Posted in: Fox, TV | Tagged: alec sulkin, family guy, Rich Appel, seth macfarlane

Family Guy: MacFarlane, Showrunners Discuss Show's Edge, Disney & More

With Family Guy joining the ranks of other animated shows like The Simpsons and South Park as the longest-running half-hour comedies as prime time series, the Fox series does have the distinction the other two don't have. It's the fact it's the only one that was canceled before popularity in home media brought it back to the airwaves. The series, which premiered in 1999, was canceled in 2001, revived in 2005, and hasn't turned back since heading into 400 episodes with "Get Stewie" through 21 seasons. Creator Seth MacFarlane and co-showrunners Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin spoke with The Hollywood Reporter on how the series lasted so long, how things changed since Fox was acquired by Disney, and more.

How Family Guy Gets Away with Murder on TV

"A lot of the credit goes to our writers, who come up with funny, edgy stuff all the time," Sulkin said on how Family Guy gets away with its edgy humor for so long. "And a lot of credit goes to Rich, who, with his legal background, is uniquely qualified to fight network standard notes. "I think if you look at 'South Park' and 'The Simpsons' and our show, it's not a coincidence that they're all animated. And I think people's quote-unquote outrage and willingness to take offense at anything is in a different world when they're animated characters. To me, it's proof that people don't take such offense."

MacFarlane concurred, "I think that's 100 percent correct. Peter Griffin and Brian Griffin and Lois Griffin are not actual people that you can find on social media because they don't exist. But Rich brings up a good point. The supposed outrage — I don't find a lot of it in the real world. I read a lot about it on Twitter, which is, as much as we lend credence to it, statistically very fringe. Most people aren't on Twitter. But in terms of comedy, I don't think I've ever talked to a single person in the real world — outside social media and outside think pieces — who is really upset about the state of edgy comedy. If anything, I hear about the opposite. People want to laugh."

When it came to any changes felt when Disney purchased Fox in 2019, "Here's the honest difference, and I say this without fear," Appel said. Well, I say it with fear and no favor: The difference is Disney owns so many properties that I will find myself making legal arguments that I know are winners about parody and why we can get away with certain things. And then the question becomes, 'Well, that may be, Rich, but Marvel doesn't want to see its character portrayed in this light.' And I've sometimes said, 'Well, what if we just air it and see what happens?' 'No, that's not how we work.'"

For more on if MacFarlane and the co-showrunners feel Family Guy is a different show in 2022, their favorite episodes, Star Wars special, cancelation, and more, you can check out the whole THR interview here.

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