3.29.06 - Family Guy has been picked up for a fifth season by FOX.

1.30.06 - The January 30th issue of TV Guide has a feature on A Day in the Life of Seth Green starting on page 36.

1.25.06 - An Internet-only talk show is quietly being developed for Family Guy brat Stewie, the Hollywood Reporter whispers. The program is expected to debut at www.familyguy.com within the year.

12.30.05 - The January 2nd issue of TV Guide magazine reports on Toon Wars. Looks like there may be a feud brewing between TV's most popular animated series. In a recent episode of The Simpsons, a book of known criminals listed Family Guy's Peter Griffin and American Dad's Stan Smith as plagiarists. A month before, Family Guy's Stewie used his Big Wheel to run over Homer Simpson, followed by his father, Peter, asking, "Who the hell is that?"

The on-screen barbs come after long-circulating rumors that Simpsons producers believe Guy and Dad are rip-offs of their show. "Things have gotten said at parties," explains American Dad executive producer Mike Barker. "But you're talking about nerd rivalries here—it's not like Tupac." Still, it looks like the battle could go on for a while longer: The Family Guy writers have already put a new Simpsons gag into one of their episodes set to air sometimes next season. —Stephen Battaglio

12.14.05 - FOX has ordered a pilot of Ricky Blitt's show, "Becoming Glen," which brings the show back to the place it was originally developed in 2001 and 2002. The show would feature a man in his 40s looking back to when he was 32, the year he finally got off his parents' couch and made something of his life. Blitt will executive produce the pilot with his former boss, Seth MacFarlane. The show began life in the 2001-02 development season as a single-camera project starring Johnny Galecki ("Roseanne"); in its current incarnation, it will be a multi-camera show. Casting will get underway in the coming days.

12.11.05 - You gotta love when tonight's episode of The Simpsons called out Family Guy as plagiarism and American Dad as plagiarism of plagiarism.

12.8.05 - TV Guide Online reports that Seth MacFarlane and Ricky Blitt are resurrecting Blitt's long-shopped-around pilot, Becoming Glen, about a fortysomething man who flashes back to his life as a 32-year-old slacker living with his folks.

10.20.05 - Congratulations to Family Guy for being on the Parents Television Council annual list of worst prime-time shows for family viewing. In fact, congratulations to FOX for airing six of the top ten shows on the list.

10.17.05 - From the October 17th issue of TV Guide: Family Guy First Look! After Janet Jackson's breast led to mass hysteria— and an FCC fine—in 2004, a fearful Fox decided that the bare bottom of Family Guy baby Stewie Griffin was no longer fit for prime time and was deleted from a repeat. But on November 6, Family dad Peter Griffin strikes back. Bugged over the censorship of his favorite shows, he starts his own channel—PTV—until the FCC shows up at his home. It's a scream, but Washington's crackdown on content is no joke to series creator Seth MacFarlane. "TV writers are disturbed by what's taking place," he says. "Our message is, 'Quit being such jerks. Mellow out.'" —Stephen Battaglio

9.28.05 - 20th has signed a two year development deal with showrunner David Goodman. Currently Goodman is working on Family Guy, which according to Variety has recently been given a 22-ep order for another season by FOX. Goodman will be attached to that new season.

Stewie Griffin by Seth MacFarlane/FOX

by Anthony Layser

One question has always plagued fans of Fox's The Family Guy: How could beer-swilling homunculus Peter father Stewie, a refined yet maniacal football-headed genius? The mystery spurred show creator Seth MacFarlane to craft a classic tale of a man setting out to discover his roots. Well, sort of. Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, available on DVD Sept. 27, is 80 minutes of the same type of crass material we've come to expect (and love) from The Family Guy. It's also MacFarlane's first feature-length effort. He gave TV Guide.com all the sordid details.

TVGuide.com: Did you originally envision Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story as a movie or a series of episodes?
Seth MacFarlane: We did it when we were first coming back, so we weren't really sure how the show was going to do, or whether anyone would even buy something like this. What we did was structure it as a movie, but made it so that, down the line, it could eventually be broken up in to three episodes. We wound up with a big movie-size version of an episode, and I think it works very well structurally.

TVGuide.com: C'mon, Seth. Do you really care about structure that much? Your show is usually a series of tangents.
MacFarlane: [Laughs] We do care about structure... and we don't. When it comes to gags, if something is funny, we'll find a way to shoehorn it into the exact moment we want it. In an age where the last thing sitcoms are concerned with is getting laughs, I think we're getting a few extra laughs in wherever we can. But some weeks more than others, we do try to give the show a backbone. Even if it's a silly story, hopefully we're creating stories that take you somewhere and make you want to see a resolution. But I'm under no delusion that people watch our show for the rich story content.

