Seth MacFarlane, Showrunners Exit American Dad/Family Guy for Strike

Seth MacFarlane is no stranger when it comes to supporting his fellow union members in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) – especially during labor disputes like the current writers’ strike (as well as the 2007-2008 strike). When the WGA went on strike on May 2nd after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over a number of important issues, MacFarlane has been voicing his support and hitting the picket lines. But now, based on an exclusive report from Deadline Hollywood, MacFarlane and the American Dad & Family Guy showrunners are stepping away from their respective shows until the writers have a new deal & are able to return to work. Joining MacFarlane are American Dad‘s Brian Boyle & Matt Weitzman and Family Guy‘s Rich Appel & Alec Sulkin, all of who expressed their intentions to 20th Television this week. In the short term, the five stepping away won’t have an immediate impact. Reportedly, MacFarlane had already wrapped up work on FOX’s long-running Family Guy. With TBS’s American Dad, it’s being reported that the animated series has “about 3 months of scripts, v/o [voiceover], etc already completed.”

The news comes a little more than two months after FOX gave renewal orders for three of its top animated series. For The Simpsons (the longest-running scripted series in television history), that means Seasons 35 & 36, with Family Guy picking up Seasons 22 & 23 and Bob’s Burgers returning for Seasons 14 & 15. Now, nearly ten years after they appeared together on the same screen (in the 2014 Family Guy episode “The Simpsons Guy”), the trio are reuniting at Bob’s restaurant during the March 12th episode of Family Guy. As for American Dad (which we can’t get enough of), TBS’ long-running animated series has achieved a major milestone in the way of a 350th episode – an impressive feat for any series, animated or live-action.