The Orville‘s Seth MacFarlane: “It is an absolute thrill to not be on the Fox network”
MacFarlane did not mince words about how happy he is for The Orville to no longer be a Fox show
Aux News Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane celebrated his sci-fi series The Orville making the jump to a new home for its latest season next week—moving to Hulu for The Orville: New Horizons, set to debut on June 2—as one does in these situations: By trash talking the shit out of its old home, the Fox network.
This is per THR, which reports that MacFarlane pulled no punches in his assessment of the network that aired the first two seasons of his Star Trek pastiche: “I want to say, it is an absolute thrill to not be on the Fox network,” MacFarlane told the audience at a premiere screening, “We never really belonged there.”
But that did not conclude MacFarlane’s buffet treatment of a hand that has fed him a lot of TV shows over the years; he also made sure to mock both Fox’s programming strategy and its rating, noting that, “Between Beat Shazam, Name That Tune and Don’t Forget the Lyrics!, Fox has really captured the demo of people who have no idea what song they’re listening to,” and declaring “It takes a special talent to pander to the lowest common denominator without actually getting them as an audience.”
The wildest thing about this commentary, of course, is the fact that MacFarlane is still very much in the Fox business; although his flagship series Family Guy is now owned by Disney (through its acquisition of former Fox studio 20th Television/20th Television Animation), it still airs on Fox, where it just ran its 20th season finale. The series is on the books for a 21st season, too, after a two-season renewal back in 2020, so it’s not like MacFarlane was waiting until the series was over to start making big swings at his long-time broadcasting partner. Who, we can’t help noting, previously aired basically his entire TV output: Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, and The Orville all got their start there—even if MacFarlane did have to field a pesky multi-year cancellation along the way.
199 Comments
I have never understood some people’s extreme dislike for this guy. He had nothing to do with Family Guy turning into a pile of bigoted, unfunny dogshit. He is quite a talented voice actor, and he seems genuinely passionate about the things he does. Is it because he has resting smugly douche face?
No idea. People really seem to hate him, but I can’t think of a single scandal he’s been a part of that would generate that amount of hate. Like you said, he hasn’t been a writer for Family guy in a long time (2011 IIRC), and even if you simply despise the show as a whole, that doesn’t mean you need to hate it’s creator.
Like you said, he hasn’t been a writer for Family guy in a long time (2011 IIRC)
Well, a quick Google search tells me that “Excellence in Broadcasting” (the episode that depicts Rush Limbaugh as a loveable curmudgeon while Nancy Pelosi is shown smoking a crack pipe) was made in 2010. “Quagmire’s Dad” (the episode where they introduced a trans character who’s existence itself is either treated as a joke or something disgusting) also aired that season.
So “he hasn’t written for the show since 2011″ isn’t really absolving him for the show’s bigotry. That bigotry was always a part of the show’s DNA and he created the show, he also still produces the show and voices half the show’s cast (including the aforementioned trans character).
Fair enough, I don’t watch the show often and hadn’t heard of either one of those episodes.
Just want to let you know that you’re very very brave!
he’s smarmy and has a punchable face it’s not rocket science. you’re allowed to not like a famous person for no good reason! that’s part of the deal of being famous.
He reads as fratty. That’s it.
I think back when it debuted many of us (like me!) saw Family Guy initially as a Simpson rip-off and thought the joke telling was lazy (as the South Park guys gently teased in that Cartoon Wars episode.) So Seth getting incredibly rich off that made people mad. I didn’t get mad, as even if it wasn’t totally original, it entertains millions, and that’s hard to do so good on him and everyone else involved.
I think that as creator, executive producer, and voice actor for three of the six principal characters (arguably three of the four principal characters, since Chris and Meg dont cary as much of the show as Peter, Lois, Stewie, and Brian do), he continues to bear some responsibiliy for the content even if he hasn’t been actively in the writers’ room for a decade; he’s still the writers’ *boss* and he can’t unaware of the content because he’s going to a booth and saying the words out loud.
No…it means I get to.
His is unapologetically puerile humor. He absolutely wallows in it, and owns it fully. That’s not everyone’s bag.
A lot of people were pretty pissed (or, if not quite rising to that level of emotion, pretty unamused) with his opening number “We Saw Your Boobs” at the Oscars.
It was funny
Here’s the thing; that broadcast drew the largest Oscar numbers in years … he understood the assignment…
So? Fuck em if they cant take a joke. And I think the “you have aids” song was much worse than that.
I mean, maybe he doesn’t have as big a hand in recent years but he’s not innocent of Family Guy’s sins. If he wanted out of FG, he could do it, and if he disliked the show’s direction, he could take a more active hand, and he doesn’t. He still does all the voices and takes the money.But why do people hate him? Honestly, probably jealousy. Like you said, he’s a talented voice actor, a good singer, honestly pretty handsome and… well, I don’t watch the Orville so I can’t speak to his acting abilities but apparently they’re good enough for him to hold down a show. All of which has led to him being undoubtedly filthy rich at this point. …But who am I kidding, it’s probably the smug face thing.
