship in the "Orville" universe is turbulent and unpredictable, and sometimes crew members simply have to step away. The fictional character Alara wanted to regain her strength and reconnect with her parents, so Sage was out. 

Back in 2019, "Orville" producer David A. Goodman was interviewed by TrekMovie, and he commented on Sage's departure and possible return. (Certain "Orville" writers, you see, previously worked on "Star Trek" shows in the 1990s, so the series is often considered "Star Trek"-adjacent.) Goodman was also bummed out about Sage's departure from the show, noting that both he and the actor were eager to see Alara return. As he put it:

"Halston is a friend of the show. We love her and would definitely want to figure out ways that she can come back. I don't think she is coming back as a regular. But, we love that character, and we love her, and so, if there is an opportunity to bring her back story-wise, I think she would be open to it, and we would love to have her back." 

So, that's that. It's just a matter of story decisions and nothing to do with backstage drama. Season 3 of "The Orville" premiered on Hulu in 2022, while season 4 is currently waiting in the wings.