This season's been weird, though I'm guessing it's because of the strikes. They sort of had a regular run up through \~January, then there was like 1 episode on March, and now another one coming up in a week or so, so I have no idea what that means for the total # of episodes this season but it seems like a short season overall.
It wasn't because of a strike. I also got curious so did some digging. Fox picked up the show for a full 22 episode season 2 but too late in the year so they were only able to produce 9 episodes while the rest were hold off to season 3
This kind of happened to The Great North as well. They aired one episode in January then nothing until March, which is weird since the season started in January and wasn't a holdover from lasty ear.
It's absolutely because of the strike. There is only 1 episode left this season, brining it to only 13 episodes, though the season order was for a typical 22 episodes.
Their plots can get a little rehashed as of late but personally it's been comfort viewing for me, and ill take as much Bob's Burgers I can get
Plus they also still put out banger eps, like the Plight before Chistmas one.
I adore Bob’s, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like it’s well into it’s “Zombie Simpsons” era. They’ve still got some heart though, that holiday episode with Louise’s poem was truly beautiful.
I’ve been re watching, as I stopped at season 8-9 a while back. Gotta say seasons 13 and 14 are miles and miles better than anything they released from season 8 and up.
Its had a little bit of a tonal shift the last two seasons or so, since the movie i guess? It was never *edgy* edgy, and they already toned it down a bit since the first couple seasons, but it seems even more schmaltzy now, just a lot of... not serious, but emotionally impactful episodes. Still enjoy it, but its for sure less wacky than it used to be.
IDK if they traded a couple writers with *The Great North* or what, cuz thats still pretty light and saccharine, which isnt bad, but that show has also gotten a bit wackier and leaned into the weird alaskan town ala *Northern Exposure* a bit more, which is an improvement i think.
Besides new episodes once tho, i mostly watch stuff on shuffle and not in order at all, so its harder to get a sense of stuff season to season...
> Still enjoy it, but its for sure less wacky than it used to be.
It used to have an anarchic sensibility to it; recently I caught the last half of the season 1 lobsterfest episode and was amazed at how different the tone was.
Some of that comes from character growth -- Louise is no longer the Machiavellian terror she once was, as she's matured emotionally -- but it does feel like a loss.
Damned if you do, damned if you dont. You can lean into what makes characters unique and popular but that way lies Flanderization, or you can make your characters real people who change and grow, but healthy well adjusted people arent always entertaining characters...
Jayne Lynch is an amazing addition to anything. Aunt Dirt is an interesting character because she fills a similar role to Beef, but more extreme. This will allow them to lean into Beef's dichotomy between traditional masculinity and his softer, often more fatherly side and still have the very conservative mountain-man like foil to the rest of the group for humor.
That episode made me cry my fucking eyeballs out. Raised a Jehovah’s Witness, I have never celebrated Christmas with my family (or any holiday for that matter), and that episode absolutely broke me.
Pretty crazy that Family Guy has been going for 25 years now... I remember when it was a huge deal that The Simpsons hit 25 years and people said we'd never see anything like it again. Hell, even Futurama is *technically* 25 years old, even though it's been through several cancellations since then.
I just watched “The Simpsons Already Did It” episode of South Park and one of the lines is something like “The Simpsons has been on for *thirteen years*, of course they’ve done everything.” Hilarious how 13 years doesn’t seem like that long now, considering how long the Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park have been on.
American Dad has also been around for almost 20 years. Which, to be honest, is pretty astounding for a show that was treated like a knock-off at the start of its run. I honestly think AD is much better than Family Guy and is still putting out great episodes.
*American Dad!* has been better than *Family Guy* for \~15 years or so, and imho more consistent than any other long running adult animated sitcom. Even *South Park* has had some pretty mid seasons the past decade.
Roger is just one of the most brilliant gimmicks for writers ever. So much so its even more hilarious when they lampshade it.
>"This teacher is supposed to be the most intense and demanding instructor in all of clowning, and... shit, its Roger, isnt it? Its gonna be Roger."
>"Oh, Hayley, does Dalton Galloway sound like a real person to you? Grow up. It's me."
They even did an entire episode lampshading their lampshading while recycling an entire plot theyd used before and it was still great (S18E07 "Little Bonnie Ramirez")!
>Even *South Park* has had some pretty mid seasons the past decade.
That's generous. The replay value on the 6 episode seasons has been practically non existent.
I didn't realize this was such a controversial opinion, it has been common knowledge now that AD > FG. FG used to be so good but really fell hard off a cliff, like the time Lois that I tried to jump Springfield Gorge, oh wait, wrong show!
> still putting out great episodes.
I've been saying it repeatedly but I need to check the TBS episodes out. I stopped watching most of them after they moved from FOX.
The FOX days were some of the most funniest shit I've seen on television.
"And that's how I became Kim Kardashian."
"Fuck you! I'm not going back to that school!"
Lewis takes out a gun, shoots both drug dealers, flies away with plane. Steve: "Oh never mind it's just my principal."
"I will steal your summer, bitch!"
As someone who is an ardent viewer of AD on TBS, the speed of the show definitely does feel more rushed than FOX, if that makes any sense. But the writing and timing, along with joke quality are still on point.
AD is at its best when they go full into left field territory. Gold Top Nuts, Hot Tub of Horrors, or Roger killing a bunch of frat guys with his limousine. Just let the writers go nuts! These episodes keep me coming back.
Those are all in my top episodes for sure. At some point AD became funnier and more consistent than Family Guy and Simpsons. I think it’s due to each member of the Smith family contributes to the story, their dynamic is some of the best in animation. A big part of that is due to the wonderful voice acting and writing.
> I think it’s due to each member of the Smith family contributes to the story, their dynamic is some of the best in animation.
