Family Guy

History

Creation

While studying at the Rhode Island School of Design, Seth MacFarlane created a short film entitled The Life of Larry about a middle-aged slob named Larry and his talking dog, Steve.

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After being hired at Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc., MacFarlane was given a chance at the tender age of 22 in 1996 to direct a sequel to the short entitled Larry and Steve, a nine minute short which was broadcast as one of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons. The short featured two main characters: Larry, a fat, old, balding man who did idiotic things, and Steve, a talking dog who was smarter than most people. The short features Steve in front of a camcorder recording an SOS tape for someone to come and save him from his bumbling owner, Larry. Steve recounts for the tape the misadventures that have ensued ever since Larry bought Steve from the dog pound, focusing on a series of misadventures and hijinks that ensued when the pair went to the mall to buy items for Larry's apartment. While at the mall, the two destroy nearly everything. For example, Larry is looking for a lightbulb for his bedside lamp. He puts it a high watt bulb and criticizes Steve for saying that it wasn't a good idea to put the bulb in. When Larry plugs the lamp in, it turns into a wide lightsaber and he cuts the store in half. Of course, while he's doing it, Larry says "Luke, I am your father..."

Related Topics:
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. - 1996 - Cartoon Network - World Premiere Toons - Camcorder - SOS - Dog pound - Mall - Apartment

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Executives at Fox Broadcasting Company saw both shorts, and MacFarlane was given the opportunity to develop a show based on the shorts. He agreed, leaving Hanna-Barbera and working on the characters of Larry and Steve, who eventually evolved into Peter and Brian Griffin.

Related Topics:
Fox Broadcasting Company - Peter - Brian Griffin

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Initial run

The first episode was aired in the United States on the Fox Network on January 31, 1999, after Super Bowl XXXIII. The show premiered as a regular series in April and ran for 6 more episodes until the season finale in the middle of May. The first season contained seven episodes and introduced the viewer to the show's main characters. The second season began on September 23, 1999, and contained 21 episodes. The third season contained 22 episodes and began its run on July 11, 2001. During its second- and third-season runs, Fox frequently moved the show around different days and time slots with little or no notice. Ratings suffered, and after only two episodes of the second season, Family Guy was taken off the network's permanent schedule and was shown irregularly thereafter.

Related Topics:
United States - Fox Network - January 31 - 1999 - Super Bowl XXXIII - April - May - September 23 - July 11 - 2001

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When Family Guy was shown in the UK, and when the DVDs were subsequently released there (November 12, 2001), the first seven episodes of the second season were included with the first season, balancing them out with 14 episodes each.

Related Topics:
DVD - November 12 - 2001

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There was a great deal of debate and rumor during the second and third seasons about whether Family Guy would be cancelled or renewed. Fox publicly announced that the show had been cancelled at the end of the second season. In an attempt to convince Fox to renew the show, dismayed fans created websites, signed petitions, and wrote letters; some even sent diapers and baby food to the network for Stewie.

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A shift in power at Fox resulted in thirteen new episodes being ordered, which formed the basis of the third season. The show's writers, aware of the uncertainty of the show's future, would frequently make reference to this in several episodes. During the third season, Fox announced that the show was cancelled for good.

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Revival efforts

The news of Fox's cancellation in the third season was met with dismay by fans, and renewed efforts were made to convince Fox to resurrect the show. An online petition was launched, which garnered over 10,000 signatures within only a few weeks. The petition contained the following message, addressed to Gail Berman and Sandy Grushow, the President of Entertainment and Chairman of Fox at the time:

Related Topics:
Gail Berman - Sandy Grushow

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To: FOX Broadcasting

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Dear Ms. Gail Berman and Mr. Sandy Grushow,

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We are avid watchers of FOX programming, especially the show "Family Guy". We have recently heard that FOX Broadcasting has cancelled this show. We are informing you of a boycott of FOX Broadcasting, FX, FOX Sports Channel, and all products shown on FOX Broadcasting, FX, and FOX Sports Channel. We are all willing to comply with the boycott and do whatever it takes to get our favorite FOX show ("Family Guy") back on the air.

