Seth MacFarlane (and Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman)’s adult animated comedy is coming home. American Dad!, the long-running TBS series, is poised to make its return to basic cable when its forthcoming 20th season airs on FOX. For fans of the cartoon, the move follows what seems to be a trend for MacFarlane’s animated properties, as his original breakout — Family Guy — made a similar jump back to its home network following some time away.
The news was reported in an exclusive to Deadline, which explains the American Dad! jump as something that’s long been in the works. We’re talking since the early days of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. American Dad! was the first series to debut on FOX’s Animation Domination programming block when it launched in 2005, so its return to the network makes a lot of sense. It also makes for a sort of new animation domination for the network, as American Dad! will join other beloved and long-running animated series, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers.
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The move is also, apparently, the result of an extension of the streaming deal between FOX and Hulu. Curious to know more? Keep reading on for more details!
FOX And Hulu And Disney+ Walk Into A Bar…
According to Deadline, American Dad!‘s FOX return is the result of an extension deal that Fox Entertainment and Hulu closed in November to ensure the broadcast network’s shows stay on the streaming platform in-season. The deal was, allegedly, worth over $1.5 billion dollars. It also just makes sense given the state of the world right now.
Putting a character like Stan Smith — a hyper-patriotic CIA agent obsessed with homeland security — front and center on a network like FOX (known for its more conservative leanings thanks to the outspoken Republican owner, Rupert Murdoch, and its news network, Fox News) feels like a bit of a no-brainer when you consider its audience. The series is largely a riff and/or rip-off (depending on who you ask) of Norman Lear’s iconic and groundbreaking sitcom All In The Family, with Stan Smith being likened to fellow conservative dad of a liberal daughter, Archie Bunker. Unlike that show, however, the animated American Dad! was borne out of MacFarlane and co-creator Matt Weitzman’s frustrations with the George W. Bush presidential administration of the early 2000s.
American Dad! stars MacFarlane as Smith (he also voices the alien character Roger); Wendy Schaal plays his wife, Francine; Rachael MacFarlane plays daughter Hayley, and Scott Grimes plays geeky brother, Steve; and Dee Bradley Baker is Klaus, a German Olympic skier trapped in the body of a goldfish.
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