As the series left the cable network, Adult Swim releases an emotional video seeing its roster of characters bidding Family Guy farewell. Created by Seth MacFarlane, the animated show revolves around the Griffin family and their odd behaviors and lives in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island. MacFarlane also leads as patriarch Peter, youngest son Stewie and anthropomorphic talking dog Brian alongside Alex Borstein as wife Lois, Mila Kunis as daughter Meg and Seth Green as eldest son Chris.
Family Guy first premiered on Fox in 1999 and has had a unique history on the network in the years since, having been cancelled twice early in its run due to struggling in the ratings against its time slot competitions. Since its second revival with season 4, however, it has been a hit for the network, scoring strong reviews from critics and audiences alike and being nominated for 27 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and winning eight. It has also garnered plenty of controversy over the years for its perceived offensive content, violence and writing and drawn endless comparisons to fellow hit Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons.
On the heels of the series departing the network, Adult Swim (via Swimpedia) has unveiled a new video honoring Family Guy leaving. The video sees characters from various Adult Swim originals, including The Venture Bros. and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, bidding an emotional goodbye to MacFarlane's hit series. Check out the video below:
Family Guy's history with Adult Swim is one many fans of the series are deeply familiar with, namely as the late-night Cartoon Network block of programming is the reason the series continues today. After cancelling the series in 2002 following season 3, Fox would eventually sell the rights to Adult Swim for next to nothing after failing to find interest at other networks and would find themselves amazed by the response, with the reruns dominating late-night viewing its time period and boosting Adult Swim's viewership overall by 239 percent. Combining this with DVD sales led to Fox's decision to ultimately revive Family Guy for season 4 and they haven't let it go since, even as ratings begin to drop.
As seasons went on for Family Guy, fans have continually flocked to Adult Swim to revisit their favorite episodes or catch reruns of fewer visited ones, but also led to many electing to stick around and watch the more of the network's celebrated titles, leading to the wider success of The Venture Bros. and Rick and Morty, amongst others. The video of various characters bidding farewell to MacFarlane's series certainly marks the end of an era for many who grew up watching the series on Adult Swim or watched hoping Fox would revive it at some point. At the very least, fans can still catch up on Family Guy on FX, FXX, Freeform and Hulu.
Source: Swimpedia