He’s not nearly as amusing as he thinks, he co.es across as extremely smug, and he just plain isnt funny.
if you see old pictures of him, you get the feeling that money can buy looks
I agree with everything you wrote and I also like him, but his insistence on singing all the damn time gets on my nerves, it’s very Mel Brooks-ian the way he will crowbar a mediocre song into something funny he does. But overall yes, he’s funny, good-looking, charismatic, which probably pisses off a LOT of people LOL.
>he’s not innocent of Family Guy’s sins. If he wanted out of FG, he could do it, and if he disliked the show’s direction, he could take a more active hand, and he doesn’t. He still does all the voices and takes the money.Yes>But why do people hate him? Honestly, probably jealousy.fucking what?
He had nothing to do with it? Surely as the creator of the show and the actor who portrays two of the main characters, he has some say in what the show is like, even if he doesn’t have a hand in the writing now.
Indeed. He could certainly exert some control if he cared. I get that he’s no longer interested in writing or showrunning, but as a voice actor, he’s certainly aware of what’s happening and could put a stop to the show’s worst impulses if he chose to.
Seth McFarlane’s just punching the time clock at Family Guy HQ, saying “Look, guys, I just work here.”
Clearly he is. And I have no idea if the show is legitimately toxic now or just as terrible as it always was. But if it was truly problematic, he could still flex and do something about it. But at the same time, I can’t fault the guy too much for wanting to just wash his hands of it as much as possible.
I just think he’s incredibly unfunny and not really all that talented
So funny is subjective, but talent? He is a trained animator who has written and produced (and been show runner) for multiple shows, is a known voice actor who can also do imitations, written and directed several films, is a well regarded singer who has put out many albums and recordings, has several productions running on networks simultaneously, is a social commentator and acted in his own productions as well as other shows and films, has hosted programs and is a popular guest (domestic and internationally) over the years. You may not like him and his talents don’t impress you, but he does have talent.
“So funny is subjective, but talent?”
Entirely.
You forgot inserting himself in as the romantic lead of his movies, and hiring and firing his girlfriends based on the status of their relationship.Seth MacFarlane’s work comes off like the big-budget version of what Red Letter Media calls “A Black Tank Top Movie”, where the writer/director/star inserts himself as The Action Hero Guy All the Ladies Are Hot For.
“Not really all that talented.” For someone that says a lot of dumb shit this might be one of the dumber things you’ve ever said.
Your opinion is wrong.
Sure, because people capable of creating animation, writing episodic TV and movies, voice acting and acting in live action, and writing and performing musicals, as well as directing and producing, aren’t all that talented. You can dislike the output, but not the talent.
Didn’t even know people hated Seth. Family guy sucks now, but American Dad is still great and the Orville is pretty damned funny too!
The existence of Wacky Date Rapist Quagmire alone is worth a little hate. He also gave work to James Woods, knowing full well that Woods is a conservative jagoff. Casual misogyny. Unnecessary trans panic jokes. Musical episodes that function as essentially one man karaoke (every Stewie/Brian Road To episode). Which isn’t to say I hate him or the one show he makes that I’ve watched a lot of. But he’s kind of an asshole who gets cheap laughs, sometimes at the expense of people he shouldn’t be mining for cartoon punchlines.
Funny to think, if James Wood’s wore a dress and “identified as a woman”, you’d have more respect for him. LOL! I’ve seen stray dogs with more values than you have.
Hey, there’s also the great recurring character of an active pedophile whose activities everyone knows and acknowledges. And that’s it – that’s the joke, folks!
You’re such a good person.
Satire? You get that, right? I grew up in an east coast city. We knew one neighborhood guy wasn’t just a hound, he was predatory. I went to Catholic school, we all knew one elderly priest was a pedo. And yet, even knowing that information in common, the community tolerated those people. Don’t even get me started on the neighborhood fathers who would comment on how so-and-so is “…really growing up…”, like no one knew what they were talking about, or the casual racism toward non-white or non-native English speakers. MacFarlane, by holding up a funhouse mirror to that stuff is making us uncomfortable on purpose. He’s showing us what we might actually sound like. He’s also a pretty liberal dude who’s long been on record as despising the political positions of Fox Corp. I, too, loathe the political positions of my employer, but don’t have the luxury of being able to lampoon them in public.
So, after all that sturm-und-drang, it boils down to: “This thing really exists, so we will make a reference to it and present it, and the audience will imbue it with meaning and ‘irony’ by recognition.”(And not once, but recurringly!)Yep, that’s about par for the course for FG, alright.Best part, particularly after your snotty little opening line? “Reference humor” is *not* satire, by any stretch, stretch.
You’re such a good person.
Probably a few decades of not liking anything he has to contribute would do it? I think for me it’s being exposed to people who are REALLY into Family Guy, they don’t reflect on well Seth. Sorry!
