If you know me, you know I really don’t do animation on TV or films. Just not my thing. So I’ve never seen an episode of Family Guy. I hear good things about it but I already watch too much TV so I can’t make any more commitments. Seth McFarlane, the creator of the show, is hugely successful and just signed a new deal at FOX for $100 million.
I was intrigued to read a piece in the Hollywood Reporter saying that Family Guy is going to do an episode on abortion. Films hardly ever deal with the issue and TV also pretty much avoids it, but last week at Comic-Con, McFarlane said that he was doing an episode about the topic but pretty much already knew that it would never air.
Here’s what he said:
“20th Century Fox, as always, allowed us to produce the episode and then said, ‘You know what? We’re scared to f–king death of this,’” MacFarlane said.
This is the second time an episode of Family Guy didn’t air. I give McFarlane serious props for taking on this issue. It’s not that Family Guy is known as a politically correct show so who knows what angle the show which is entitled “Partial Terms of Endearment” would take, but FOX has already made the decision not to air the show.
The show is produced by 20th Century Fox (sister to the FOX network). While the network supports his right to produce the show, it won’t air it. What does that mean? Why produce a show that will never air? I’m sure it has to do with them not believing that they could sell it to advertisers. I guess the content of the episode doesn’t matter at all. The topic is taboo.
McFarlane is as powerful as Norman Lear was back in the day of Maude. His talking about this as an issue takes a lot of guts considering the amount of money he has at risk.
Shouldn’t the network wait to see the episode before censoring it?
‘Family Guy’ abortion episode unlikely to air on Fox (HR)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Fox should definitely see it before censoring it, but with Family Guy’s appalling level if sexism in most of their shows, I don’t have a lot of faith in how they will deal with the issue in the first place.
I agree with Tracey. I have seen the show and it has always appeared to me to be a crass rip-off of The Simpsons. I doubt the show would handle this issue appropriately.
Family Guy is awesome. The too-far humor is what makes it so great. It’s what everyone is thinking, but no one will actually say. I think the show is hilarious, and I can guarentee they would handle the abortion topic very inappropriately. It’s an offensive show, but grow a sense of humor and laugh a little!