TVGuide.com: Though Stewie is a baby, he's already exhibited signs of latent homosexuality and has a maniacal desire for world domination. Will he come to terms with those sorts of issues on his DVD journey?
MacFarlane: Stewie's sexual orientation doesn't play a big part in the movie, but he does discover that he may not be as capable of taking over the world when he grows up as he thought. It's a very big slap in the face.

TVGuide.com: What kind of musical numbers can we expect?
MacFarlane: Actually, we don't have any big production numbers in this. But if we do a theatrical release at some point, we may structure it from the ground up as a musical.

TVGuide: So you'd eventually like to do a theatrical feature?
MacFarlane: Yeah. I think this is a great trial run for us. We learned that with the right story, these characters can sustain a longer format. In some ways, the writers and I wished we had saved this story for a theatrical feature, because it really turned out to be pretty cool. So at some point down the line, I think we will talk seriously with Fox about doing a theatrical release.

TVGuide.com: There are rumors of a feud between The Family Guy and The Simpsons. Care to talk some smack about Matt Groening?
MacFarlane: You know, it's funny — Matt Groening and I actually have a great relationship. We've talked several times in the past few weeks and joked about this. One day out of nowhere [this rumor] pops up in papers and magazines. Actually, it was probably one comment that was taken out of context in Blender. Matt's just a cool guy, and fortunately neither of us was ruffled by any of that stuff. We just laughed it off.

TVGuide.com: Stewie breaks the neck of an Entertainment Weekly reporter in The Untold Story. Should I feel threatened if I don't write positively about the DVD?
MacFarlane: No, that poke was because they wrote so many negative things about us early on. It was actually just this one guy, Ken Tucker. Everything he ever wrote about our show was just scathing. But we've always had a good relationship with TV Guide. Wait, this is TV Guide, isn't it?

TVGuide.com: It certainly is, Seth. It certainly is.

8.16.05 - KansasCity.com TV Barn - Steal this post! My copy of the Family Guy direct-to-DVD film, "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story," arrived today, encased in plastic and abject corporate paranoia. More...

6.21.05 - Family Guy, the Movie! Seth MacFarlane has announced that there will be a direct-to-DVD movie featuring the whole crew from Family Guy. The 83-minute, unrated "Family Guy Present Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story" details what happens when the brood's resident evil baby genius has a near-death experience and reconsiders his long-held dreams of world domination. Instead, hoping to change his Machiavellian ways, and believing his pater familias Peter might not be his biological father, the pint-sized tot embarks on a journey to find to find his real dad.

The direct-to-DVD flick, the first of its kind spun off from a TV franchise, features the guest voices of Drew Barrymore, Jessica Biel, Ron Livingston, Jennifer Tilly, and erstwhile Batman Adam West, along witht three former Beverly Hills, 90210 denizens - Jason Priestly, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling - in a "special gag," according to MacFarlane.

The DVD will include deleted scenes, still galleries, animatics and commentary from MacFarlane. There's also an animated bit showing the Griffins going to their own movie premiere and a post-screening after-party.

"It's been an enormous undertaking to juggle this with doing 35 new episodes of the show, but we think it turned out great," MacFarlane, who voices portly patriarch Peter, gin-swilling pooch Brian and would-be megalomaniac Stewie, tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Fox will distribute the DVD and has high expectations. In a bid to get the most bang for its buck, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment plans a massive promotional campaign for "Untold," including a viral marketing strategy aimed at college students with special screenings at schools, clubs, bars and fraternity parties. The new DVD will retail for $29.98 and is scheduled to hit stores on Sept. 27.

6.7.05 - Family Guy will be on the cover of the June 12th issue of TV Guide. Check out a preview of the cover story on the TV Guide web site.

5.20.05 - Family Guy will remain on Sundays at 9:30pm ET come fall.

5.4.05 - On Saturday, June 25th, at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, Seth MacFarlane will release the secrets behind Family Guy. He'll take participants on a multimedia adventure inside the Family Guy. The night will feature stories, clips, and never-before-seen clips.

3.10.05 - Fox is teaming up with the Montreal Comedy Festival to turn The Family Guy into a stage show.

11.22.04 - Cartoon Network and TBS beat them to it, but FOX will finally air the controversial Family Guy episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein." The episode will air on Friday, December 10th, as part of a holiday-themed special hour of "The Family Guy" on FOX. The other episode included in this special, which starts at 9pm ET, will be the third season episode "A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas."