So much this. I mean, I tuned out of Family Guy a few seasons after its return, moderately enjoyed American Dad and barely watched The Cleveland Show but that doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate his talent as a writer, voice actor and singer.Seth McFarland has such a passion for Star Trek and science in general and it really shows in The Orville and Cosmos. I thought both Ted movies were hilarious. A Million Ways to Die in the West not so much but he genuinely seems like a really nice guy who hasn’t been corrupted by the Hollywood grinder.
For someone lukewarm on MacFarlane, you sure saw a lot of his work.
I don’t hate him but wow your comment has gone way too far into defense land. He may not be a writer on family guy, but he is the creator, top billed executive producer, owner of the production company, and voice of multiple characters. It’s not like he sold the show and has no clue what’s going on with it or power over it. If he felt strongly enough about something the show was doing he could put a stop to it.
Simpsons and South Park fans take shit seriously.
Probably his animated shows not being to their taste or only knowing him from the “we saw your boobs” song. A Million Ways to Die in the West was also underwhelming. Personally I’m not a fan of any of the above. I actually stopped seeing someone because they were waaaay too into Family Guy (plus the INTERIOR of their car was covered in bird poop). On the other hand, I love his standards albums and The Orville. I have no idea if I’d like him as a person, the various things he’s produced seem like they’re made by very dissimilar people.
The INTERIOR?!
They had pet birds. Who apparently traveled in the car sans cage
Sounds like you made the right decision.
I’m kinda with you: I don’t care for Family Guy/American Dad/Ted, but I can’t deny that he is a talented actor and singer, and seems like a nice guy (“We Saw Your Boobs” aside). Also, he nearly died in 9/11.
He has nothing to do with a show he created, wrote multiple episodes of, has acted in every single episode of, and is executive producer of to this day?
He. No. Longer. Writes. For. The. Show.I mean, is it SO fucking difficult to understand?
I think he is funnier AND better politically than the South Park guys and Ricky Gervais.
Yeah, Family Guy regularly wrings laughs out of a solid majority of its characters being horrific human beings – the exceptions are the main black character and the only trans character, now that I come to think of it – but it’s not like a South Park situation where more or less the same applies except that the guys who created those characters really are just Cartman & Cartman.
Only thing I’m not fond about him is that he seems to do the Adam Sandler thing, where all his female “romance” co-stars are at least 10 years younger than him.Now I don’t know how much of the casting he has a say in, but for the orville I’d say it’s pretty high..Also the show could use more older women other than Penny Johnson Jerald.
I remember seeing an old interview when he was just a youngster with his odd home spun haircut, jacked up natural teeth and the thickest coke bottle glasses you could ever own. Nerdy to the core, so I don’t find him smarmy, just someone who has evolved his look and persona.. I am not a big FG fan but I am impressed with his abilities, between being a working animator, voice talent, singer, host, impressionist, creator of several ORIGINAL shows and films, social commentator; I mean he has quite the resume. Also he has a quick wit and sharp sense of humor. He just shat all over Fox! “Between Beat Shazam, Name That Tune and Don’t Forget the Lyrics!, Fox has really captured the demo of people who have no idea what song they’re listening to,” and declaring “It takes a special talent to pander to the lowest common denominator without actually getting them as an audience.” His comment is funny, clever, rude, and absolutely true..
You are correct, he did one of those autocomplete interviews this week and said he’s been hands off of FG since 2011 when he made Ted.He gets way too much hate, and A Million Ways to Die in the West is actually pretty good, damn it.
Yeah, A Million Way to Die in the West suffered only because of the inevitable comparisons to Blazing Saddles. And one review I saw summed it up well, saying Seth spread himself too thin and as an actor needed a better director and as a director, he needed a better actor.
I somewhat agree with you, but Family Guy has not gotten more bigoted over the years. There was a lot of racial humor and ethnic humor in the early episodes.
NGL – I’m jealous of how well he’s aging.
This post makes it seem like you think Family Guy became bad over time.I don’t hate him but I do suspect the world would be a slightly better place if he’d caught that flight on 9/11.
“I don’t hate him but I do suspect the world would be a slightly better place if he’d caught that flight on 9/11.”
Well, I hope YOU die.
he is a man who makes harsh jokes, and hasnt had a scandal yet.
…wut? I bef you to go back and watch Family Guy episodes from when MacFarlane was still writing it. It was aggressively awful, and became exponentially better once he was gone. And I dont even like Family Guy very much. But there is a very sharp climb I quality immediately following his replacement as head writer.
