Despite that Season 23 of “Family Guy” won’t premiere on Fox until midseason, the Seth MacFarlane series remains “crucial” to the lineup, Fox Television Network president Michael Thorn said Monday.
“It’s still a crucial part of our [schedule],” Thorn told members of the press ahead of the network’s upfront presentation on Monday. “We’ll give it a great relaunch for that part of our lineup, and we know that when it comes back on Sundays, it will resonate with our audience the way it always has.”
The series will return with a full season order and will have a mostly unbroken run of episodes. The Fox head also noted that most of the “Family Guy” audience watches the series either on-demand or on Hulu after its initial airing. Because of this, releasing several new episodes in succession will likely help the series’ off-air performance.
The animated series’ postponement will give other Fox series room to grow during the fall, which, due to the NFL, is typically a heavily watched time for the network. Fox’s newest animated series, “Universal Basic Guys,” will now air after new episodes of “The Simpsons” on Sundays. That will then be followed by “Bob’s Burgers” and “Krapopolis,” which will be entering its second season.
Other animated series “Grimsburg” and “The Great North” are also being held for midseason premieres.
Three of Fox’s biggest animated series — “Family Guy,” “The Simpsons” and “Bob’s Burgers” — are approaching the final year of their multi-season orders. “Family Guy” has been renewed through Season 23; “The Simpsons” has been renewed through Season 36; and “Bob’s Burgers” has been renewed through Season 15. Additionally, the “Family Guy” team is producing two holiday specials exclusively for Hulu.
This past year, “Family Guy” was moved from its longtime home on Sunday nights to Wednesdays. That marked the first time since 2002 that the series has aired on a weeknight.
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