10.1.04 - In the October 1st issue of Entertainment Weekly, in the Ken Tucker Ask the Critic section, a reader asks: "You really hated Family Guy. Do you plan to revisit the show when it relaunches in 2005, and do you think you'll hate it all over again?" —Paul West

Ken Tucker answers: Whenever something you—and by "you" I mean "I"—hate becomes popular, as Family Guy did with its release on DVD and subsequent cable reruns, it's necessary to step back and try to figure out the appeal. In this case, I think Family Guy excelled at a kind of humor I have no use for: intentionally dumb jokes mixed with ironic references to pop culture. I detest the so-silly-it's-good aesthetic of judgment. I've rented the DVDs and re-watched the show with as open a mind as possible, but nope, no laughs emerged from me. As for its relaunch, you bet I'll be watching. The pressure's on creator Seth MacFarlane to see if the show can build on its burgeoning cult following to become what it hasn't been so far: a network hit—that is to say, a show with a real broad, mass following, like The Simpsons. Good luck, Seth.

9.30.04 - TV Guide reports that for the upcoming spring season premiere of Family Guy, Drew Barrymore will play a Pamela Smart-like teacher who tries to enlist Chris to kill her husband. Future episodes will find Kiefer Sutherland spoofing his 24 alter ego, Jack Bauer; Parker Posey playing Chris's future wife; and James Woods channeling, um, James Woods.

8.20.04 - NBC's Olympics pulled a 10.0/28 last Wednesday night in the A18-49 demo according to Nielsen Media Research, with 28.0 million viewers. The closest competitor in the demo was Fox's Family Guy marathon with a 2.1/6.

8.9.04 - TV Guide Online: Seth Green: Animated Guy

Seth Green is best known as Buffy the Vampire Slayer's werewolf Oz and Dr. Evil's son in the Austin Powers movies. But he's thrilled to be reprising his role as dimwitted teenager Chris Griffin on the short-lived (but much-loved) Family Guy. After abruptly canceling it a few years back, Fox has decided to resurrect the animated comedy series. New episodes start in 2005, but to catch you up, a mini-marathon of old episodes will air on Aug. 18 and 25 at 8 pm/ET. Green's glad the cartoon is getting a second life.

"We've already done like six episodes," Green says excitedly. "It is directly as a result of the fan support because everybody bought the DVDs. It is the only time a corporation like Fox had to say, 'Maybe we didn't understand this show, but it is undeniable that it is popular and it makes money.'"

Since he's heading back into the world of cartoon characters, will he also do the upcoming animated version of Buffy? "Nobody has even approached me," the 30-year-old sighs. "I don't know a thing about it, so I couldn't tell you."

He will tell you unequivocally that co-starring with Matthew Lillard and Punk'd boy Dax Shepard in his new film, Without a Paddle (opening Aug. 18), is a barrel of laughs. "It is honestly the most fun I've ever had making a movie," he says. "It was the most creatively challenged and satisfied I've ever felt because I was working on something that, everyday, I was pushed. We just had so much fun. As much as we were risking our lives [doing canoeing stunts], and as much as it was the longest hours and an exhausting schedule, it was just a blast to go to work."

He was especially happy to get a chance to act alongside screen icon Burt Reynolds, whose appearance in Paddle is a wink at his work in the 1972 film Deliverance. "[Reynolds] really made an effort to make us all feel like we were on the same level," Green says. "He is just such a neat guy to get to hang out with, and it was a real treat to get to spend so much time [with him]. He shared so many stories, you can't even imagine. We just sat rapt with attention."

However, Green realized pretty quickly that they don't exactly have too much in common. "On my day off, I went and saw Tomb Raider 2. Huge mistake, I'll say it," he laughs. "But Burt, on his day off, killed a deer and then absorbed its spirit. I mean way different vacation plans."

8.2.04 - Family Guy returns to Fox with two mini-marathons scheduled to air opposite the Olympics on August 18 and 25, 8-10pm ET.

7.21.04 - The episode of Family Guy that aired last Wednesday at 11pm delivered the biggest audience of 18 to 34-year-olds ever for Cartoon Network.

6.16.04 - Beginning July 7, TBS will add Family Guy to its primetime lineup, airing back to back eps from 8-9pm (as it continues to air on Cartoon Network). Family Guy is also slated to return to Fox primetime schedule with new episodes in mid-season 2004-05.

5.21.04 - FOX announced that Family Guy will be returning to its airwaves in June, 2005.

4.25.04 - From the Apri 25th issue of TV Guide: Seth Green

As a kid, Seth Green was obsessed with the Muppets. Now, at 30, the Buffy and "Austin Powers" star is about to see his fondest fantasy come true. On April 28, he will appear on PBS' Sesame Street as Vinny, a deliveryman for the "Letter-of-the-Month Club." -Michael Logan

Just how big a Muppet nut are you?
Put it this way: I was still wearing Sesame Street T-shirts when I was 17. I never really believed the Muppets were real, but at the same time, they kinda are real, you know? I had a very emotional reaction when I met them.

You're starting to scare me...
I hope I don't come off too crazy in the episode. I flew to New York to do Sesame Street directly from a three-month film shoot in New Zealand. I hadn't slept. I didn't shave. I looked insane.