There’s an old episode of Family Guy where a random character (a cow) makes a concentration camp joke, and then Brian (voiced by McFarlane) calls the cow out for making a “Holocaust joke.” That became emblematic of why I stopped watching Family Guy. It swims in the most offensive stuff (racism, misogyny, homophobia, etc) for cheap laughs while also pretending that it’s above those things. Once I realized that the show (which McFarlane created, set the tone for and still voices) was trying to get me to laugh WITH the bigotry and not AT the bigotry, I checked out and haven’t been interested in watching any of his other stuff since. to be fair, I don’t think McFarlane is actually racist/misogynistic/trans-or-homophobic, but I do think he’s perfectly willing to exploit those feelings for laughs and money.
It’s the same thing as with Adam Sandler and some others. They see a guy who doesn’t have Hollywood good looks and isn’t the best actor or the best comedian. But he’s still getting a lot of shows and attention. So the people who think doing what he does is easy get mad because they feel like he doesn’t deserve what he gets (and maybe they deserve it because they make their friends laugh at parties).
King of the Hill being cancelled for the barely-watched Cleveland Show is a solid reason to not like the man.
How about these lines from Ted 2: “Ted: Chicks with dicks?!John: (crying) Oh my God. Oh my God. I need help. I have a disease!Ted: There are no chicks with dicks, Johnny, only guys with tits.”Pretty gross. Also his smug douchey face.
The fuck are you talking about? The bigotry was there from the beginning. Catch the greased-up deaf guy? Black guy weather forecast? That shit’s in season one
I always felt like that, right or wrong, people hated Family Guy when it first came out and saw it as a crass Simpsons knock-off, and they just formed their opinion of Macfarlane then and stuck too it. He always seemed like a pretty ok person to me, even if i’m not a huge fan of all of his work. The Orville, however, is pretty damn good.
He enabled Fox to kill off their last good animated series, King of the Hill, in favor of Cleveland Show.You can argue whether it was time for KOTH to go, but he definitely had a hand in loading the shotgun and taking it behind the barn.
Family Guy didn’t appeal to me, or his humor in general, so I’ve never really followed anything he’s done. Most women I know that have an opinion of him seem to think he’s a creep, so I think a certain segment that’s into him, probably guys that also really like Tucker Max.
AFAIK, McFarlane isn’t involved in any of the cartoons except as a voice actor.Also, how can he forget Fox’s 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star? I mean, they’re getting reruns on USA Network!
His production company makes them, he created or co-created them, and is an executive producer. He’s not just a randomly hired voice actor off the street.
Yes, but he’s not directly involved in the production of any of them anymore. He doesn’t write the scripts, he doesn’t deal with the plots, and he doesn’t deal with the higher-ups about the shows. That’s why he didn’t mention the shows in his interview above, because he hasn’t been involved in the production of those shows in years.
Right but the point about biting the hand that feeds is that fox pays and has paid him a ton of money because of those shows. Not a commentary on the quality of the shows.
The article is framed as if McFarlane is still in active involvement with Fox via his animated shows. While that is true to a certain extent, he is only involved as a voice actor on those shows these days. He gets paid creative royalties, yes, but he has not had to deal with any Fox higher-ups regarding Family Guy, American Dad, etc. since he stepped down to doing only voice roles. That’s why he didn’t mention them in his interview, because the central issue -having to deal with Fox executives- has not been a thing McFarlane had to worry about for his cartoons for a long, long while now.
I don’t know who you think negotiates deals for tv but I can pretty much guarantee that the top billed executive producer/owner of the production company is going to be involved in that process at some level. If you’re talking creative side only, sure. But that’s not what I’m talking about. And not what the article is talking about. He’s shitting on the network that pays him a bunch of money still. As if all of his shows are leaving it. But only the orville is.
Lol, imagine demanding corporate loyalty in the year of our lord 2022
“I don’t know who you think negotiates deals for tv but I can pretty much guarantee”
So, what you’re saying is that you don’t know. Cool. You can just say that instead of “pretty much” guaranteeing something that you have absolutely no hand in whatsoever.
Thanks though.
His only creative involvement with the shows these days might be voice acting (though they’re being iterated on the foundations he constructed, and plenty of their issues are inherent to that foundation), but he’s still heavily involved in the business side of things and absolutely has to deal with Fox higher-ups when it comes to those shows.
You have it *completely* ass-backwards, to the extent that it’s actually impressive!He *exactly* has as much creative input into the shows as he wishes to exert, but he chooses now to put his attention elsewhere.He leaves the business side of the production matters entirely to his management team and business affairs lawyers.The best part of his situation now is that he *never* deals, or has to deal, with Fox executives, and delegates any interaction – and he doesn’t get *any* pushback for any of his animated series running on Fox, because the exec running animation has long been a supporter and they are happy to have *any* projects over there at all, and are not raising any peeps about content as long as the trains run on time.
“but he’s still heavily involved in the business side of things”
How do you know?
yeah let’s pretend he got rich with his crooning and not via Fox
If he doesn’t do any of that stuff, it’s by choice. He owns the company that makes the shows. He could improve them if he wants to, he just doesn’t give a shit.
You literally don’t know wtf you’re talking about. He enjoys the exact same approvals and powers he always had, regardless whether he chooses to exercise them less.
