Seth MacFarlane has become a major force in Hollywood in recent years. His most famous creation, Family Guy, survived multiple cancellations to become one of the most popular animated sitcoms of all time. His animated success continued with projects like American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, as well as his theatrical debut in last year's comedy Ted.
MacFarlane is currently serving as executive producer on a new live-action sitcom called Dads, which premieres on Fox on September 17th. In honor of his return to live-action, we're looking back at MacFarlane's long television career, from his early years working at Hanna-Barbera through the debut of Dads, and the many other projects looming on the horizon.
MacFarlane's first animated project was actually his senior thesis while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. He produced a ten-minute animated short (with some live-action sequences filmed in his parents' house) called "The Life of Larry." MacFarlane largely animated and voiced the short himself in addition to hosting the live-action segments.
The short featured a middle-aged, lazy, pop culture-obsessed man named Larry Cummings, frazzled housewife Lois, overweight, rebellious teenage son Milt, and a well-spoken dog named Steve. If that lineup sounds familiar, it's because the Cummings family were essentially the prototype for the Griffins in Family Guy. Larry and Steve in particular were models for Peter and Brian, right down to their distinctive voices. "The Life of Larry" also featured what would become one of the hallmarks of Family Guy - the cutaway gag. Many of the gags seen in the short (William Shatner's spasmodic acting style, Larry's insensitive reaction to Tom Hanks in Philadelphia, England's rash of dangerous drive-by arguments, etc.) were more or less adapted wholesale in early episodes of Family Guy.
This short was enough to earn MacFarlane a job at Hanna-Barbera, where he worked on the various series that comprised Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons block. This included Cow and Chicken, Dexter's Laboratory, I Am Weasel, and in particular, Johnny Bravo. MacFarlane served as both writer and storyboard artist for these shows. He also worked in a freelance capacity on the Ace Ventura: Pet Detective animated series.
During this period, MacFarlane also wrote and directed a follow-up to "The Life of Larry" called "Larry and Steve," which aired on Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons series. "Larry and Steve" boasted more robust animation, but abandoned its predecessor's focus on cutaway gags and adult-oriented humor in favor of a more all-ages, slapstick tone.
After his two Larry shorts made the rounds, MacFarlane was called on by Fox to expand the concept into an animated series. He eventually morphed the Cummings into the Griffins, modifying the four characters to varying degrees and adding two more children into the mix. Larry became Peter, a generally well-meaning but easily distracted father prone to drunken outbursts and outrageous flights of fancy. Steve became Brian, while the homicidal baby genius Stewie completed the show's triumvirate of male leads. MacFarlane has served as executive producer of Family Guy from the beginning alongside a steady stream of producers and writers. He also provides the voices for many characters on the show, including Peter, Brian, and Stewie, as well as supporting characters like Carter Pewterschmidt, Dr. Hartman, and Seamus.
Initially conceived as a recurring animated short to be aired on the sketch comedy series MADtv, Family Guy was expanded into a full-fledged series of its own after Fox deemed it too expensive. However, MADtv star Alex Borstein joined the series as both voice actress and later as executive and supervising producer. Other prominent voice actors included Seth Green as Chris Griffin, Lacy Chabert as Meg Griffin (later replaced by Mila Kunis), Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson, and Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown (and many others).
The series premiered after Super Bowl XXXIII in January 1999, attracting a respectable 22 million viewers in the process. Family Guy continued to benefit from ideal placement in its first season, airing in between perennial Sunday night favorites The Simpsons and The X-Files each Sunday.
Initial reaction to Family Guy was mixed. Some praised the show for offering a more risque brand of humor than The Simpsons. Others criticized it for its similarities to The Simpsons. The show was both lauded and mocked for its frequent cutaway gags and reliance on pop culture spoofs. The cutaways have since come to be referred to as "manatee jokes," after an episode of South Park suggested that the show is written by manatees who assemble jokes by choosing colored balls with various pop culture topics written on them.
Family Guy also attracted its fair share of controversy almost immediately, particularly from the Parents Television Council, who repeatedly included the show on their annual list of "Worst Primetime Shows for Family Viewing." The controversial episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" was pulled by Fox in 2002 over fears about its perceived anti-semitic humor. The episode never actually aired until the following year when Family Guy began syndication on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup.
Despite a loyal fanbase and healthy ratings in its first season, Family Guy's second season quickly began to suffer from an irregular and constantly changing schedule and stiff competition from the likes of NBC's Frasier and ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The series was briefly canceled in 2000 after the conclusion of season 2, though later that summer they announced plans for a shorter, 13-episode third season. But despite a rise in quality during this period (many consider this to be Family Guy's golden age), continued scheduling woes and ratings competition led to another cancellation in 2002.
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