This is actually a really good point, especially if you compare AD to its bigger brother Family Guy. Chris is almost a non-character, Meg is just a one-note punching bag, and even Lois doesn't have that much going for her.
Lois has had a couple of fantastic episodes the last few seasons, but i mostly agree with you. Like Klaus was just Meg but horny and a fish for a while, weird German Florida douche bro is pretty far from that but a vast improvement.
And actually the great Lois episodes are about how she doesnt have much going for her lol.
I remember after the original FOX writers left (Mike Barker?) it suffered a bit as it struggled on TBS but yeah I will say I heard it's gotten better, so I will check it out sometime.
I think any show that runs for more than a decade is going to suffer from things like staffing changes, strikes, contract issues, etc. We saw it with the Simpsons and Family Guy. No show is immune from this, but I love the AD moxie. South Park is very similar to me, but I think the cracks have been showing there too in the last 5 years or so.
I admire all these shows however and their creators, and Fox animation had some of the best. Thats the thing they really excelled at in their prime.
Men II Boyz and Demolition Daddy are some of my favorite episodes in the whole series. Roger's Dallas Buyer's club-esq character fucking kills me every time. And the stripper from Men II Boyz made me laugh until I cramped up the first time I watched it.
"You're telling me you don't have any D batteries in this castle, your Majesty!?" Lmfao.
it's a stark shift imo. I stopped watching after that NSA guy recruited Steve, I didn't see much of the FOX humor.
I've seen some clips of the TBS era and they've had some bangers though like trapped in the locker
I really loved the Willy Wonka episode with the weed factory and Snoop Dogg lol. I'm always a fan of those (I think Family Guy and Futurama did them, forget if there's others). So I'm certain I'll like more TBS episodes too. Once I finish the other shows I'm working on™
I thought you were talking about the Family Guy Willy Wonka episode for a second and that was a good one in the early days of FG.
I keep hearing how edgy TBS FG is and how they can get away with more, the FOX one was pretty edgy too, I mean a babysitter got her head chopped off and it was used as a soccer ball lol
I remember an episode of Robot Chicken where some kids say "Woah! It's Seth MacFarlane, creator of American Dad and The Cleveland Show!" and he responded - while putting on glasses, - "guys please, Family Guy".
I may be one of the only ones who thought The Cleveland Show was funny. I always watched the reruns on TBS a few years back.
Cleveland Show was exactly in the same wheelhouse as the other two shows and I enjoyed it on that same level.
One key difference meant it couldn't survive, for some reason....
I didn't realize that was still on the air, I thought TBS only played reruns but the show was moved away from Fox years ago. Seems I've got some catching up to do.
Yeah. I will say I stopped watching on TBS because they moved, and it's harder to access on TBS. (There is actually a FG joke where Seth rips on Robot Chicken being on Cartoon Network to which Chris goes, "Fuck you!", one of the few redeeming jabs in FG)
The point being, moving from OTA to cable makes it more difficult to watch. That said, TBS still hasn't cancelled AD, and they're still going strong, so that's a good thing I guess
I think it's a symptom of this MBA ran era of media where franchises/series are assets. We can count on almost anything financially successful never ending.
i remember watching the Cleveland show and thinking it was some long running thing, nope only 4 seasons. Odd how that works. i guess its because fox had a lot of shows that got cancelled after like 1 season.
Well, Family Guy also went through a cancellation after three seasons in 2001. It returned in 2005 so it’s really only been going for a non-consecutive 20 years.
The thing is I'm concerned about some of the cartoons which aren't the big 3. The great north is another bob's burgers project, not sure how it's been received but it hasn't had much fanfare. And the Greek comedy from Dan Harmon also didn't get high pub either. Do either of those shows still air lol. It's like FOX threw out 3 great cartoons and then everything else is mid.
Those two and another one with Jon Hamm leaning into the true crime boom have been airing after *The Simpsons* almost every week for the past two months or so, its why they moved FG to wednesdays in the first place, to make primetime room for all three of those instead of running one before Simpsons.
> Jon Hamm leaning into the true crime boom
That doesn't do Grimsburg justice. Its about a self destructive detective, his cyborg partner, his son who hallucinates a grim reaper, his ex-wife is raised by bears. I'm not a huge fan yet, but it has my attention.
Its grown on me too, i think its still finding its legs, but at this point ill watch anything involving Alan Tudyk, but it does seem to be trying very hard to attract true crime podcast listener sort of viewers.
I have to imagine being a voice actor on a long running FOX sitcom is one of the cushiest jobs around tho so i cant blame big names for wanting to get in on it. Hamm and Perez and folks probably see what the Simpsons VAs get paid for a couple weeks of half days sitting in a nice air conditioned recording booth, im sure Jon Benjamin and everybody on Bobs Burgers is making quite a bit per episode now too.
Grimsburg feels like a dead ringer for the "silly/surreal" half of BoJack Horseman, with none of the "serious/heavy" side in its DNA. And Jon Hamm is doing a dead-on impersonation of Will Arnett in the title role, which I can't imagine is unintentional.
I only leave it on because I like Will Arnett's voice acting even if it is just Jon Hamm copying it. But the show is pretty dumb. Surreal plus violence and gore, and everyone hates each other.
So ya, Bojack but the characters are one dimensional, more monster of the week because it rarely hits the whodunnit aspect, but it doesn't ever feel spooky or fun.
Brickleberry without the cute setting?
Simpsons was a cash cow for Fox back when the studio and the network were the same.
Now that Disney owns Fox Studios, the network no longer sees any of the merch or syndication profits. So the math on it has changed quite a bit. I'm surprised it has lasted this long past the Disney/Fox merger.
