Seth MacFarlanehas quietly been one of the busiest men in Hollywood for a while now, and his efforts have resulted in him being responsible for the creation of five TV shows over the course of his career. AlthoughMacFarlane has also had several cameo appearancesin other movies and TV shows, those projects often had very little to do with him other than casting him as an actor. However,MacFarlane’s talents extend beyond his impressive voice and live-action roles, as he’s also heavily involved when it comes to keeping things going behind the scenes.
Seth MacFarlane has created shows of various genres, and some have even made the list oflongest-running sitcoms of all time. Although he specializes in animated projects, he has also stepped outside the medium and into the world of live-action.MacFarlane is quite often the figure the rest of the show is built around, although there are different degrees of how prominently he is featured. Although he didn’t invent the concept of adult animation, MacFarlane’s body of work has gone on to spawn otheradult-focused animated shows likeFamily Guy.
5The Cleveland Show (2009-2013)
Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy spinoff was canceled after four seasons
The Cleveland Show remains Seth MacFarlane’s only spinoff, spawning fromFamily Guyin 2009. Just like its parent program, Fox canceled it due to poor viewing figures. UnlikeFamily Guy,The Cleveland Shownever resurfaced, and the spinoff’s title character and his family were reintegrated as residents of Spooner Street in MacFarlane’s flagship show afterFox pulled the plug afterThe Cleveland Showseason 4.
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MacFarlane arguably got pretty lucky withThe Cleveland Show’s cancelation, as spinoffs don’t always have the advantage of running alongside the main show with the potential to salvage most of the main characters should the new project fail.The Cleveland Showwasn’t particularly bad, but it wasn’t great either.It also didn’t stand apart enough fromFamily Guy, making it feel like a poor imitation rather than existing as its own entity.
Despite being the show’s creator, MacFarlane’s workload as a voice actor onThe Cleveland Showwas very light in comparison to his other animated projects.
Despite being the show’s creator, MacFarlane’s workload as a voice actor onThe Cleveland Showwas very light in comparison to his other animated projects. His main responsibility was bringing Tim the Bear to life - although he also voicedFamily Guycharacters like Stewie Griffin and Glenn Quagmire whenever they popped up onThe Cleveland Show. The very fact thatFamily Guycameos were often some of the spinoff’s best momentsis very telling when it comes to whyThe Cleveland Showwas MacFarlane’s least successful TV creation.
The Smith family was created when Family Guy was axed
Created in the wake ofFamily Guy’s cancelation,American Dad!has enjoyed an unbroken run since it premiered in 2005. WhenFamily Guywas brought back due to popular demand, MacFarlane found himself with the beginnings of his TV empire.MacFarlane’s hallmarks established inFamily Guycan be found throughoutAmerican Dad!The Smiths, just like the Griffins, were a pretty typical nuclear family with two other unconventional housemates. WhereasFamily Guyhad a talking dog and a supervillain baby,American Dad!took things further by including a sentient fish and a chaotic alien.
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Family Guy’s cancelationmust have had an impact on MacFarlane’s formula, asAmerican Dad!has one massive difference. WhileFamily Guyrelied heavily on its now-iconic cutaway gags that are often irrelevant to the plot,American Dad!completely avoided this Seth MacFarlane trope. Even afterFamily Guywas resurrected,American Dad!continued to focus on story-heavy episodes that were rarely as silly as those of its predecessor. That being said,MacFarlane’s second show has made and continues to churn out some bizarre installmentsas well as fairly grounded ones.
Every season ofAmerican Dad!comes with at least a handful of brilliant episodes, but there are also quite often a number of duds. The show’s best episodes prove why it has been on the air for so long, but the harsh truth of the matter is that the sitcom’s premise seems less original due to the existence ofFamily Guy. AlthoughFamily Guyitself was essentially a more adult-focused version ofThe Simpsons, narrowing the appeal to a more mature audience transformed what MacFarlane’s first show could achieve.American Dad!did that too, but it wasn’t groundbreaking anymore.
3The Orville (2017-Present)
Seth MacFarlane’s space opera is very different to his other shows
Seth MacFarlane’s love for sci-fi is easy to spot in all of his projects, butThe Orvilleis the first time he had the opportunity to commit to the genre. MacFarlane’s space opera is an undeniable love letter to theStar Trekfranchise’s golden era. Although the show began as something approaching a parody,the comedic elements ofThe Orvillelargely fell away, allowing it to become a straight-up science-fiction saga.The Orvilleborrows heavily fromStar Trek, but it’s also just different enough for the uninitiated to enjoy.
One of the few downsides ofThe Orvilleis that it’s often quite unsure about what kind of show it wants to be.
One of the few downsides ofThe Orvilleis that it’s often quite unsure about what kind of show it wants to be. Some episodes, especially the earlier ones, have many of the hallmarks of a Seth MacFarlane sitcom. However, there are quite a few devastatingly sad scenes as the show progresses. Both versions ofThe Orvilleare executed brilliantly, but there’s just something about how the two types of moments are transitioned between that can feel a little jarring at times.
