Fox is looking to add another show to its animation lineup — by bringing one of its former series back to the network.
The broadcaster is close to making a deal with 20th Television Animation, which produces American Dad!, to return the show to the network, sources say. The show, created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman, began its life on Fox before moving to TBS in 2014, where it has run for 10 seasons and more than 200 episodes.
Fox declined comment.
The show’s current two-season with TBS, which dates back to 2021, will end with Monday’s season finale. Should the deal with Fox go through, it would likely be for a multi-season order, allowing the series to have a relatively seamless transition to delivering new episodes at its once and possibly future home.
A key factor in American Dad!’s return to Fox was the network’s re-upping of its streaming partnership with Hulu in November 2024. That deal allows in-season episodes of Fox shows to stream on Hulu — which is owned by Disney, as is 20th TV Animation — the day after their on-air debuts. Hulu is also home to the back catalog of American Dad! (which counts almost 390 episodes), and it’s among the streamer’s more popular shows.
The potential return of American Dad! to Fox also augurs well for 20th TV Animation’s other long-running Fox shows — Bob’s Burgers, MacFarlane’s Family Guy and The Simpsons — which are coming to the end of two-season orders at the network. Fox has yet to announce its decision on the future of those shows.
MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Rachael MacFarlane, Scott Grimes and Dee Bradley Baker star in American Dad! Weitzman and Brian Boyle are co-showrunners and executive produce with Seth MacFarlane.
Deadline first reported the potential Fox deal.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