And he could look at the scripts he reads that involved trans bashing or “haha isn’t rape and pedophilia funny” or how ugly Meg is and how great it is to only consider hot chicks to be human and say “you know what? I’m not participating in this, rewrite it.” Which they would have to do if for no other reason than that he’s at least half the cast and losing him isn’t an option.
Any lack of involvement is also his choice. If he wanted to assert himself and say, steer Family Guy away from certain kinds of humor I think it would happen. He just doesn’t care and has moved on (and I think he always wanted to be an actor more than animator anyway)
The historical meaning of Executive Producer is that that is the person who ultimately secured the funding for the show. That’s it. Not much even about content.However, “Executive Producer” today is more of an honorary title often given to actors and others to provide a way to send an extra amount of paycheck to without actually doing the “duties” of the producer.Case in point: Oscar Issac is an Executive Producer on Moon Knight, Tom Hiddleston is an Executive Producer on Loki and Ewan McGregor is an Executive Producer on Obi Wan Kenobi.
That’s cool. But Oscar Isaac, Tom Hiddleston, and Ewan McGregor didn’t create those shows, they’re just hired actors for them. So it’s not really a one to one comparison at all.
Well, except that is kind of the point. Whether he created them or not has very little bearing on how much input he CURRENTLY has on those shows, and while he is listed as an Executive Producer on those shows, it’s kind of a meaningless title and is handed out as a ‘thank you’ to help with the royalty checks but with no actual producer duties. To expect that he can just march into a studio meeting and demand a new direction for a given show is kind of ridiculous. I mean, I guess he COULD try to do that if he wants to put his other, more meaningful-to-him projects in jeopardy.I mean, Stan Lee was listed as an executive producer on, I think, all of the Marvel movies up until recently ( Madness may be the first one that he’s not listed as such). Do you really think that Stan was having ANY kind of creative control of those movies at all?
You absolutely love conflating things that just aren’t the same. MacFarlane wasn’t handed an EP credit as part of his negotiation as an actor. And he didn’t create these characters half a decade ago in a separate medium that someone else bought the character rights to and much much later created a tv show out of. Stop being obtuse.
Yes, he isnt involved at all…. aside from, you know, being the executive producer and all. His hands are clean! Good grief… weird how many people are defending this dipshit’s content and these dumb comments. He is awful and amazingly overrated. The comedic genius behind A Million Ways to Die in the West, one of the shittiest movies of all time.
All the great shows on FX.
I’ll admit it, I laughed at the joke about not knowing songs.
Working 9 to 5. Hard to make a living!
Dude can be really funny, he just has an irresistible impulse to punch down.
I think Fox gets a bad rap cause it’s conflated with Fox News, but I think it’s been the best, edgiest, most subversive network in my lifetime.It may have fallen on hard times lately, as all broadcast networks have, but they greenlighted X-Files, Arrested Development, Firefly, Dollhouse, Fringe, Futurama, Malcolm in the Middle, Bob’s Burgers, The Mick (sadly overlooked), Gotham, Mindy Project, Raising Hope, and all of McFarlane’s shows.If I was stuck on an island, and had to pick one network, I think it’d be Fox.
At the same time, they’re known for doing their best to ruin some of those series via changed episode orders, moving the nights shows air, and quick cancellations for no apparent reason (other than ratings fluctuating because of Fox’s own interventions). Some shows even thrived once moving to new networks like Futurama and American Dad. They seem to quickly axe anything science-fiction fairly quickly if Firefly, Sarah Conner Chronicles, and Almost Human are any example.
The conflation with Fox News is absolutely true, but it’s a self-induced injury. I was in a focus group about 7-8 years ago (my first summer in Los Angeles; you do whatever you can to get money, and paid focus groups can be a gold mine if you’re in the right demographics) where Fox was basically looking for a way to rebrand itself. This is where the FX motto of “Fearless” most likely began, as it was one of the slogans pitched to us. They wanted to find a way to promote itself as the bastion for new, edgy, risky, and inclusive entertainment. And I told them straight to their face (I even looked directly at the two-way mirror for dramatic effect, cheesy I know) that no matter what they did, no matter how much they promoted their programming, they will NEVER be seen as an inclusive network, or one that gives voice to new talent, while Fox News still exists. The fact that every night white supremacists get a basically unfettered forum to lie to people and mask it as journalism, all while nakedly spreading a political agenda regardless of facts, is a permanent blemish. If they want to rebrand, they have to excise the news network, or at minimum give it a drastic overhaul. I literally heard one of the execs calling from the other side of the glass, “NOT HAPPENING!” Then they reap what they sow. Ratings continued to decline, they got bought by Disney, and the only vestige of Newscorp’s ownership is still Fox News, because that was more sacred to them than their own survival and mainstream profitability.
“If they want to rebrand, they have to excise the news network”That’s exactly what happened with the Disney deal, so nice work!