Sesame Street aside, you sure do a lot of schlocky TV.
I did Married to the Kellys so I could play with my pal Breckin Meyer, and That '70s Show because I'm friends with Wilmer Valderrama.

Why don't you people just do lunch?
It's low-impact work that's a lot of fun, and then I get a check. It's kinda unbelievable.

And now your show Family Guy is coming back two years after cancellation.
The repeats were a bit hit on Cartoon Network, so Fox had to admit they made a mistake. Now they can say it was ahead of its time, bring it back and they look like heroes.

Your "Scooby-Doo 2" costar Sarah Michelle Gellar says you're surprisingly selfless for a comic.
I'm a team player. Michael Jordan passed almost as much as he shot. [Stunned silence] Oh, God. Please don't say I compared myself to Michael Jordan.

3.29.04 - Zap2It.com: 'Family Guy' Rises from the Dead - Fueled by DVD sales and strong ratings for its reruns, the animated series "Family Guy" is going back into production -- more than two years after the last original episode aired.

FOX, which had the series originally, has an option to air the episodes first; the Cartoon Network, the show's current home, will also air them. The new episodes -- at least 22 will be produced -- will be ready by spring 2005.

"I'm just incredibly excited that we're back in business on 'Family Guy,'" creator Seth MacFarlane says in a statement. "Now all those crazy kids who've been hounding me to bring the show back can stop bothering me and move onto more serious matters -- like saving 'Coupling....'"

3.26.04 - It's official: 20th Century Fox TV is producing at least 22 new episodes of Family Guy, which, thanks to cable reruns and DVD, has turned into a cult phenomenon since its cancellation two years ago. According to Variety, Cartoon Network has signed on to air the fresh segments, although Fox can exercise an option to broadcast them first.

3.3.04 - It's official! The Family Guy is coming back with new episodes in 2005, although MacFarlane is unsure about whether the episodes will first air on FOX or the Cartoon Network. "Cartoon Network will be involved regardless," MacFarlane told IGN.com. "Whether it goes there permanently or winds up on Fox first and then Cartoon Network remains to be seen. So, at the very least it will be on Cartoon Network, which is great, because at the end of the day, that's where we built our biggest fan base. So I'm happy either way." In November, a Fox spokesperson told E! Online that as many as 35 new Family Guy episodes could start airing on the network in January 2005. For more info, see the full article at IGN.com or watch the video of the interview at bbc.co.uk.

12.2.03 - Mad TV alum Alex Borstein is bringing her most popular character, loopy manicurist Mrs. Swan, to the multiplex. "I just finished the script," she tells TV Guide Online. "Now I'm deciding whether to get a studio or produce it independently."

11.19.03 - Zap2It.com: 'Family Guy' May Get New Life - "Family Guy" was never a big hit for FOX, but its fans were among the more passionate TV viewers around during its often sporadically scheduled three-season run. That passion doesn't appear to have wavered much, either: About 1.5 million copies of the animated series' two DVD sets have been sold, and repeats of the show in Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" block bring solid ratings. The interest in "Family Guy" is high enough that FOX is even considering putting the show back into production....

9.15.03 - Fox is developing a half-hour animated comedy for Fall 2004 that's described as a 21st century take on All in the Family. According to Variety, American Dad -- from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane -- focuses on a clan consisting of a right-wing CIA agent and his wife, their two kids, a housebound alien named Roger and a French-speaking goldfish.

8.4.03 - E!Online Star Boards: Seth Green will answer your questions.

7.3.03 - TBS will air the two animated series Futurama and The Family Guy for a special limited run, Monday-Friday, 2-3p, beginning July 7, as part of the network's continuing effort to reach young adults. The two series currently air as part of TBS sister channel Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block, where they successfully pulling in young adult ratings. Futurama and The Family Guy will continue to air as part of Adult Swim, Sunday-Thursday 11p-2a.

5.29.03 - From TV Guide Online: Fox's late, low-rated animated sitcom Family Guy is finally getting some respect -- on DVD! According to Variety, nearly 400,000 copies of the show's three-disc DVD collection have sold since being released last month.

5.21.03 - Cartoon Network added the off-net animated series Family Guy to its Adult Swim line-up and on May 15 at 1130pm, earned the network's highest A18-34 rating, delivering a 1.4 rating, up by 250% over the same time period a year ago. According to Cartoon, that makes this airing of Family Guy the 17th most watched show in the A18-34 demo for the night among ad-supported basic cable nets.

4.11.03 - Kristin at E!Online talks about how fans helped save Family Guy, and the first season is coming out on DVD.

4.7.03 - Family Guy will begin airing on Cartoon Netowrk's late-night Adult Swim on April 20th.