Family Guy Neighbor Gets Own Show

(NEWSER) - Family Guy is back and bigger than ever, and creator Seth Macfarlane is rolling in money, influence, and spinoffs. Sounds like just the right time for a major backlash, Natasha Vargas-Cooper writes for Radar. “Just a few years after thousands of American tastemakers demanded Family Guy be resuscitated from cancellation,” Vargas-Cooper writes, “many of those same arbiters of culture have deemed MacFarlane's humor puerile and brainless.” More»

Seth MacFarlane 'secretly hoping' fans finished with it

(NEWSER) - The Griffin family is showing no signs of slowing down—but their creator sometimes wishes they would, he tells the Hollywood Reporter . "Part of me thinks that Family Guy should have already ended. I think seven seasons is about the right lifespan for a TV series," Seth MacFarlane says; his show is already on its 10th season and nearing its 200th episode. "I talk to the fans and in a way I'm kind of secretly hoping for them to say, 'We're done with it.'" More»

Some producers agree to pay cuts; no word yet from actors

(NEWSER) - Don't say sayonara to the Simpsons just yet: Sources say several top-level producers will take pay cuts in order to keep the show on the air. Not all of the producers are on board, and cast members have not yet agreed to any terms. Variety notes that any money saved from a producer pay cut likely does not come close to the amount that would be saved if the actors agreed to the 45% reduction demand. But, as Entertainment Weekly points out, all sides believe something will be worked out, because no one wants to see the 23-season-long series end without a real finale. A final decision is expected tomorrow. More»

Network wants voice actors to take 45% pay cut

(NEWSER) - Has Moe polished his last glass? Has Homer slammed his last Duff’s? Has Krusty made his last small child cry? It’s all possible. Fox is threatening to pull the plug on history’s longest-running sitcom after the current season—its 23rd—if its core voice actors won’t accept a whopping 45% paycut, sources tell the Daily Beast . The cast had offered to take a 30% cut in exchange for some of the show’s massive backend profits, but Fox demurred. More»

Seth MacFarlane will update 1960s classic

(NEWSER) - Fred and Wilma meet Peter and Lois? Sorta. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is taking a stab at reinventing The Flintstones, Fox television announced yesterday. Work will begin on the 21st-century version of the classic cartoon this fall, and the animated series will likely air in 2013. Though MacFarlane will give the 1960s show a modern-day spin, the Los Angeles Times reports it will still be about the Flintstones and the Rubbles living in dinosaur-era Bedrock. Quips MacFarlane, "I think America is finally ready for an animated sitcom about a fat, stupid guy with a wife who's too good for him." More»