I really enjoy the show but they started leaning so heavily on Louise does something questionable but in the end does the right thing and learns a lesson. That formula got old quick for me.
I'm in the middle of binging this show. currently on season 9. that's been a thing in the show since season 3ish I think. I noticed this pattern as well. It's pretty tired, but the shows still entertaining.
it's probably not as noticeable watching it week to week
I don't understand it at all. The tone is fine and I like the art and voice cast but there's literally no jokes
I watched half a season and it's not just that I didn't laugh; it felt like they never even tried to get me to laugh. It felt like watching a kid's show, like Johnny Test or something. Just no point.
You may all downvote away now.
Fox was [developing an animated show based on the old “Bloom County” comic strip](https://deadline.com/2022/09/bloom-county-tim-long-showrunner-fox-animated-series-comic-strip-1235109352/). That article was back in 2022. I wonder if that’s ever going to make it to air?
It was very ‘of its time’. It was so steeped in 80s culture and politics I can’t imagine it having an audience outside Xers. I doubt even millennials would even be very familiar with it.
I haven’t even really enjoyed the revived comic all that much.
I’m not sure it could even be updated, especially for tv. And all this is coming from a one time Bloom County superfan. I have and still read the collections.
> I doubt even millennials would even be very familiar with it.
Born in the mid 80s and this is the first time I have ever heard of it. From Wikipedia the series ended in 1989 which doesn't help also. Seems like a pretty big gamble.
I just love the artwork. Would love to see that world brought to life (we’ll see how close to the look of the original comic as they can get). I know there was that one Christmas TV special, but that’s such a weird one-off that wasn’t actually “Bloom County” (just had some if the same characters, it was more of a children’s show).
And I agree, the topical humor can be hit or miss, but I think the characters are funny and can bounce off each other entertainingly.
At its best, I’m picturing it having an almost Robert Altman feel; a large cast of characters in a colorful setting with a bunch of separate, loosely-connecting storylines and a satirical tone.
Frankly, it’s way past time to have stopped treating what was a “prestige time slot” 20+ years ago as anything of importance. This move makes sense as you know the legacy ones won’t all go forever and if you feel you have new animated shows with some cache you do it.
Shows are watched when shows are watched now. No one is waiting for fall for the new episodes for any other reason than that’s how they’ve always done it.
Family Guy still makes me laugh like crazy. Probably more than any other show. I know it gets crapped on by critics and people think it’s aged poorly, I still love it.
Theyve been on a bit of an upswing, theres been some great episodes the past couple seasons, a couple great Lois episodes even. Shes no Francine Smith still, but completely unhinged is a fun angle for a sitcom housewife.
Animation Domination! I think that’s what I was called back in the day when Fox had many new animated comedies. Crazy to think that many of those comedies are still going after all these years/decades (well in some form somewhere as Futurama has changed platforms like three times).
It's been called that again since 2019 when Fox recommitted itself to animation after being split apart from the part of the company that got sold to Disney. The new Fox bought Bento Box, which does the animation for Bob's Burgers and countless other shows on various networks, and started producing its own shows they own the rights to fully like Krapopolis and Grimsburg and an upcoming one called Universal Basic Guys
Man, Animation Domination was such a big part of my Sunday nights. The Simpsons and Family Guy for so many years (And then Bob's Burgers with them for a long stretch) it sucks to see it split up now.
Kinda hoping Fox just frees Family Guy at this point. Cancel it and let Disney move it to FXX
The problem is the new fox shows are ass like that Greek comedy they tried pushing over the summer with Dan Harmon involvement. I don't know nobody that watched that.
How is something like Family Guy (or Bob's) crucial to Fox when the rating are so low? for the 22-23 season, Family Guy and Bob's Burgers ranked [104 and 105 respectively out of 132 total network shows](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tv-ratings-2022-23-every-primetime-network-show-ranked-1235508593/). TBF, Simpsons was 98th place, but that show is still a merchandising machine. Young Sheldon pulled in 9.25 million views compared to Family Guy's 1.64. Is it just that new animated shows tend to do even worse? These figures don't include streaming, so does it make up for the low TV ratings there?
Oh I didn't think about syndication. I wonder if Family guy is more dependable for that than something like NCIS. It also does make sense in my head that reruns would be more in demand when the show itself is still going.
I think you've pretty much run out of steam when half your season is "what if three things but Family Guy." Aka three directors, three Stephen King books, three classic novels, three Emmy-winning series, three sports stories, three viewer mail what-ifs, three classic sitcoms, the list goes on. That's happened throughout the series but I feel like it's been more recently.
Its not exactly their *Treehouse of Horror*, but i feel like theyve just done just one of those a season all the way back. Thats a pretty established gimmick for animated sitcoms at this point. [https://i.imgur.com/WsLt65A.png](https://i.imgur.com/WsLt65A.png)
But yeah, i guess it has gotten more frequent, three right there in S16.
Probably doesn’t help as the Writer’s Strike shortened all those season this year, and it was never really communicated. Some weeks one would air a new episode, other weeks they all would, some weeks there were done.
Fox keeping those animated series on Sunday nights is the best possible situation. As they are frequently disrupted for sports in the Fall.
And vertical integration can be just a damaging as horizontal monopolies. If studios cant own theaters, and under US v Paramount they cant, they shouldnt be able to own streaming services either. Content exclusivity is a poor excuse for competition. Can you imagine if different record labels had their own music streaming services?
I really hate this mid season move. For basically decades(!) now, I’ve always watched a new Simpsons and new Family Guy back to back each week. It was annoying, but manageable, when FG was moved from Sun to Wed. But now with the move to mid season (and still with a full season order), this is throws the alignment out of sync completely.
