Op-ED: Why Alec Sulkin Will Need More than just “Fresh Story Lines” to Win Back “Family Guy” Viewership

We also administer a few low blows here and there.

In a recent yet poorly copy-edited interview with Splitsider, Alec Sulkin pretty much gave a state of address on the future of Family Guy, admitting that the show hasn’t been what it was in the early days of the show:

I think in the earlier years, the plots were more grounded, and probably more simple. We know who these characters are at this point, so it can be hard to give them new insight, but it is something we work on. Regarding the plots, a lot of times the first act is disconnected from the rest of the show. We call that the first-act mislead. We’ve been doing it for a long time, but I think in episodes that aren’t as strong, it feels like a more glaring issue.

We’ve reviewed more Family Guy than just about everyone, and yea, you can see that complaint a few times a season. Episodes kick off with more original and novel ideas and it turns into something else altogether that we’ve seen a hundred times. The Simpsons can be guilty of this as well, but the gags jab more in that show whereas in Family Guy you’re waiting on the heavy left brought in by the cutaway gags.

Alec notes in the piece, that they are looking to assuage these concerns with new arcs (a three-parter featuring Brian leaving Quahog after publicizing disparaging remarks that are seen as racist) and character directions (i.e. Meg possibly to come out as gay).

That said, Sulk does admit not having show creator Seth MacFarlane in the writer’s room is seen as a deficit:

Definitely. When Seth was in the writer’s room, he was the best writer there. He made the show better just by being there. He was certainly stretched a little thin by all the projects he was working on, and while we have a lot of other talented writers, it was bound to affect the quality of the show.

Those hoping the show will go back to its roots, I’ve got news for you, as long as Seth is out of that room than it won’t. The Seth-influenced episodes are definitely the Golden Age of Family Guy, and as long as he’s off doing other projects, I’m not sure the franchise can regain those roots. NEW writers will help, but anyone who was a fan of the classic Batman graphic novels/series of the 80s will attest that franchises can often go in wildly different directions than what the original creators intended, sometimes with fantastic results (see: Batman: The Killing Joke).

But, I think it’s more than just Family Guy needing some fresh storylines and personnel to bring the show back to its glory…I think the network needs to help and I think a long-needed update in production on the show needs to be taken into consideration.

Think of this, over the last half-decade we’ve seen The Simpsons sort of go through a renaissance in creativity as a result of updates in technology and an almost open source model to the couch gags that have helped the show be just as viral as anything on TV. When the ALS ice bucket challenge was a thing, Homer was there. When we needed animated heroes to help coax us through a difficult election season, the producers and writers for The Simpsons threw out some much-needed bits to help heal some open wounds much in the same way SNL or South Park does. Family Guy took a stab at this just a few weeks ago when the Billy Bush/Donald Trump bus remarks came out, and I think it worked.

An updated Family Guy production can help turn around faster hits on current events and don’t think a lot of THOSE ideas couldn’t be Seth MacFarlane-written. Hell, the dude has been spending the last week going nuts on Facebook and Twitter on how Donald’s going to ruin climate change and preach racist overtones. Back in the early days of his careerSeth had ONE medium in which to voice these concerns and it worked. It was called Family Guy. 

Now, it may seem that I’m coming down hard on just the producers, but anyone who has been reading our ratings reports and reviews done by myself know that I have another party JUST as complicit…the FOX network.

Did any of you kids head to NYCC or SDCC earlier this year? New franchise Son of Zorn was ALL OVER the place, especially at San Diego Comic-Con. Hotels, trains, panels, and more basically turned the Gaslamp Quarter into friggin’ Zephyria. Hell, Son of Zorn even got the Indigo Ballroom stage while American Dad, Family Guy, and The Simpsons all took over Ballroom 20. By the way, you would’ve NEVER known any of those shows were at Comic-Con aside from Zorn and maybe Bob’s Burgers because they were barely advertised. Why can’t Family Guy be plastered over a hotel? Why can’t we get giant inflatable Homer Simpsons like Regular Show gets on Cartoon Network? Quite honestly, Animation on FOX is mailed in just about every fucking year at Comic-Con and is almost a no-show at the New York Comic Con which is even sadder.

Also, wanna bring back ratings? Stop with the reruns! Nobody sticks around on a FOX network that has 12 weeks of reruns on Sunday Nights during the summer. Maybe put some new animated programming on Sunday nights instead, and ensure that your loyal audiences are well-educated about premiere dates, guest stars, and more. Reruns of Family Guy make no sense given that I can get reruns on 10 other networks every day of the week or just stream a bunch on Netflix and Hulu.

And on a business note, by far, I would say the majority of the public relations staff for FOX animation is very unhelpful and hardly keeps people informed of any new developments unless if it’s a guest star two years away that traffic hoarders like TV Guide and EW fight over. Other than that, nothing.

Alternatively, look at a network like Comedy Central with South Park. The show is still excellent and making headlines after all these years, the public relations staff is wonderful at the network, and the ratings/streams repay their efforts. Comic Con? San Diego showcased a well-represented South Park from top-to-bottom.

That said, Family Guy is not lost. The franchise’s show cousin, American Dad!, has shown that a few changes can turn you from a canceled series to one of the best-reviewed shows of 2016. There’s no reason to think that the best days of Family Guy is in the rear-view mirror, but more needs to be done.