November 15, 2007
Family Guy Without Seth Macfarlane
The ongoing writers strike may be sparking a Family feud.
The overlords at Fox have announced plans to air an original Family Guy episode this Sunday and move forward on three more without the participation of mastermind Seth MacFarlane, who not only serves as show runner but supplies many of the key voices.
The move has angered MacFarlane, who stopped work on the series last week to join the picket lines with other WGA members. Film and TV writers whose union went on strike Nov. 5 to force Hollywood studios to negotiate a bigger cut of the profits from DVD sales and other future digital media platforms.
“It would just be a colossal dick move if they did that,” Family Guy’s creator told Variety, noting that the next three episodes of the animated comedy are “relatively close to completion, but they have not had a final pass.”
MacFarlane acknowledged that both the network and producer 20th Century Fox TV are “legally within their rights” to finish new episodes without his input, but doing so, he said, could not only affect the show’s creative direction and thus alienate viewers but also harm the successful partnership MacFarlane and Fox have built up over the years.
“They’ve never done anything like this before, in which they’ve said, ‘We’re going to finish a show without you,’ ” he said. “It’s really going to be unfortunate and damaging to our relationship if they do it.”
Fox declined to comment. It was known before the strike that only one episode had been completed before MacFarlane walked out, and Fox had the difficult choice of going into reruns during November sweeps or finishing the incomplete shows. The first of those was sent to the network yesterday to be vetted for this weekend.
Still, MacFarlane—who also said he won’t voice Family patriarch Peter Griffin, Brian the dog, and evil baby genius Stewie until the strike is over—implored Fox to scuttle the idea.
Given that he’s been in talks with the network for a new long-term contract for the past year, MacFarlane does have a little bit of leverage.
“I’m technically in breach of nothing,” he added.
Fox has a tough balancing act producing the show and keeping MacFarlane happy. Aside from solid ratings, Family Guy was one of the first TV series to do blockbuster business on DVD, becoming the top-selling TV DVD of the year for 2003. That success led Fox to revive the series after canceling it. On Nov. 4, Family Guy celebrated its 100th episode.
While MacFarlane addressed a group of picketers in front of the Fox lot, hundreds of film and TV actors showed up on the picket lines outside Universal Studios Tuesday to lend their support to the WGA action.
“There isn’t an actor I talk to who hasn’t felt what the writers are going through,” said CSI star William Petersen, who was there with costars Marg Helgenberger, Wallace Langham and other show folks.
The Screen Actors Guild has quite a bit at stake in how the current work stoppage shakes out. The acting union’s contract is due to expire in June (as is the Directors Guild’s), and they want the same thing as writers—a larger share from the burgeoning new-media market.
“Everyone knows the Internet is the future,” said Two and a Half Men’s Jon Cryer. “If we don’t get a piece of that, we’re doomed.”
Added Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander: “This is not about some big star’s salary. It’s about big company profits. It’s high time writers shared in a percentage of the profits.”
Also on hand to support the scribes were castmembers of Grey’s Anatomy, including Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight, and stars of Desperate Housewives, Big Love, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Cold Case, Without a Trace, Numb3rs, The Big Bang Theory, Dexter and Mad Men. Others, including Sopranos star and writer Michael Imperioli, marched in front of Wall Street.
Meanwhile, the stoppage appears to be taking a toll on NBC. The Peacock became the first network to withdraw from January’s Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, which showcases midseason series. Others are expected to follow.