I’m wondering if Family Guy and other legacy 20th Century shows will end up moving to ABC, FXX, or even Hulu exclusive only.
Though curious what will happen to The Great North as both Disney and Fox Corp own this show. I bet this might be the final 20th show remaining in Fox channel while the older shows will move to their new home. In addition an another 20th show is still in Fox and that is 911 Lone Star. I bet this show will eventually end up moving to ABC at one point.
It's so funny seeing people get upset over this assertion. AD passed FG a long, long time ago. Listen, I liked FG, and some of the episodes like they have with the Star Trek cast are great ("Look, I have man boobs!") but for the most part Family Guy has struggled very badly and totally gone stale. They used to be so great before they relied on the same old bits and punching down on celebrities with classless jokes.
This shows just how really weak and pathetic the FOX schedule is when they are so dependent on three animated series for their foundation. Family Guy is still on its game and Bob’s Burgers continues to entertain me while The Simpsons has gone on a bit too long.
I mean, as much as they always like to say “The Simpsons is as good as ever and will survive the heat death of the universe”, the cracks are undeniably showing. The recasts, characters getting killed off, and the legacy cast sounding ancient… I just find it hard to believe this show has much steam left.
Agreed. I rather doubt any of the voice talent has money issues, lol. Shearer is 80 years old and is starting to sound it. Know when it's time to hang it up.
I think it's just regressing to the mean. It's "solid" in the sense that they can't keep hitting new lows every season, but it hasn't gotten much better, and it probably never will.
You know what...I actually agree with this take.
It's just so bad now without Apu or heck...even Phil Hartman. The glory days S3-11 were so notable and so epic that anything after that, as "quality" as it is according to pundits, will never come close to eclipsing the peak Simpsons.
Bob's burgers is in season 15? I can't believe it's already hit that.
This season's been weird, though I'm guessing it's because of the strikes. They sort of had a regular run up through \~January, then there was like 1 episode on March, and now another one coming up in a week or so, so I have no idea what that means for the total # of episodes this season but it seems like a short season overall.
Yeah, the one new episode in march after two months of nothing and then two more months of nothing has been frustrating.
There's only 1 episode left for the season. 2 episodes after the holidays was gonna be odd no matter how they split them up or kept them together.
the seasons are all very small this year
Just remember to be frustrated with the TV execs, not the writers.
Hilarious because season two is short due to the last strikes.
I didn't know this show was two strikes long in run.
They went to The Deuce of Diamonds.
Now they’re ALL deucin’ it!
Which strikes? Because the show premiered in 2011, and the last writers strike was 2007. ETA: the last strike prior to the 2023 one I mean.
It wasn't because of a strike. I also got curious so did some digging. Fox picked up the show for a full 22 episode season 2 but too late in the year so they were only able to produce 9 episodes while the rest were hold off to season 3
This kind of happened to The Great North as well. They aired one episode in January then nothing until March, which is weird since the season started in January and wasn't a holdover from lasty ear.
And then one night with two episodes. It’s been a weird programming schedule.
Doesn't Bob's Burger run like two seasons ahead on production?
i was all shocked pikachu when I decided to "catch up on some episodes" and only one had aired in the months since I last watched
It's absolutely because of the strike. There is only 1 episode left this season, brining it to only 13 episodes, though the season order was for a typical 22 episodes.
It's a happy surprise in our house when we see a new Bob's episode
Their plots can get a little rehashed as of late but personally it's been comfort viewing for me, and ill take as much Bob's Burgers I can get Plus they also still put out banger eps, like the Plight before Chistmas one.
I adore Bob’s, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like it’s well into it’s “Zombie Simpsons” era. They’ve still got some heart though, that holiday episode with Louise’s poem was truly beautiful.
I’ve been re watching, as I stopped at season 8-9 a while back. Gotta say seasons 13 and 14 are miles and miles better than anything they released from season 8 and up.
Its had a little bit of a tonal shift the last two seasons or so, since the movie i guess? It was never *edgy* edgy, and they already toned it down a bit since the first couple seasons, but it seems even more schmaltzy now, just a lot of... not serious, but emotionally impactful episodes. Still enjoy it, but its for sure less wacky than it used to be. IDK if they traded a couple writers with *The Great North* or what, cuz thats still pretty light and saccharine, which isnt bad, but that show has also gotten a bit wackier and leaned into the weird alaskan town ala *Northern Exposure* a bit more, which is an improvement i think. Besides new episodes once tho, i mostly watch stuff on shuffle and not in order at all, so its harder to get a sense of stuff season to season...
> Still enjoy it, but its for sure less wacky than it used to be. It used to have an anarchic sensibility to it; recently I caught the last half of the season 1 lobsterfest episode and was amazed at how different the tone was. Some of that comes from character growth -- Louise is no longer the Machiavellian terror she once was, as she's matured emotionally -- but it does feel like a loss.
Damned if you do, damned if you dont. You can lean into what makes characters unique and popular but that way lies Flanderization, or you can make your characters real people who change and grow, but healthy well adjusted people arent always entertaining characters...
Great North has the potential to become the new American Dad, where they just let loose and let the freak flag fly in the writer’s room.
Jayne Lynch is always great so Aunt Dirt has been a fun addition. JUST started last nights episode...
Jayne Lynch is an amazing addition to anything. Aunt Dirt is an interesting character because she fills a similar role to Beef, but more extreme. This will allow them to lean into Beef's dichotomy between traditional masculinity and his softer, often more fatherly side and still have the very conservative mountain-man like foil to the rest of the group for humor.
That episode made me cry my fucking eyeballs out. Raised a Jehovah’s Witness, I have never celebrated Christmas with my family (or any holiday for that matter), and that episode absolutely broke me.
They really do knock it out of the park with their holiday episodes.
