The season premiere of Family Guy has been delayed for the first time in the show’s history.
The Fox animated show will not premiere in the fall, as it has for the past two decades.
Family Guy will have a mid-season premiere for its 23rd season, which typically takes place in January, according to Variety.
This will be the first time the show has not premiered in September since 2005.
Family Guy originally ran from 1999 to 2002 before being canceled and revived three years later.
Fans fear the big schedule change will mean the show will be cancelled.
“They’re canceling it… but if it’s in the middle of the season, it would have the normal 20 episodes, and there will be about 12 lackluster episodes per season,” asked a fan on X, formerly Twitter.
“Oh no! Is this the end of Family Guy?” another asked.
“If Family Guy is being moved to mid-season, I assume that means a new episode every week, no breaks. Interesting,” added a third.
The show, directed by Seth MacFarlane, revolves around the dysfunctional Griffin family.
Family Guy also moved from Wednesdays to Sundays last season.
TIME CHANGE
Fox will launch a new animated show in the fall called Universal Basic Guys.
The new show will replace Family Guy on Sundays and will air right after The Simpsons, starting at 8pm.
Then, Krapopolis and Bob’s Burgers will fill out the rest of the Sunday night lineup before Family Guy airs in the winter.
Fox network president Michael Thorn said The Hollywood Reporter on Monday, Family Guy will have a full season order and an “uninterrupted stream of new episodes.”
CRUCIAL PART
Michael went on to say that Family Guy is a “crucial part of his agenda.”
“We will have a great relaunch for this part of our programming and we know that when it returns on Sundays, it will resonate with our audience as it always has,” he said.
The Fox president also said that most Family Guy viewers watch on Hulu or On Demand the next day, so the long run of episodes without a break “will likely help its off-air performance.”
Michael also said there was a good reason to change Family Guy.
“Keeping the show out of the fall schedule was more a matter of giving Universal Basic Guys and Krapopolis some time on Fox Sunday during the NFL season, when it channels large audiences into primetime,” he said.
Two other Fox shows — The Great North and Grimsburg — are also being delayed until midseason.
However, Family Guy fans will be able to see a new episode of the animated series before the end of the year.
The team behind the show is creating two holiday specials that will air exclusively on Hulu.
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