LATEST NEWS!
- 11/07/07 3:51 PM
- 31 comments \ add yours
Striking Seth MacFarlane says there is only one fully finished new episode in the can; Fox hopes he finishes "non-writing obligations."
Family Guy fans were relieved to hear that of the shows affected by the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, animated shows were pretty much OK. The thinking was that production of animated programs was done well in advance, since storyboarding and physically drawing the scenes is a long process.
Not so fast, according to Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. While walking a picket line in Los Angeles, the outspoken writer, producer, and voice actor of Family Guy and American Dad told Variety that currently there is only one fully produced episode of the hit show ready to go, and it will air next Sunday.
Several other episodes are close to being complete, but they still require MacFarlane to finish them up--and he isn't breaking any picket lines. When asked whether Fox could simply use nonunion workers to finish up the shows, MacFarlane warned the network against such action.
"They could [employ nonunion producers to complete the episodes], but it would be unwise," MacFarlane told Variety. "Because I would be angry."
However, hot off the (e-mail) presses comes Fox's revised 2008 lineup, which seems to contradict MacFarlane's statement. The release says that all of the network's Sunday-night animated shows--The Simpsons, King of the Hill, American Dad, and Family Guy--"will continue with original episodes."
In contrast, the press release states that other shows, like House and Bones, will see a "mix of original and encore episodes." As a disclaimer, Fox adds that the entire schedule is subject to change.
When asked for comment, a Fox representative validated the Variety story and told TV.com, "Our hope is that [Seth MacFarlane] returns to work and completes his non-writing obligations on those [unfinished] episodes."
Family Guy airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m., and will not see its time slot changed as a result of the strike. For more information on the show, head over to TV.com's previous coverage.
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COMMENTS
Good for the writers, I support them. I am, however, sad about what might happen to some of my favorite shows, such as House and Family Guy...The writers should just get what they want, since what they want is fair. (They just want money for their episodes that we see online, on DVDs, etc., which is understandable.)
11/11/2007 16:20:32I'd admit that I'm not the biggest fan of FAMILY GUY, but I have to give Seth a whloe lot of credit for the stand he's taken(as you could see, I'm on the side of the writers). Hopefully, there would be some sort of 'happy medium' between the WGA and the studios before this strike situation gets nasty. "Comedy is the truth done for laughs."
11/11/2007 04:36:32Well, maybe NOW they will be forced to start showing King of the Hill and American Dad, since they no longer have double episodes of Family Guy left to take their spots!
11/10/2007 20:18:58For those of you who support the writers, check this out. http://www.fans4writers.com Spread the word! If the studios don't have writers or viewers then they have no power. The execs need to learn who is REALLY responsible for all that money they make. That would be us, the fans/consumers.
11/10/2007 16:51:28OMG this is cruel.
11/09/2007 23:11:44I'll admit this news disappoints me (namely because I assumed all animated shows would be good for at the end of the year), but it could be worse. We could be ending on the cliffhanger of "Stewie Kills Lois" until the strike is over.
11/09/2007 20:23:37The working actors and execs are well of finacially. As for me; I've missed a lot of TV this past year. This is a good chance to catch up on what I haven't seen. I won't miss anything. I can't miss what hasn't been displayed.
11/09/2007 19:39:48JUST PAY THE FING WRITERS! THEY DESERVE IT FOR MAKING YOU ALL THAT MONEY!
11/09/2007 15:58:28just pay the writers they deserve it
11/09/2007 10:39:08This is so bad day for FOX.
11/09/2007 08:41:48Man, first 24, Bones, and House and now family guy! FOX pay the writers they deserve it. This is ridiculous.
11/08/2007 16:40:26YES!!! All networks deserve this strike and they all deserve to suffer. After all, they canceled some of the best shows on TV and no network executive gives a rat's butt about the viewers. But FOX is especially to blame here for canceling the greatest show in TV history: Arrested Development. Let's not forget they also canceled Family Guy. Twice. And THEN they put it back on the air. Good for Seth and the writers, punish those evil, evil network executives. Let them BLEED money.
11/08/2007 16:07:08Blame the studios, not the writers. They're the ones that made the strike inevitable by refusing to negotiate throughout the summer and basically telling everyone "it's my way or the highway." The writers took the highway, and took the actors and showrunners with them. So much for union-busting.
11/08/2007 12:30:17meh not a shame if family guy gets delayed. when will this strike end :(
11/08/2007 10:56:03This is BS, I did actually think Family Guy was safe, but now... I don't know anymore.
11/08/2007 08:58:20Is it me or is this strike thing just geting annoying???
11/08/2007 08:00:33It's getting worse!
11/07/2007 23:27:43so i guess southpark was wrong
11/07/2007 21:11:56>:(
11/07/2007 18:58:01great no family guy :( cant even have that rediculous
11/07/2007 18:40:21Man, TV networks need to hire new "people" if this is how they handle such a jarring situation by letting all their projects suffocate to a degree not seen in quite a while if ever. if this strike is really this serious they better start doing something instead of letting all their shows die. then again, writerless crap reality shows have done them well in the past decade, i just wish i didnt have to suffer because the majority has no intelligble taste....
11/07/2007 18:33:12:o Since when did Family Guy have writers?
11/07/2007 18:28:19I knew they had this season all written so far, but I didn't know they only had one fully produced. This isn't good.
11/07/2007 18:26:41Fall season is ruined thanks to the writer's strike!
11/07/2007 17:46:50Dat dude plucks his brows. That's nasty, yo.
11/07/2007 17:37:47No! Why bones!!!!!
11/07/2007 17:33:34I think it's gonna be a very boring season without so many shows...
11/07/2007 17:19:04It's great that he's supporting the writers on the show, and the other striking writers. Fox needs to get their act together and pay the writers more.
11/07/2007 17:03:12I think next year Fox animation linup will be moved back to November.
11/07/2007 16:56:17Time to go back to reading books and playing board games!
11/07/2007 16:55:43So the fall season is a bust for just about all tv shows. Thats going to affet a lot of people financially and it just pisses me off personally. No one screws with my tv! I'm just going to cancel cable and just rent tv shows through Netflix for now on. Broadcast tv is just not worth the hassel anymore. Too many commercials, long hiatus', too many repeats, pre-emptions, etc... It's just not fun anymore.
11/07/2007 16:46:59