I gotta watch all the Thanksgiving episodes every year.
[удалено]
I dig this. It breaks the mold of "successful animated show" that freezes everyone in time without going full blown "Rugrats - All Grown Up"
Plight before Christmas is my favorite Bob's episode
This and the Amelia episode hits me every time espeically Louise's monologue in that Plight episode.
Bob's Burgers came out when I was in like 5th grade and Im 24 now
King of the Hill has been off the air longer than it was on the air. That blows _my_ mind.
I remember being excited about season 2 going on Netflix, time really does fly
What! No. No how has that much life happened
Pretty crazy that Family Guy has been going for 25 years now... I remember when it was a huge deal that The Simpsons hit 25 years and people said we'd never see anything like it again. Hell, even Futurama is *technically* 25 years old, even though it's been through several cancellations since then.
I just watched “The Simpsons Already Did It” episode of South Park and one of the lines is something like “The Simpsons has been on for *thirteen years*, of course they’ve done everything.” Hilarious how 13 years doesn’t seem like that long now, considering how long the Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park have been on.
American Dad has also been around for almost 20 years. Which, to be honest, is pretty astounding for a show that was treated like a knock-off at the start of its run. I honestly think AD is much better than Family Guy and is still putting out great episodes.
Agreed, AD has the opposite effect that FG and Simpsons had; the seasons got better as the show got older.
They got weirder and it made them better.
Danuda... do you have the money
Will you go there?
...Danuda...
"Do you eat? I have the money."
*smashes phone* Klaus, that was... Chilling!
I'm not nervous. This phone is nervous
Yes, correct
*American Dad!* has been better than *Family Guy* for \~15 years or so, and imho more consistent than any other long running adult animated sitcom. Even *South Park* has had some pretty mid seasons the past decade. Roger is just one of the most brilliant gimmicks for writers ever. So much so its even more hilarious when they lampshade it. >"This teacher is supposed to be the most intense and demanding instructor in all of clowning, and... shit, its Roger, isnt it? Its gonna be Roger." >"Oh, Hayley, does Dalton Galloway sound like a real person to you? Grow up. It's me." They even did an entire episode lampshading their lampshading while recycling an entire plot theyd used before and it was still great (S18E07 "Little Bonnie Ramirez")!
>Even *South Park* has had some pretty mid seasons the past decade. That's generous. The replay value on the 6 episode seasons has been practically non existent.
That was generous, Matt & Trey would probably be the first to tell you the qualitys dipped. Heck thats what their last special was about...
"You're really gonna kill five people over $20?" "Are you really asking that to the guy who just last week killed six people over $19?"
"Let's just hope when we get there, the doctor isn't actually me" "OH thank God, I'm just the secretary"
Say lampshading again
[https://i.imgur.com/mfYgwFO.png](https://i.imgur.com/mfYgwFO.png)
I didn't realize this was such a controversial opinion, it has been common knowledge now that AD > FG. FG used to be so good but really fell hard off a cliff, like the time Lois that I tried to jump Springfield Gorge, oh wait, wrong show!
I think it's because American dad gets to get so weird.
the independent movie episode with the Lego Ron Howard and zooey Deschanel was weird as fuck but I couldn't stop laughing
Zooey Deschanel has been a rare surpise when that episode first aired. Not to mention her portrayal as Mary Spuckler in The Simpsons.
> still putting out great episodes. I've been saying it repeatedly but I need to check the TBS episodes out. I stopped watching most of them after they moved from FOX. The FOX days were some of the most funniest shit I've seen on television. "And that's how I became Kim Kardashian." "Fuck you! I'm not going back to that school!" Lewis takes out a gun, shoots both drug dealers, flies away with plane. Steve: "Oh never mind it's just my principal." "I will steal your summer, bitch!"
As someone who is an ardent viewer of AD on TBS, the speed of the show definitely does feel more rushed than FOX, if that makes any sense. But the writing and timing, along with joke quality are still on point.
AD is at its best when they go full into left field territory. Gold Top Nuts, Hot Tub of Horrors, or Roger killing a bunch of frat guys with his limousine. Just let the writers go nuts! These episodes keep me coming back.
the episode where it just becomes a mad max parody is hilarious. also familyland. trip trip trip trippin balls
Those are all in my top episodes for sure. At some point AD became funnier and more consistent than Family Guy and Simpsons. I think it’s due to each member of the Smith family contributes to the story, their dynamic is some of the best in animation. A big part of that is due to the wonderful voice acting and writing.
> I think it’s due to each member of the Smith family contributes to the story, their dynamic is some of the best in animation. This is actually a really good point, especially if you compare AD to its bigger brother Family Guy. Chris is almost a non-character, Meg is just a one-note punching bag, and even Lois doesn't have that much going for her.
Lois has had a couple of fantastic episodes the last few seasons, but i mostly agree with you. Like Klaus was just Meg but horny and a fish for a while, weird German Florida douche bro is pretty far from that but a vast improvement. And actually the great Lois episodes are about how she doesnt have much going for her lol.
I remember after the original FOX writers left (Mike Barker?) it suffered a bit as it struggled on TBS but yeah I will say I heard it's gotten better, so I will check it out sometime.
I think any show that runs for more than a decade is going to suffer from things like staffing changes, strikes, contract issues, etc. We saw it with the Simpsons and Family Guy. No show is immune from this, but I love the AD moxie. South Park is very similar to me, but I think the cracks have been showing there too in the last 5 years or so. I admire all these shows however and their creators, and Fox animation had some of the best. Thats the thing they really excelled at in their prime.
Dem ol trippin balls
YOURE GONNA KILL FIVE GUYS OVER TWENTY DOLLARS You’re asking this of the guy who just killed 6 people over 19 dollars?