Not really. The Murdoch family still owns Fox Entertainment, the Fox Network, and Fox News, Disney owns the studios and catalog of content but has scrubbed any mention of the word “Fox” out of the branding (it’s now stuff like “20th Century Studios”, “20th Century Television”, and “Searchlight”). On paper, once the buy out happened, the two companies have nothing to do with each other besides the Fox Network licensing now Disney owned content like The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, and Family Guy. (In actuality it’s a much more complication arrangement with one Murdoch spawn being given a managerial position at Disney and the Murdoch family being gifted a ton of Disney stock as a part of the buyout.)
Tubi is where they’ve been more successful in rebranding. A lot of people don’t realize that Tubi is owned by Fox Entertainment. Tubi is free to watch and has the sort of content other streaming services would never air namely classic Skinemax style softcore pornography. Seriously, they have a deal with the B-movie studio Full Moon and Full Moon at one point produced the kind of softcore porn you’d catch on late night premium cable and a few of those films (like the Femalien movies) are available to stream on Tubi. I don’t think you even have to register and confirm you’re 18 years or older.
Well, to be fair that had nothing to do with Fox and everything to do with Disney being excessively confrontation-averse even for a major corporation.
Fox Network is still owned by the people who own Fox News. It is not part of the Disney acquisition.
Actually, News Corp still owns Fox Network. Disney only bought the production studios.
That’s what I’m saying. All that really mattered to Newscorp was Fox News, and now that’s all that’s left. The image of Fox was ultimately less important to them than maintaining their political pulpit, so now the “News” network is all that still exists. Everything else Fox is now a subsidiary of Disney. That was the choice they made.
Actually, they still own Fox Sports stuff too, hence why FS1 is still FS1 and not ESPN3 or whatever.EDIT: And Murdoch himself still owns the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and a ton of various media entities in Australia.
Which supports AmericaTheGuy’s point — all they hung onto was their Right-Wing bullhorns.And sports, which convinces me more than anything that sports are inherently Right Wing….
‘ I literally heard one of the execs calling from the other side of the glass, “NOT HAPPENING!”’and then everybody clapped
Yeah, none of the happened, but cool story bro!
If your greatest hits list includes Gotham, I find your taste suspect.
I loved Gotham, but even if you hated it, I think it still supports my point.Gotham was all out of fucks.
Gotham, to me, seemed to capture the feeling of watching a Batman-themed drag cabaret. I can see how it would find a dedicated audience, but it was too arch for me
And if your greatest hits don’t include a show that has this scene, I find *your* taste suspect.
Giving FOX credit for Firefly is like giving Germany credit for creating Israel.
I like FOX too, but I do have to point out that this is the same network that gave us Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire?
That was actually pretty on-brand for Fox at the time. They were known for being a little edgier than the established networks, but also sleazier.
Oh, I’m very aware. I was watching FOX in the 1990s and early 2000s. I remember When Animals Attack, Joe Millionaire, and those security camera footage shows they used to air.
“Fox became a hard core sex network so gradually, I didn’t even notice!”But yah, Fox ‘90s/early 2000s was my jam, lets not forget X-Files and 24 along with Simpsons, Family Guy, Arrested Development, Futurama. Heck it even started probably with the animation block of Batman, Spider-Man and X-Men. Haven’t tuned into a Fox show (aside from jumping in on random simpsons) since maybe The Gifted and for some reason I watched Next. probably was the only one.
Sadly overlooked is Parker Lewis Can’t Lose..
IIRC, Parker Lewis was a Ferris Bueller knockoff, competing against the real Ferris Bueller knockoff.I think Parker Lewis was the better knockoff, but that’s a tough break.
I think The Mick should’ve been on FX. It probably would’ve worked out better for that show.
Also, Disney bought all of Fox TV and film content -minus their news and sports divisions- a couple of years ago. That’s why The Simpsons is on Disney+ now.
…this thing called The Simpsons that I keep meaning to watch.
And yet you forget the show that paved the way for all those shows you listed: MARRIED WITH CHILDRENFox TV doesn’t exist without MWC.
Seriously. Simpsons and MWC put that network on the map.
On the other hand, Fox also prematurely cancelled Firefly, Dollhouse, Arrested Development, and Futurama.
FX
Nah…from the GWB era through Obama the whole network was targeting Joe Redneck in Middle America. It might not have been fox news overtly racist and extreme conservatism…but it pandered to the same crowd in a PG 13 way. From Jeff Foxworthy to the whitest white shows…to even the NFL broadcasts…They aren’t distinct but two forms of entertainment to the same demographic
If you were stuck on an island three to thirty years ago, you’d pick Fox. Now if you’d pick Fox, you’d watch all those shows slowly degrade or suddenly disappear. And they’d be replaced with this new version of half reality/half game show. I think that’s what he’s complaining about.
