Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy struggled on Fox for a couple of seasons before the execs decided that it wasn’t doing well enough and cancelled it. But all was not lost as public outcry got the show back on the air, but it short lived and the show was cancelled again in 2002. For next few years DVDs continued to sell and the show syndicated on Adult Swim was still performing well. Fox said lets have some more and Seth has been the darling of the channel ever since. American Dad followed shortly after and then began rumours of a spin off show about Peter Griffin’s neighbour Cleveland.
The Cleveland Family
The Cleveland Show has finally arrived. Cleveland leaves Quahog with son in search of his dream in Hollywood. On the way he passes through his home town and meets the girl he loved in high school who is now a single mother with a teenage daughter and smart alek toddler. Romance blossoms and Cleveland decides stay. While American Dad has a talking fish, Family Guy has a talking dog, The Cleveland Show has a talking bear. Other neighbours include the local racist redneck, a middle aged hipster who lives with his mum.
So how does it stack up? I have always been a fan of Seth’s work, it has done a great job in usurping the crown from the very tired animated rulers The Simpsons. Unfortunately there is little here to recommend in The Cleveland Show. The family looks like a black version of the Griffins and you have to wonder how much election of a black president factored into the commissioning of the show (after all the other black sitcom Everybody Hates Chris just got cancelled leaving a gap in the market) but this show plays so heavily on stereotypes it boarders on offensive. They don’t hide this fact and even go as far as hanging a hat on it, “I hate it when white folks make a show they think black folk will watch.” Cleveland is not a character who excites very much, he kinda just goes with the flow, which means the people around him have to be over the top to generate the comedy. Even Stewie comments “What the hell, he’s getting his own show!”
With three shows running simultaneously, Seth is currently producing 66 episodes a year and that is a tall order for anyone. We are yet to see how this will impact Family Guy and American Dad, but the outlook is not good.
Created by: Seth MacFarlane Directed by: tbc Starring: Mike Henr, Sanaa Lathan, Reagan Gomez-Preston, Kevin Michael Richardson, Seth MacFarlane Date premièred: 27th September 2009 UK Details: TBC
In May 2009, the show was officially picked up for a first season consisting of 22 episodes, and a second season, consisting of 13 episodes. The Cleveland Show is scheduled to début on 27th September 2009.
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If your son/daughter had downs syndrome and someone made a joke about it, you’d probably be offended too. But, the Family Guy video is blocked at work, so I can’t really judge the full context.
If your son/daughter had downs syndrome and someone made a joke about it, you’d probably be offended too. But, the Family Guy video is blocked at work, so I can’t really judge the full context.