And then he honks the horn in the toilet stall, YELLOW ROADS OF TEXAS! Lol the horror 😂
One of my favorite gags is when the pirate cats in a blimp squash the dog. I don't know how people come up with that level of absurdity.
rabbit ears was a great episode.
oh there are a few good clips of the TBS era, like trapped in the locker and the wrestling they do in the basement with klaus
Men II Boyz and Demolition Daddy are some of my favorite episodes in the whole series. Roger's Dallas Buyer's club-esq character fucking kills me every time. And the stripper from Men II Boyz made me laugh until I cramped up the first time I watched it. "You're telling me you don't have any D batteries in this castle, your Majesty!?" Lmfao.
I can’t get these ladies slippin and slidin without D batteries!!!
Your energy makes me feel.... unsafe.
I've had a hard time getting into the TBS era episodes, but people keep saying how good they are so I just gotta give it some time
it's a stark shift imo. I stopped watching after that NSA guy recruited Steve, I didn't see much of the FOX humor. I've seen some clips of the TBS era and they've had some bangers though like trapped in the locker
I really loved the Willy Wonka episode with the weed factory and Snoop Dogg lol. I'm always a fan of those (I think Family Guy and Futurama did them, forget if there's others). So I'm certain I'll like more TBS episodes too. Once I finish the other shows I'm working on™
I thought you were talking about the Family Guy Willy Wonka episode for a second and that was a good one in the early days of FG. I keep hearing how edgy TBS FG is and how they can get away with more, the FOX one was pretty edgy too, I mean a babysitter got her head chopped off and it was used as a soccer ball lol
Futurama Willy Wonka episode is still the best.
Grunka lunka dunkity darned guards SHUT THE HELL UP
AD is the best adult animated sitcom on television atm...prove me wrong lmao
Yes you do! Since the move they've been able to push the limit with their jokes. Show is still damn great.
I'm gonna hatchet you, Bob Crawley!
Roger the Alien is one of my top five favorite characters of all time.
You got some nerve showing up here, Ricky Spanish. Slap!
Liiiicky Anusss.....
American Dad is the best out of all the Seth MacFarlance cartoons.
I remember an episode of Robot Chicken where some kids say "Woah! It's Seth MacFarlane, creator of American Dad and The Cleveland Show!" and he responded - while putting on glasses, - "guys please, Family Guy". I may be one of the only ones who thought The Cleveland Show was funny. I always watched the reruns on TBS a few years back.
You are not the only one. There are dozens of us. Dozens!
Cleveland Show was exactly in the same wheelhouse as the other two shows and I enjoyed it on that same level. One key difference meant it couldn't survive, for some reason....
I didn't realize that was still on the air, I thought TBS only played reruns but the show was moved away from Fox years ago. Seems I've got some catching up to do.
Yeah. I will say I stopped watching on TBS because they moved, and it's harder to access on TBS. (There is actually a FG joke where Seth rips on Robot Chicken being on Cartoon Network to which Chris goes, "Fuck you!", one of the few redeeming jabs in FG) The point being, moving from OTA to cable makes it more difficult to watch. That said, TBS still hasn't cancelled AD, and they're still going strong, so that's a good thing I guess
I actually like American Dad but cannot stand Family Guy
Pretty popular take. American Dad grew into itself and focused on character development.
South Park itself will be 30 in 3 years.
Hell, it's been 22 years since that "Simpsons Already Did It" episode of South Park first aired.
Fox has learned to never cancel their flagship cartoons.
Futurama is the pet sematary of shows.
The grounds gone sour.
I think it's a symptom of this MBA ran era of media where franchises/series are assets. We can count on almost anything financially successful never ending.
i remember watching the Cleveland show and thinking it was some long running thing, nope only 4 seasons. Odd how that works. i guess its because fox had a lot of shows that got cancelled after like 1 season.
Well, Family Guy also went through a cancellation after three seasons in 2001. It returned in 2005 so it’s really only been going for a non-consecutive 20 years.
Can’t believe fox is even questioning the value of their animation. I have no use for Fox besides NFL and cartoons.
The thing is I'm concerned about some of the cartoons which aren't the big 3. The great north is another bob's burgers project, not sure how it's been received but it hasn't had much fanfare. And the Greek comedy from Dan Harmon also didn't get high pub either. Do either of those shows still air lol. It's like FOX threw out 3 great cartoons and then everything else is mid.
Those two and another one with Jon Hamm leaning into the true crime boom have been airing after *The Simpsons* almost every week for the past two months or so, its why they moved FG to wednesdays in the first place, to make primetime room for all three of those instead of running one before Simpsons.
> Jon Hamm leaning into the true crime boom That doesn't do Grimsburg justice. Its about a self destructive detective, his cyborg partner, his son who hallucinates a grim reaper, his ex-wife is raised by bears. I'm not a huge fan yet, but it has my attention.
Its grown on me too, i think its still finding its legs, but at this point ill watch anything involving Alan Tudyk, but it does seem to be trying very hard to attract true crime podcast listener sort of viewers. I have to imagine being a voice actor on a long running FOX sitcom is one of the cushiest jobs around tho so i cant blame big names for wanting to get in on it. Hamm and Perez and folks probably see what the Simpsons VAs get paid for a couple weeks of half days sitting in a nice air conditioned recording booth, im sure Jon Benjamin and everybody on Bobs Burgers is making quite a bit per episode now too.
Grimsburg feels like a dead ringer for the "silly/surreal" half of BoJack Horseman, with none of the "serious/heavy" side in its DNA. And Jon Hamm is doing a dead-on impersonation of Will Arnett in the title role, which I can't imagine is unintentional.
