Seth MacFarlane is our guest on this episode of Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards talks The podcast — which was recorded last Sunday in front of an audience at the Newport Beach Television Festival, where MacFarlane was honored with the festival’s Maverick Award — is one of the funniest, smartest and most multi-talented people in Hollywood.
Actor, voice artist, animator, writer, director, producer, singer and songwriter, he’s been a power player in the industry for nearly 30 years, dating back to the time when, at just 24 years old, he became the youngest executive producer in television history with Family man. Through Fuzzy Door Productions, MacFarlane has a full lineup of shows currently on the air.
Family man It is in its 24th season, and although he has long since stepped back from day-to-day oversight of the show, he continues to provide the voices of Peter, Stewie, and Brian Griffin, among others. Another early show he created for Fox, with Mike Parker and Matt Weitzman, My father is Americanin its twenty-second season. “The burps.”for which he serves as an executive producer, had a well-received first season this year on Peacock. The peacock is also home to Tedthe TV series derived from his successful films of the same name in 2012 and 2015, the second season of which was released just a few months ago. He created the show, wrote several episodes and in each episode served as an EP, directed and provided voice and motion capture for the titular bear.
Over the course of this episode, MacFarlane discusses the matter candidly The SimpsonsHuge influence on him; his frustrations with the Primetime Emmys; future Ted and Family man; And more. You can listen to the full conversation via the audio player above or read excerpts — lightly edited for clarity and/or brevity — below.
On importance The Simpsons…
“The Simpsons It was a show that made us all laugh out loud. Before that, there were animated shows where you could tell which comedy was good comedy – e.g Flintstones and Looney Tunes etc. – but you weren’t necessarily laughing out loud. You could admit it, but it didn’t really shock you. then The Simpsons He came, at least for our generation, and changed everything. Suddenly we were all sitting there crying with laughter. It was like nothing we’ve ever seen in our lives. That was 100% impactful in shifting me from the Disney path to the path of doing something more prime time oriented.
on Family man In 2009 it became the first animated show since then Flintstones48 years ago, to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.
“The Emmys are so bad. A lot of them are bullshit. First of all, it’s bullshit that we’re nominated for best comedy when The Simpsons He was not nominated at all. This is strange. It’s also strange Family man It hasn’t won Best Animated Comedy in 25 years. There’s a lot of weird stuff at the Emmys that makes me think, “Is anyone watching anything, or are these people just checking boxes while they’re shaving?” And you start to not care a little bit, which is a healthy place to be. What was strange about that? [2009 nomination]Also, is that we didn’t even campaign for it. I don’t even know if this is our best year. I suddenly woke up one morning and we were nominated for best comedy. I don’t understand it.”
About the origin of the TV series version Ted…
“I got a call from Susan Rovner, who was running NBC at the time, asking, ‘Would you like to do a series? Ted TV series? So it wasn’t my idea to do this, it was something they came to me with. Based on the size of the overall deal they were offering me at that point, I figured I’d better do what they wanted. So it wasn’t like I was dying to do it, but it was interesting. I said: Is this something you can commit to the same level of quality as the movies? I’m not talking about car chases and such, but the bear itself, would you be willing to put the same resources into this, so that it doesn’t look like a diet soda version of Ted“For a half-hour comedy series, the cost per episode was $10 million because of the bear, and because of all the CGI. And they said, ‘Yes, we’re willing to do it.’ And I said, ‘Cool, let’s try it.'”
On the future Ted…
“I mean, the bear is computer-generated, so he can go as long as there’s an appetite for him. It’s up to Universal. It’s up to Peacock. A third season in the near future — I don’t know that there are any plans for that. I’ve floated the idea that maybe we’ll do a direct-to-Peacock Ted The advantage is with this actor. This could be something fun. It was what, 10 years between the last Ted The movie and the first episode of the series, people were still there for it. “He is a character that we can bring back at any time.”
On the future Family manthe series, and the possibility of a Family man film…
“I think it can continue as long as there’s an appetite for it. I’m constantly shocked by the viewing numbers, which are still so high. I don’t know why that is. It’s been a long time coming. It’s been a quarter of a century since this thing aired!” Family man The feature film is something that’s always in the back of my head. I always had a clear idea of what it would be like. It’s that arrow in the quiver I hold when everything else goes wrong. [Could that ever happen while the show is still on TV?] Oh yes. I always assume that if you have a truly catastrophic professional failure, such as producing a movie or show that fails miserably, the only thing that can cleanse the audience’s palette is Family man film. That’s when I’ll do it.