Look, I know a lot of people are going to (rightly) point out that Macfarlane doesn’t take nearly as active a role in his animation endeavors these days, but all I’m saying is that it’s a ballsy move for the creator/executive producer/half the voice cast of Family Guy to talk shit about pandering to the lowest common denominator.
his work was the damn benchmark for the lowest common comedy denominator for years
yeah all those broadway and bigband references really lowered the bar.
Multimillionaire many times over is “ballsy” for voicing an opinion after-the-fact. lulz…
“but all I’m saying is that it’s a ballsy move for the creator/executive producer/half the voice cast of Family Guy to talk shit about pandering to the lowest common denominator.”
Great, but it’s not. At all. If he loses every paid gig he has right now and never, ever gets another paying gig he will never, ever need it. He has more money that he could spend in eleven lifetimes. It takes zero balls because he doesn’t fucking care.
when you have a shit-ton of money and the network you’re dissing kinda needs your work, you can be ballsy LOL
Friends whose opinions I trust tell me The Orville is good so it’s on my list of shows I need to check out but near the bottom.
Good to know.
You’re welcome. They said the show was more Star Trek than current Star Trek.
It’s pretty much like watching TNG for the first time all over again. Even has the first season helmsman become chief engineer in season two.
It’s a weird damn show. It has the look and style of a comedy, it has ridiculous comedy-style situations. But it has almost no jokes and seems to be straining to be taken seriously. Just odd.
I feel almost like that is more likely to how we will be in the future then Star Trek. I can definitely see this being in our future. Lol
That’s only true if your favorite Star Trek is TNG, and you insist that every other Star Trek be an attempt to copy TNG.
I think it’s more that it’d be nice if some Trek followed that model, or if it has to be different, at least be good. I’m no purist (Deep Space Nine is the only Trek I’ve ever loved), but Discovery and Picard were absolute shitshows of truly dreadful writing (or at least they were before I gave up on them). I’ve not watched any of Strange New Worlds, so it may scratch that itch, but it wasn’t around when The Orville was initially being talked about as being more Trek than current Trek.
I think what Seth found was a gaggle of ex-Star Trek show creatives and OGs who were jazzed to jump back into the genre. Remember Orville got going right around the same time as Discovery and it seemed like Paramount wasn’t yet milking the ST veterans while Orville was like: “Milk Away me hardies!”Seth captured some of that old feeling. Discovery in season 2 was like: “Shit, well let’s pivot back this-a-way.”With Paramount bringing the vets back into the fold – everybody in their autumn years is getting work again – old agents’ flip-phones are ringing … It feels like good vibes all around & all boats (or starships) rising.Personally, I’d be fine with The Orville getting another 2 seasons (if they can avoid the three-year gaps). So far (due in part to Indiana Jones) Paramount and Disney seemingly are… well if not totally friendly, they are at least not at each others throats the way Disney and Sony have been in the past. Put Seth in some goofy alien makeup and have him cameo on the Mandalorian – keep a healthy détente going imho.
They have several Trek people working on it as well, and it is absolutely better Trek than Discovery.
The first season is like 80% Next Gen with some juvenile humor added. The second season is like 95% Next Gen
I should add that I really hate the Star Trek Gatekeepers. Enterprise is not DS9 is not TNG is not TOS. They are all different.
They’re wrong. They just cry that everything isn’t a TNG remake.
The first season of The Orville definitely focuses more on Seth McFarland’s comedic sensibilities but by season 2, it’s all but straight-laced TNG with a little humor sprinkled in the background.It’s also been suggested that Seth McFarlane really wanted to make his own Star Trek-like show but could only get away with it by pitching it to FOX as a Star Trek parody, which explains why the first season leans so heavily into the humor but served only as a Trojan horse to move forward toward his true vision of The Orville.
I love it. But I’m the kind of person that plays my whole Spotify library on shuffle, so its wild jumps in tone from sex farce to morality play to space opera aren’t a problem.
It’s TNG-era Trek with better special effects and more intentional comedy
THE ORVILLE — is okay, actually. It gets overpraised, even by me sometimes, because That Hack Fraud Alex Kurtzman’s NuTREK is so abominable, and MacFarlane at least genuinely loves what made Classic TREK what it was.
Sometimes that results in slavish imitation — you could easily point to a random episode of the show and go “That’s ‘The Outcast’!”, “That’s ‘For the Earth is Hollow, and I have Touched the Sky’!”, or “That’s ‘Duet’!” That sort of problem is less prevalent in S2 than it was in S1 as the characters developed apart from the characters on various versions of STAR TREK, so that hopefully by this season we no longer get Seth MacFarlane’s Cosplay and more a Seth MacFarlane SF series.
It’s quality was a surprise to me as well but, here I am, anticipating the new season.
The first episodes seemed to be more along the line of Star Trek with dirty jokes. But then it gets better. There’s still jokes and comedy, but a pretty good story as well.
The Orville is one of the most absolute legit series we’ve had in forever and I am also happy it is no longer constrained by Fox.