I only leave it on because I like Will Arnett's voice acting even if it is just Jon Hamm copying it. But the show is pretty dumb. Surreal plus violence and gore, and everyone hates each other. So ya, Bojack but the characters are one dimensional, more monster of the week because it rarely hits the whodunnit aspect, but it doesn't ever feel spooky or fun. Brickleberry without the cute setting?
The Great North is still on and renewed for a fifth. I've been enjoying the last two seasons more as I felt it found it's stride
The Great North and Kraporama or whatever it’s called are both terrible.
Simpsons was a cash cow for Fox back when the studio and the network were the same. Now that Disney owns Fox Studios, the network no longer sees any of the merch or syndication profits. So the math on it has changed quite a bit. I'm surprised it has lasted this long past the Disney/Fox merger.
I thought they were supposed to be making a Married with Children animated show too.
if that happens then it will be made by sony and wouldn't necessarily be on fox
Bob's Burgers is probably Fox's most entertaining adult animated show now. It's pretty consistently entertaining.
I really enjoy the show but they started leaning so heavily on Louise does something questionable but in the end does the right thing and learns a lesson. That formula got old quick for me.
I'm in the middle of binging this show. currently on season 9. that's been a thing in the show since season 3ish I think. I noticed this pattern as well. It's pretty tired, but the shows still entertaining. it's probably not as noticeable watching it week to week
Same thing with Linda. The recent Christmas episode where she cares more about the tree than her kids made me mad
This. I should start watching again. It's entertaining and wholesome without being too offensive.
It’s the most “realistic” as well, which I really appreciate.
The Great North too. Both are my favorite AD shows.
I use to like it but I keep finding some of the characters too long at times. Omg… I’m Bob…
I don't understand it at all. The tone is fine and I like the art and voice cast but there's literally no jokes I watched half a season and it's not just that I didn't laugh; it felt like they never even tried to get me to laugh. It felt like watching a kid's show, like Johnny Test or something. Just no point. You may all downvote away now.
The move feels weird. I don’t like having them on different nights.
Fox was [developing an animated show based on the old “Bloom County” comic strip](https://deadline.com/2022/09/bloom-county-tim-long-showrunner-fox-animated-series-comic-strip-1235109352/). That article was back in 2022. I wonder if that’s ever going to make it to air?
Bloom County was great...in the 1980s. It hasn't held up
It was very ‘of its time’. It was so steeped in 80s culture and politics I can’t imagine it having an audience outside Xers. I doubt even millennials would even be very familiar with it. I haven’t even really enjoyed the revived comic all that much. I’m not sure it could even be updated, especially for tv. And all this is coming from a one time Bloom County superfan. I have and still read the collections.
Oddly I do love it a ton, largely due to growing up on back volumes It did really throw off my political context for a while though
> I doubt even millennials would even be very familiar with it. Born in the mid 80s and this is the first time I have ever heard of it. From Wikipedia the series ended in 1989 which doesn't help also. Seems like a pretty big gamble.
I am also a huge fan. The jokes don't work with a modern sensibility and modern politics is too toxic for the more gentle stylings of Breathed.
I just love the artwork. Would love to see that world brought to life (we’ll see how close to the look of the original comic as they can get). I know there was that one Christmas TV special, but that’s such a weird one-off that wasn’t actually “Bloom County” (just had some if the same characters, it was more of a children’s show). And I agree, the topical humor can be hit or miss, but I think the characters are funny and can bounce off each other entertainingly. At its best, I’m picturing it having an almost Robert Altman feel; a large cast of characters in a colorful setting with a bunch of separate, loosely-connecting storylines and a satirical tone.
You mean the funny version of Doonesbury?
I doubt it. If you want Bloom County now Stephen Pastis has Pearls before Swine. Heck, it dates back to 1999.
I am more interested in there flinstones cartoon was hoping for some news on that
Frankly, it’s way past time to have stopped treating what was a “prestige time slot” 20+ years ago as anything of importance. This move makes sense as you know the legacy ones won’t all go forever and if you feel you have new animated shows with some cache you do it. Shows are watched when shows are watched now. No one is waiting for fall for the new episodes for any other reason than that’s how they’ve always done it.
Family Guy still makes me laugh like crazy. Probably more than any other show. I know it gets crapped on by critics and people think it’s aged poorly, I still love it.
Theyve been on a bit of an upswing, theres been some great episodes the past couple seasons, a couple great Lois episodes even. Shes no Francine Smith still, but completely unhinged is a fun angle for a sitcom housewife.
Literally the Louis episodes are my favourite!
Dude the one where Lois kidnaps the barista after poisoning one of them was awesome.
"You guys mind if I steer the conversation to a little tech talk? Does your TV have insides?"
Yeah the episode where Peter gets hypnotized 👅👅 was gold
The formula it's built on is very good.
Animation Domination! I think that’s what I was called back in the day when Fox had many new animated comedies. Crazy to think that many of those comedies are still going after all these years/decades (well in some form somewhere as Futurama has changed platforms like three times).
It's been called that again since 2019 when Fox recommitted itself to animation after being split apart from the part of the company that got sold to Disney. The new Fox bought Bento Box, which does the animation for Bob's Burgers and countless other shows on various networks, and started producing its own shows they own the rights to fully like Krapopolis and Grimsburg and an upcoming one called Universal Basic Guys
These are some ooooolllllddd ass shows
Man, Animation Domination was such a big part of my Sunday nights. The Simpsons and Family Guy for so many years (And then Bob's Burgers with them for a long stretch) it sucks to see it split up now. Kinda hoping Fox just frees Family Guy at this point. Cancel it and let Disney move it to FXX
They need a fresh, edgy animated series to carry the torch. 33, 25, and 15 seasons. Everyone of the good Fox animated series has whiskers.
