Family Guy (franchise)

Family Guy is an American animated comedy franchise created by Seth MacFarlane and originally developed for the Fox Broadcasting Company.
TV show.
"Family Guy" is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children, Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog, Brian. The show is set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, and exhibits much of its humor in the form of metafictional cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture.
The family was conceived by MacFarlane after developing two animated films, "The Life of Larry" and "Larry & Steve". MacFarlane redesigned the films' protagonist, Larry, and his dog, Steve, and renamed them Peter and Brian, respectively. MacFarlane pitched a seven-minute pilot to Fox in 1998, and the show was greenlit and began production. Shortly after the third season of "Family Guy" had aired in 2002, Fox canceled the series with one episode left unaired. Adult Swim aired that episode in 2003, finishing the series' original run. However, favorable DVD sales and high ratings for syndicated reruns on Adult Swim convinced the network to renew the show in 2004 for a fourth season, which began airing on May 1, 2005.
Spin-off.
MacFarlane co-created—alongside Mike Henry and Richard Appel—the "Family Guy" spin-off "The Cleveland Show", which premiered September 27, 2009. They began discussing the project in 2007. Appel and Henry served as the show's executive producers and showrunners, handling the day-to-day operations, with limited involvement from MacFarlane. Henry and Appel conceived the show as "more of a family show, a sweeter show" than "Family Guy". The first season consisted of 22 episodes, and the show was picked up by Fox for a second season, which consisted of 13 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009, before the first season began. It was extended to a full second season. Appel signed a new three-year, seven-figure deal with Fox to continue serving as showrunner on "The Cleveland Show" in 2010. Fox chairman Gary Newman commented: "What is special about him is his incredible leadership ability." The show follows the "Family Guy" character Cleveland Brown, who is voiced by Henry, as he leaves the town of Quahog and moves with his son to start his own adventure.
Fox canceled "The Cleveland Show" on May 13, 2013, roughly a week before the May 19 conclusion of its fourth season. On July 16, 2013, MacFarlane confirmed an upcoming twelfth season episode of "Family Guy" centering on Cleveland's return to Quahog.
Crossovers with other series.
An event known as "Night of the Hurricane" depicts a hurricane hitting the hometowns of MacFarlane's sitcoms "Family Guy", "American Dad!" and "The Cleveland Show", culminating in a stand-off among the three fathers of each family.
It was announced that a special episode of "Family Guy" featuring an official crossover with "The Simpsons" would premiere in 2014. At San Diego Comic Con a 5-minute preview was shown. The episode, titled "The Simpsons Guy", was aired September 28, 2014.
The series may crossover with MacFarlane's other series, "The Orville".
Merchandise.
As of 2009, six books have been released about the "Family Guy" universe, all published by HarperCollins since 2005. The first, ' () by Steve Callahan, was released on April 26, 2005. Written in the style of a graphic novel, the plot follows Stewie's plans to rule the world. Other books include ' (), which covers the events of the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One"; and "Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded" (), a collection of 17 essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers. A book written from Brian's point of view (written by Andrew Goldberg) was published in 2006, called "Brian Griffin's Guide to Booze, Broads and the Lost Art of Being a Man".
"Family Guy" has been commercially successful in the home market. The show was the first to be resurrected because of high DVD sales. The first volume, covering the show's first two seasons, sold 1.67 million units, topping TV DVD sales in 2003, while the second volume sold another million units. Volumes six and seven debuted at fifth place in United States DVD sales; volume seven was the highest-selling television DVD, selling 171,000 units by June 21, 2009. "Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest", the DVD featuring the "Star Wars" special "Blue Harvest", was released on January 15, 2008, and premiered at the top of United States DVD sales. The DVD was the first "Family Guy" DVD to include a digital copy for download to the iPod. In 2004, the first series of "Family Guy" toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz; each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made. Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures were released, with various forms of Peter. In 2008, the character Peter appeared in advertisements for Subway Restaurants, promoting the restaurant's massive feast sandwich.
Other media.
Books.
Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One was written by executive story editor Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and actress Alex Borstein. The book was first published on May 8, 2007. The book is a biographical monologue by Lois Griffin discussing her memories of growing up and to her attempted run for mayor in the town of Quahog. Though the book primarily consists of a loose narrative monologue by Lois, it is also interspersed with sections from other characters such as Peter Griffin. The book covers events featured in the "Family Guy" episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One", with which it shares a title. It was published in the United Kingdom in 2007 by Orion Books.
A comic book based on the "Family Guy" universe was produced. Published by Titan Comics, edited by Steve White and illustrated by Anthony Williams and S. L. Gallant. The writing and the illustrations will be supervised by the show's producers. The first comic book was released on July 27, 2011.
Inside Family Guy will be released in May 2019, as part of the series' 20th anniversary.
Live performances.
As promotion for the show, and, as Newman described, "[to] expand interest in the show beyond its diehard fans", Fox organized four "Family Guy Live!" performances, which featured cast members reading old episodes aloud. The cast also performed musical numbers from the "" comedy album. The stage shows were an extension of a performance by the cast during the 2004 Montreal Comedy Festival. The "Family Guy Live!" performances, which took place in Los Angeles and New York, sold out and were attended by around 1,200 people each.
In 2007, at the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, MacFarlane performed (as the digitally inserted Stewie and Brian) the ceremony's opening number. He performed a song insulting modern television to the tune of the song "The Fellas At The Freakin' F.C.C." performed in the episode "PTV". The song insulted TV shows such as "Two and a Half Men", "Desperate Housewives", and "Scrubs", as well as the final scene of "The Sopranos".
In 2009, a special televised performance show aired entitled "Family Guy Presents Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show", in which voice actors Alex Borstein and MacFarlane performed songs from the show, as well as a parody of Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face" in the voice of Marlee Matlin, who appeared on stage as a guest during the performance. Some new animated gags also appeared in the show.
Film.
On July 22, 2007, in an interview with "The Hollywood Reporter", MacFarlane announced that he may start working on a feature film, although "nothing's official." In "TV Week" on July 18, 2008, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released "Family Guy" feature film sometime "within the next year." He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on the show, which [to him] is the only reason to do a movie." He later went to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to "The Sound of Music", saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel." On October 13, 2011, Seth MacFarlane confirmed that a deal for a "Family Guy" film had been made, and that it would be written by himself and series co-producer Ricky Blitt.
On November 30, 2012, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a "Family Guy" film. The project was put on hold while MacFarlane worked on "Ted 2".
Video games.
The "Family Guy Video Game!" is a 2006 action game released by 2K Games and developed by High Voltage Software. The game received mixed reviews, averaging 50% favorable reviews for the PlayStation 2 version, 51% for the PlayStation Portable version, and 53% for the Xbox version, according to review aggregator Metacritic. The game received praise for its humor, but was criticized for its short playtime and "uninteresting gameplay". On November 2, 2009, IGN journalist Ryan Langley reported the production of a "Family Guy"-based party game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. He cited the LinkedIn profiles of former HB Studios developer Chris Kolmatycki and Invisible Entertainment co-owner Ron Doucet, which stated that the individuals had worked on the game. MacFarlane recorded exclusive material of Peter's voice and other "Family Guy" characters for a 2007 pinball machine of the show by Stern Pinball.
A game called "Family Guy Online" was launched into public beta in April 2012, but permanently shut down on January 18, 2013.
"", which is centered around the episode "Road to the Multiverse", was released on November 20, 2012.
"" launched on iOS and Android on April 10, 2014.
"Family Guy: Another Freakin Mobile Game" was released on iOS on April 25, 2017.