Reading some of the posts here, it’s clear that Family Guy can be enjoyed more if you take the stick out of your ass.
And then bludgeon yourself over the head with it a few times.
Well, I mean, if anyone is an expert on Fox pandering to the lowest common denominator, it’s Seth Mcfarlane.
You’re such a good person.
I think maybe Seth is feeling nostalgic for the days when he was Fox’s golden boy. He sure had no problem being on the network back when he had four different shows running on there at the same time.
But now American Dad and Orville are on different networks, The Cleveland Show is cancelled, and Fox no longer greenlights everything Seth farts out, so suddenly he’s decided to be Mr. Cool Rebel Guy and declare that he hated them all along. Sure you did, buddy.
He’s been vocal about how frustrating it is dealing with Fox executives in previous seasons of Orville.
Not to mention the number of shots he’s taken at Fox on both Family Guy and American Dad. Seth has never shied away from expressing his displeasure at the seemingly Faustian deal he had to make to not just get his shows on the air, but to keep them on the air as well.
That’s a tradition that dates back to early Simpsons. They used to bash the Fox network in-show all the time.
He probably accomplishes more in a month than you will in a lifetime. But if you ever create a show and manage to get into the business, I’m sure you’ll do it, pronouns a blazin’ and making a statement every step of the way, eh?
He’s been railing against Fox for years. genius.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a little bit of Gen X Fox shitting on Millennial Fox. Or Millennial Fox shitting on Gen Z Fox, depending on where Seth falls on the continuum. He’s been there for 20+ years now – plenty of time (paychecks or not) to cop a “damn kids these days” attitude. Especially if said company is a bit back-stabby to begin with.
“Or Millennial Fox shitting on Gen Z Fox, depending on where Seth falls on the continuum.”
You, um, think there’s a possibility that 48-year old Seth McFarlane is a millennial?
I don’t hate MacFarlane and think he has talent (as well as coming off as a reasonably smart person in most interviews I’ve seen of him), but to say the guy hasn’t slummed for some very cheap, lazy, lowest common denominator jokes throughout his career (too many to count, really) would just be a lie.
Did he say he hasn’t?
He didn’t say either way. He asked why some people hate MacFarlane. I gave a reason why I think some people hate him.
Fox needed space for Masked Dancer
Huh. I would have figured Beat Shazam was a reality show where people tried to outdo Zachary Levi in weird physical feats.
Or just punch him a lot.
I was hoping Sinbad was getting work again.
And Steve Nash gets executive producer credit and royalties just like he did on Shaq Vs.
So bite the hand that gave you your start?
Well depends if the Fox from today is the same Fox that gave him his start? Does it have the same leadership or did that change and is the current leadership more assholery.
Well he ain’t rejecting the money he gets from them is he?
AssHat
I love The Orville, but Fox gave it 2 seasons, which I fear Hulu will not extend that far.
The third season is the final season.
The dude practically blackmailed Fox into putting a science program on prime time, so he will always get credit for that.
simpsons did it
This is what happens when you have both fuck you money and fuck you ratings.
Get American Dad going again, enough with your Star Trek crap
AAmerican Dad bgg is one of the absolite worst POS shows in the history of television. It is amazingly, aggressively unfunny and obnoxious.
I am so tired of people misusing the phrase “lowest common denominator.”
It’s funny to me that he keeps bringing this issue up when Disney bought all of Fox (except news and sports) a couple of years ago. So, Disney now owns all of his work. And they own a sizable chunk of Hulu, which is confusing
He kept bringing the issue up because he wanted The Orville moved off of Fox. It’s not rocket science.
Like Ricky Gervais, the more people Seth offends, the more I like him.
Well, I’m not one of the McFarlane haters, but I do hate that yet another decent piece of broadcast television programming has gone to one of the many new subscription services. Cable viewers have been yelling for a la carte programming forever, but what we’ve gotten is essentially a whole bunch of “cable” providers delivering the same sorts of enormous and overpriced packages. So, instead of one bill for programming, I’m looking at five or six, and I still have to pay for a bunch of crap I don’t want. Don’t get me wrong, I’d pay a premium to get the things I want from DirecTV, HBO Max, Prime, Hulu, Netflix, and Paramount+, but I’m tired of paying all the overhead for each of them. Sell me programming, not a whole service.
The Orville was one of the best shows on TV
Orville sucks. Doesnt matter what network its on.
I dont know how anyone can still be into Family Guy. Im not against it, i liked it for awhile, but..its just been on too long. FG, Simpsons and South park all gotta go.
I love slow, talky science fiction and right now this is the best place to go for that.
I mean, this seems like pretty light ribbing.
1
I never realized how much he looks like Matt Gaetz, yikes—I’d shave my head to avoid looking like that shitstain
I’m sure he’s had plenty of frustrations dealing with the network over the past couple decades.But the network also made him a literal billionaire, so…….maybe keep it classy, Seth?