‘Family Guy’ Escalates Feud By Stealing ‘The Simpsons’ Time Slot
Seth MacFarlane and the Family Guy staff just struck a brutal blow to The Simpsons with a bit of scheduling “plagiarismo.”
This February will mark an historic moment for Fox and its Sunday night animation block when, for the first time in more than three decades, The Simpsons will not lead off the lineup of adult animated comedies that owe their very existence to Matt Groening and his team. The Simpsons has long been the cornerstone of Fox and its Animation Domination schedule where shows like American Dad! first found their footing, but The Simpsons now finds itself a step behind the competition as Family Guy slides into first place for the month of February while The Simpsons will have to wait until March to return to Season 36, at which time it will reclaim the first slot from Family Guy.
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As Disney+ ramps up production on their streaming exclusive Simpsons specials while Fox remains surprisingly hesitant to officially confirm Season 37, Family Guy stands to gain from its biggest rivals’ murky future on broadcast television. But if you think that’s bad, remember the time when Quagmire raped Marge and murdered her entire family?
The Hollywood Reporter announced Fox’s temporary schedule shift yesterday, but it’s currently unclear as to why exactly the network is pushing the return of The Simpsons out to March for the first time in Family Guy’s entire lifespan. Perhaps it’s because the February premiere schedule got too crowded, seeing as the Jon-Hamm led detective comedy Grimsburg, Dan Harmon’s mythological sitcom Krapopolis and Nick Offerman’s Alaskan adventure The Great North will all kick off on Sunday, February 16th following Family Guy. But if The Simpsons is failing to outperform that bunch, then the future of the series on Fox may be even more bleak than we thought.
As The Hollywood Reporter noted, that historic Sunday in February will mark the first time since The Simpsons’ fifth season when the show didn’t lead off the Sunday comedy lineup, as The Simpsons was previously a Thursday night show. Critically, The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers are all on the final seasons of their current contracts with Fox, and since Fox also bumped Bob’s Burgers from the February schedule, the favoritism toward Family Guy could be an omen for what’s to come when the trio of animation monoliths all hit the negotiating table this spring.
If Fox lets The Simpsons walk, Family Guy will finally be the favorite child of the Animation Domination lineup after decades of suffering as the network’s unofficial Meg.