In 2014, after spending nine years on Fox, Seth MacFarlane’s American Dad made the leap to TBS. Now, over a decade later and with nine additional seasons under its belt, the animated sitcom is reportedly coming home to Fox.
According to Deadline, the deal to return American Dad to its original network came after TBS declined to renew the series that was created by MacFarlane, Mike Barker, and Matt Weitzman in 2005. TBS has been shedding its original shows since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, and American Dad only survived the initial purge because it had a two-season renewal in place.
When American Dad ran on Fox alongside MacFarlane’s Family Guy and The Simpsons, all three shows were owned by the network’s parent company, News Corp. Since Disney purchased the entertainment assets of 20th Century Fox in 2019, all three shows are now under the company’s control. However, Fox is still owned by News Corp, and no longer has an ownership stake in these series.
Fox hasn’t officially confirmed or announced American Dad‘s return, but the new deal should allow the production team to remain together and keep the hiatus between seasons relatively short. For two decades, the comedy series has centered on CIA agent Stan Smith (MacFarlane), his wife, Francine (Wendy Schaal), and their children, Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane) and Steve (Scott Grimes), with Dee Bradley Baker as a talking goldfish with the brain of a human named Klaus, and MacFarlane as Roger, a sassy alien who has lived with the Smiths for years.
Previous seasons of American Dad are available to stream on Hulu. Deadline’s report also states that American Dad‘s return makes it very likely that Fox will renew The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers beyond their current deals.