The Orville
Cast
Created by Seth McFarlane and set in the 25th century, The Orville follows the crew of the titular ship and its captain, Ed Mercer (McFarlane) as they explore the galaxy. Inspired by Star Trek, it also spoofs the sci-fi classic, taking a comedic approach to its serialized story and science-fiction premise. Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, and Scott Grimes star alongside McFarlane as part of an ensemble cast.
Another thing that hurtsThe Orville’s fluidity is the long wait between seasons. AlthoughThe Orvilleseasons 1 and 2 arrived in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018,The Orvilleseason 3 didn’t arrive until 2022, and it had to be softly rebranded asThe Orville: New Horizons. While the show is an understandably big undertaking, it’s tough to fall too hard for a project that’s so inconsistent with its release schedule.
2Ted (2024-Present)
The enchanted, foul-mouthed cuddly toy returns in a prequel to the Ted movies
Tedtakes place before the events of MacFarlane’s debut 2012 movie of the same name. As his second live-action TV show,Tedis much more self-assured thanThe Orvilleand doesn’t rely on anything other than the twoTedmovies that preceded it for it to make sense. The show doesn’t compromise on the movies' brilliantly crass sense of humor, and Seth MacFarlane’s performance as the franchise’s title character continues to be side-splittingly hilarious.
Ted
Ted is a prequel TV series to the comedy franchise of the same name by Seth MacFarlane. The TV show brings MacFarlane back as the voice of the talking teddy bear Ted, who is growing up in the ’90s with John Bennett and his family. Ted is a Peacock original series that premiered in January 2024.
Because of when theTedshow is set, it wouldn’t have made sense for Mark Wahlberg to come back as John Bennett. However,Max Burkholder is the perfect replacement to play the younger version of John. The dynamic that exists between John and Ted is just as authentic and fantastic as it was in the movies where the characters debuted, which is an impressive thing to pull off when half of the duo has since been recast.
The show also delves into some pretty meta lore about Ted’s origin and the magic that quietly exists within the sitcom’s canon.
Tedalso does a great job of introducing new supporting characters who still feel like they belong in the world of the movies. Not only that, butthe show also delves into some pretty meta lore about Ted’s originand the magic that quietly exists within the sitcom’s canon. It’s somewhat of a satirical take on fairy tale worldbuilding, but it finds a way to be just as genuinely compelling as it is amusing.
1Family Guy (1999-2002, 2005-Present)
There’s a reason why Family Guy is Seth MacFarlane’s flagship show
No matter what else he does during his career,it’s tough to imagine Seth MacFarlane being remembered for any project more thanFamily Guy. The long-running animated sitcom has become so tightly woven into popular culture that it can be easy to miss certain jokes and references as originating in MacFarlane’s most successful show. The show being brought back two years after its initial cancelation is the biggest piece of evidence to support the argument ofFamily Guybeing Seth MacFarlane’s best TV show.
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Family Guy’s dark sense of humorhelped pave the way for its successors, giving the animated sitcom medium even greater license to push comedic boundaries.Family Guyis also a brilliant comfort show, as almost any episode can be viewed at any time without being worried about watching them out of sequence. This isn’t unique toFamily Guy, but it’s also not true of all Seth MacFarlane shows. Additionally,Family Guyisn’t afraid to tug at the heartstrings occasionally, but those moments are often so embroiled in irreverent plots that they still feel true to the show’s reputation.
Everything that makes Seth MacFarlane’s TV shows so appealing can be found inFamily Guy, with all his other projects lacking at least one of his signature elements.
Everything that makes Seth MacFarlane’s TV shows so appealing can be found inFamily Guy, with all his other projects lacking at least one of his signature elements. While the show’s countless spoofs and parodies of iconic franchises are part of what makesFamily Guyso great,MacFarlane and company have managed to curate a vast cast of original charactersand storylines that can be revisited at any moment.
Family Guy
Family Guy is an animated series following the eccentric Griffin family. Led by bumbling patriarch Peter and long-suffering Lois, the family includes the sadistic baby Stewie, unpopular teenager Meg, dim-witted Chris, and Brian, their talking dog. The show explores their outlandish adventures in the fictional town of Quahog.
AlthoughFamily Guy’s best episodeshave arguably already aired, the show’s unpredictable nature means an excellent installment can come out of nowhere. Despite the presence of some underwhelming episodes in recent years, the good still massively outweighs the bad.It’s almost impossible to be bored when watchingFamily Guy, as even if the storylines are weak, the show can throw a cutaway at the audience and have them laughing in no time. In short, there are almost too many reasons whyFamily Guytakes the top spot on the list ofSeth MacFarlane’s collection of TV shows.
