If we were in Quahog, this would probably be a news flash, broken by Tom Tucker or Diane Simmons, but seeing as this is about the upcoming Family Guy spin-off, that might be just a little too meta, even for Seth McFarland.
Family Guy survived two cancellations by 20th Century Fox before it became the cultural phenomenon it is today. Now, after a similarly bumpy process, show creator Seth MacFarlane has signed quite the lucrative deal with Fox. Over two years of negotiations have finally come to fruition for MacFarlane, who has just signed a deal that would make him the highest-paid TV writer-producer according to Hollywood Reporter.
The deal is said to be worth more than $100 million and keeps MacFarlane at 20th Century Fox TV through 2012 as executive producer of Family Guy, American Dad and the upcoming Family Guy spinoff, The Cleveland Show. MacFarlane will remain the main vocal talent on his current shows. It also covers new-media projects related to his series’ including DVD and merchandising revenue from them. A pretty sweet deal considering Family Guy alone has flourished into a $1 billion franchise with DVD and merchandise sales.
“It effectively locks me into 20th,” MarFarlane said. “It’s great to be in a permanent, stable relationship…because I like to think that I have a number of other shows in me.”
Negotiations were slowed along the way after a stalemate in 2006 which halted production on Family Guy’s sixth season and then by the writers strike. But of the end result, MacFarlane said, “I get a lot of pleasure out of making shows. It’s a bonus to be getting paid well for it, and it’s a double bonus to be getting paid exorbitantly for it.”
Indeed, MacFarlane has come a long way in a short amount of time over the 10 years since he pitched an idea to Fox straight out of college for an animated comedy (and its sequel) based on characters from his thesis. “Signing a long contract is something I can feel good and relaxed about because I know they have tight purse strings, but they certainly give you a lot of creative freedom.”
In the future, MacFarlane hopes to continue expanding his Fuzzy Door production company to include more projects, one of which may be the rumored Family Guy movie in the next few years.
Related links:
Feature: American Dad's Roger the Alien speaks out
News: Cleveland Rocks: Family Guy spin-off in early stages
FamilyGuy.com
Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.
A spin-off of Fox’s hit animated comedy series Family Guy is in the works, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The show, tentatively titled Cleveland, will center on the Griffin family’s mellow neighbor of same name, a series regular meant to skewer black stereotypes. MacFarlane has already started writing with Family Guy writer/producer Mike Henry and Rich Appel, executive producer of MacFarlane’s other animated series American Dad.
Family Guy has defied all odds to become Fox's top-rated comedy. The show premiered in 1999, but was abruptly canceled in 2000, and again in 2002. Cartoon Network started showing reruns of the show as part of its late-night Adult Swim programming after its cancellation, and the show’s audience grew steadily. Family Guy's first three seasons were also released on DVD, and when sales topped two million copies in a one year, Fox reinstated production of the show in 2004.
The show, now in its sixth season on Fox, also inspired the straight-to-DVD movie Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story in 2005. The series’ seventh season is scheduled begin airing next August.
Related links:
FamilyGuy.com
Family Guy on Adult Swim
IMDb: Family Guy
Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.
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Episode 70
August 19, 2008
