Yes, though I’m enjoying ST:Discovery, WestWorld, and The Expanse, I really miss optimistic sci-fi.

Is there anything like that out there now that I’m missing?

The Star Trek-clone "The Orville" is just that - with some added Seth Macfarlane humor.

I expected absolutely nothing from it but ended up really enjoying it. Only one season out so far.

Orville is clearly made by someone who loves star trek. It's a comedy but it has good stories that could have been TNG episodes.

His love of trek has been life long - he even made a fanfilm as a teenager! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn_Sgcxg5PQ

I also like that while The Orville is set in a post-scarcity society, the characters aren't the shining bastions of humanity as Star Trek characters tend to be. They're basically just doing their best, and have some very recognizable flaws.

I got halfway through the first season of that, but I didn’t enjoy the the humor, the barely-one-level-deep moralizing, or the lack of believability I felt the plots had. As examples, that episode with the social media thing, or the one-gender planet...

Did you (or anyone else now a fan) agree with my feelings initially, and find it got better?

The Orville. I feel like it's the spiritual successor to Gene's original vision.

Me 2. I think that's the whole reason Patrick Stewart signed back up...to portray positive SciFi to counter the dark times.

I'm extremely excited at the possibility for a new "Measure of a Man", or "The Drumhead". These are episodes that have positively shaped the minds of many.

If someone succeeds in making a workable screenplay then the Culture novels from the late Iain M Banks are perfect.

Amazon is making a Culture series (starting with Consider Phlebas): https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/21/17035618/amazon-culture-s...