We were just wondering what Fox was going to do after the inevitable moment they cancel Universal Basic Guys (which hasn’t been announced, but…) They’ve found the perfect plug for that hole…it’s large and football-shaped and makes unhinged rants that only dogs can hear. Family Guy’s one-year-old icon Stewie Griffin is getting his own series, and it’s already been greenlit for two seasons.
While Family Guy mostly shows Stewie’s home life, his self-focused spinoff will reveal what things are like at his daycare…but not the one we’ve seen before. “After getting the boot from his old preschool, Stewie is forced to enroll in a new one that’s not exactly top-of-the-line,” reads Fox’s description of the premise. “It’s attended by a handful of kids he doesn’t know, and a 75-year-old class turtle with a half-cocked theory on just about every subject.
“Stewie’s miserable, the other kids are miserable, and even the turtle is miserable… until Stewie begins rolling out his trusty array of devices to take them anywhere in space and time, turning every boring day at school into an insane and surreal adventure.”
Veteran Family Guy writer Kirker Butler has been named as the showrunner, and it sounds like he’ll be in charge of the entire series with only minimal involvement from MacFarlane beyond voices, much like how American Dad is run. “I am honored and humbled that Seth, 20th Television Animation and Fox have trusted me with one of the most iconic animated characters in the history of television,” Butler said. “I have known Seth for more than two decades, worked with him on half a dozen projects, and I am hopeful this is the one where he finally learns my name.”
“I’d like to thank Fox for this incredible opportunity, and I’m excited to start pretending I’m collaborating closely with them on the show,” MacFarlane added before running off to do something with Ted or The Orville.
As you all know, this isn’t the first time Fox has spun off Family Guy. In 2009 the network introduced The Cleveland Show, which lasted four seasons. At the time, people asked Seth MacFarlane why it was Cleveland, and he said something about how difficult it was to find a spinoff-worthy character, i.e. one that could support an entire show on their own: “it can’t be Quagmire, he’s too despicable.”
But in the end, Cleveland couldn’t support a show on his own, which may have made both MacFarlane and the network reluctant to try this again….until now. Seth just woke up one morning and realized the perfect character was there all along. We’re doing Stewie And The Happy Days Gang, people.
Unlike Cleveland vacating Quahog when his spinoff was running, we don’t anticipate that Stewie will “leave” Family Guy…because how would he do that anyway? His life situation doesn’t really allow for it. Assuming both shows run at the same time, it will add up to more Stewie than network television has ever seen before. Stewie will premiere on Fox sometime during the 2027-2028 season.