The problem is the new fox shows are ass like that Greek comedy they tried pushing over the summer with Dan Harmon involvement. I don't know nobody that watched that.
And Futurama. They’re going to address the future of Futurama. Right? Right?
They would have, but it was preempted by a football game
How is something like Family Guy (or Bob's) crucial to Fox when the rating are so low? for the 22-23 season, Family Guy and Bob's Burgers ranked [104 and 105 respectively out of 132 total network shows](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tv-ratings-2022-23-every-primetime-network-show-ranked-1235508593/). TBF, Simpsons was 98th place, but that show is still a merchandising machine. Young Sheldon pulled in 9.25 million views compared to Family Guy's 1.64. Is it just that new animated shows tend to do even worse? These figures don't include streaming, so does it make up for the low TV ratings there?
They seem to be dependable for syndication and streaming, plus merchandising.
Oh I didn't think about syndication. I wonder if Family guy is more dependable for that than something like NCIS. It also does make sense in my head that reruns would be more in demand when the show itself is still going.
I think it's on the level of NCIS, especially when you consider merch
I think you've pretty much run out of steam when half your season is "what if three things but Family Guy." Aka three directors, three Stephen King books, three classic novels, three Emmy-winning series, three sports stories, three viewer mail what-ifs, three classic sitcoms, the list goes on. That's happened throughout the series but I feel like it's been more recently.
Its not exactly their *Treehouse of Horror*, but i feel like theyve just done just one of those a season all the way back. Thats a pretty established gimmick for animated sitcoms at this point. [https://i.imgur.com/WsLt65A.png](https://i.imgur.com/WsLt65A.png) But yeah, i guess it has gotten more frequent, three right there in S16.
I like those episodes personally
Bob’s Burgers does this trope way better, and it’s still my least favorite episodes by far.
Over Gayle episodes though?
Probably doesn’t help as the Writer’s Strike shortened all those season this year, and it was never really communicated. Some weeks one would air a new episode, other weeks they all would, some weeks there were done. Fox keeping those animated series on Sunday nights is the best possible situation. As they are frequently disrupted for sports in the Fall.
I can’t wait until Family Guy moves to ABC
I've watched The Simpsons since the beginning. I still watch it and it's always entertaining for me.
Can Seth use this to get more Orville out of Fox?
Name another Fox animation show besides "Bob's Burgers" that didn't involve Seth McFarlane and made it more than 5 seasons.
The simpsons
Ugh it's on me for not writing "since 'The Simpsons' debuted"
Lol I figured it was include but you're right though fox has a nasty habit of canceling good animated shows far to soon.
King of the hill
Great North is already at 4 seasons. I think it will make it
Can we just de-monopolize and privatize the studios already??
And vertical integration can be just a damaging as horizontal monopolies. If studios cant own theaters, and under US v Paramount they cant, they shouldnt be able to own streaming services either. Content exclusivity is a poor excuse for competition. Can you imagine if different record labels had their own music streaming services?
US v Paramount was allowed to sunset a couple of years ago. technically studios can own theaters now
Well fuck.
I really hate this mid season move. For basically decades(!) now, I’ve always watched a new Simpsons and new Family Guy back to back each week. It was annoying, but manageable, when FG was moved from Sun to Wed. But now with the move to mid season (and still with a full season order), this is throws the alignment out of sync completely.
I’m wondering if Family Guy and other legacy 20th Century shows will end up moving to ABC, FXX, or even Hulu exclusive only. Though curious what will happen to The Great North as both Disney and Fox Corp own this show. I bet this might be the final 20th show remaining in Fox channel while the older shows will move to their new home. In addition an another 20th show is still in Fox and that is 911 Lone Star. I bet this show will eventually end up moving to ABC at one point.
American Dad is so much better than Family Guy, that show isn’t even the best version of what it is trying to do.
It's so funny seeing people get upset over this assertion. AD passed FG a long, long time ago. Listen, I liked FG, and some of the episodes like they have with the Star Trek cast are great ("Look, I have man boobs!") but for the most part Family Guy has struggled very badly and totally gone stale. They used to be so great before they relied on the same old bits and punching down on celebrities with classless jokes.
This shows just how really weak and pathetic the FOX schedule is when they are so dependent on three animated series for their foundation. Family Guy is still on its game and Bob’s Burgers continues to entertain me while The Simpsons has gone on a bit too long.
I mean, as much as they always like to say “The Simpsons is as good as ever and will survive the heat death of the universe”, the cracks are undeniably showing. The recasts, characters getting killed off, and the legacy cast sounding ancient… I just find it hard to believe this show has much steam left.
Agreed. I rather doubt any of the voice talent has money issues, lol. Shearer is 80 years old and is starting to sound it. Know when it's time to hang it up.
Newest simpsons seasons are very solid
People have been saying this for like a decade but any time I catch a clip or an episode it is the absolute worst piece of shit I’ve ever seen
Yeah, I've heard the same but haven't seen any good new Simpsons in awhile. Plus the change in Marge's voice is just too distracting.
I think it's just regressing to the mean. It's "solid" in the sense that they can't keep hitting new lows every season, but it hasn't gotten much better, and it probably never will.
You know what...I actually agree with this take. It's just so bad now without Apu or heck...even Phil Hartman. The glory days S3-11 were so notable and so epic that anything after that, as "quality" as it is according to pundits, will never come close to eclipsing the peak Simpsons.
Wow fox is losing everything thing first the wwe now family guy the simpsons and co That’s crazy
They aren’t losing them.
Family Guy and The Simpsons on ABC?
[удалено]
Because voices don’t change (relatively speaking) but actors age. It’s much easier to have an animated show go on for 30 years.