Last May, Fox canceled “The Cleveland Show” after four seasons, ending Seth MacFarlane’s almost unprecedented stranglehold on Fox’s Sunday Night Animation Domination lineup. Prior to that point, MacFarlane was simultaneously executive producing three animated series on Fox. And beginning next year, that number will drop down to one.
TBS has announced that it has picked up “American Dad!” for its eleventh season, which will premiere in 2014. The tenth season will premiere on Fox on Sunday, September 29. There will be 15 new episodes during the 11th season of “American Dad!,” with Adult Swim set to broadcast the episodes after they premiere on TBS.
In a statement, TBS Head of Programming Michael Wright said “‘American Dad!’ is a great fit for TBS, a favorite of comedy fans who like smart, irreverent humor with ample doses of biting wit and skewering satire. We look forward to welcoming Seth MacFarlane and the rest of his team as they bring this iconic show to TBS.”
For the Fall 2014 schedule on Fox, the projected Animation Domination lineup would consist of “The Simpsons,” “Bob’s Burgers” and “Family Guy,” the show that launched MacFarlane’s career in primetime animation. That leaves room for one or potentially two new animated shows to be added to the mix on Fox. But this is based on the assumption that Fox wants to continue pushing animated series on Sunday nights.
If there are multiple slots available on Fox’s Sunday Animation Domination, expect to see more animated pilots in the mix during the upcoming development season.
