Seth MacFarlane is opening up about possibly ending Family Guy after 22 seasons.
The creator and star weighed in on the show’s longevity in a new profile celebrating 25 years since the animated series started airing.
“At this point, I don’t see a good reason to stop. People still love it. It makes people happy and it funds some good causes,” MacFarlane said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “It’s a lot of extraneous cash that you can donate to Rainforest Trust and you can still go out to dinner that night.”
He continued, “There was a time when I thought, it’s time to wrap it up. At this point, we’ve reached escape velocity. I don’t know that there’s any reason to stop at this point unless people get sick of it. Unless the numbers show that people just are, ‘Eh, we don’t care about Family Guy anymore.’ But that hasn’t happened yet.”
Family Guy premiered in January 1999 on Fox and was canceled after two seasons. A last-minute pickup at the network gave the show a third season before it was axed for good. Reruns on Cartoon Network and DVD availability gave the show new life, making it a cult show among fans.
Fox again picked up Family Guy and premiered Season 4 in May 2005. The show has since aired consistently every year until its current Season 22.
MacFarlane voices Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin, and Glenn Quagmire. Seth Green gives life to Chris Griffin and Neil Godman. Alex Borstein voices Lois Griffin, Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown, and Lois’ mother, Barbara Pewterschmidt. Mila Kunis voices Meg Griffin.