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We will not only be boycotting your stations, we will be boycotting every product shown on those stations. These products include, but are not limited to: Nyquil, Schick, Valvoline, Gold Bond, Subway Sandwiches, Buick Motor Vehicles, Alka-Seltzer, Monistat 7, Diflucan, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Heartguard, Frontline, any product on TimeLife.com, Ranger Bass Boats, The Xtractor, any product made by MGM, 1-800-COLLECT, Hunt's Manwich, any product made by Reeses', any product made by Walt Disney, and Gevalia coffee and coffee makers.

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As you can see, we are taking this cancellation very seriously. We will contact our local newspapers, and television stations; and with that we will gain more people in our "quest" to get "Family Guy" back on television.

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Sincerely,

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The Undersigned

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The petition gained over 100,000 signatures, but this along with mass e-mailing and letter writing to Fox executives and organized street protests failed to save Family Guy. Later efforts to get other networks, particularly UPN, to buy Family Guy also failed.

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Return to television

In 2003, reruns of the series found a permanent home at Cartoon Network and its late-night Adult Swim block, where, as of 2005, it continues to play. According to a Cartoon Network press release, "FAMILY GUY ranks #1 in its time period on cable among Adults and Men 18–24, and also beats both The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in head-to-head competition among Men 18–34 and Men 18–24." (This was only an occasional ratings outcome{{ref|latenight}}.)

Related Topics:
2003 - Cartoon Network - Adult Swim - As of 2005 - The Late Show with David Letterman - The Tonight Show - Jay Leno

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The series found further success on DVD, when it was finally released for the US market (NTSC, Region 1) on April 15, 2003. Divided into two volumes, Family Guy sold 2.2 million DVD units in the first year{{ref|dvdsales}}, reportedly surpassing every other TV-based DVD released in 2003, including Sex and the City and Friends compilations. The significant Cartoon Network ratings, combined with the unprecedented DVD sales, led to widespread rumors that Fox was in talks to revive the series.

Related Topics:
DVD - NTSC - Region 1 - April 15 - 2003 - Sex and the City - Friends

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On November 19, 2003, the E! Entertainment Television channel and its website (see below) reported that Fox was negotiating with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane to revive the show with 35 new episodes. On February 27, 2004, in an interview with IGN, Seth MacFarlane confirmed that Family Guy would resume production. MacFarlane provided even more information in a BBC interview. (see (IGN interview)], (BBC interview))

Related Topics:
November 19 - 2003 - E! Entertainment Television channel - Below - Seth MacFarlane - February 27 - 2004 - IGN

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On March 26, 2004, 20th Century Fox Television officially announced that it had committed to producing at least 22 more episodes of Family Guy to be broadcast on Adult Swim in early 2005. The Fox Network has retained a window to run these episodes, starting on May 1, 2005. Seth MacFarlane was quoted as saying, "I'm just incredibly excited that we're back in business on Family Guy. Now all those crazy kids who've been hounding me to bring the show back can stop bothering me and move onto more serious matters—like saving Coupling (TV Series)."

Related Topics:
March 26 - 2004 - Adult Swim - May 1 - 2005 - Coupling (TV Series)

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The fourth-season premiere of Family Guy took place on Sunday, May 1, 2005, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Fox, where, as of this writing, it continues to play in a regular time slot. Reruns of the fourth season began play during Adult Swim on June 9, 2005.

Related Topics:
May 1 - 2005 - Eastern Standard Time - June 9

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Furthermore, a Family Guy direct-to-DVD movie, titled ', was released on September 27, 2005 (see ). The 87-minute film is unrated and includes commentary, deleted material, and other bonus features.

Related Topics:
Direct-to-DVD - September 27

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A Family Guy video game is currently in production under the Take-Two Interactive banner, slated for a 2006 release on an unnamed system (see ).

Related Topics:
Take-Two Interactive - 2006

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On September 27, 2005, Variety reported that 20th Century Fox recently quietly greenlighted production of 22 additional all new episodes of Family Guy, another full season of Family Guy. (see )

Related Topics:
September 27 - 2005 - Variety - 20th Century Fox

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