“Family Guy” creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane shared insight at PaleyFest on whether or not the Griffin family will ever make it to the big screen in a full-length feature film. The show’s cast also brought the house down Friday with a live table read of upcoming episode “The Edible Arrangement” and nine performances of musical classics from the series as the show celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Without giving too much of the goodness away, the episode the cast did a table read for — written by Travis Bowe — is titled “The Edible Arrangement.” It’s centered on Lois and Stewie bonding after consuming a few of Brian’s weed-infused gummies. The episode features the first time Lois has ever heard Stewie talk, which provides Stewie with the perfect opportunity to tell her all about his old plot to murder her.
One of the biggest highlights from the night was MacFarlane confirming there will one day be a “Family Guy” movie.
“I have known what that movie will be for the past 15 years and I just haven’t had the time to get to it, but I do know what it will be,” MacFarlane said, adding that the show will also be producing two original episodes for Hulu.
“It’ll be our Halloween and our Christmas episodes, I expect,” MacFarlane said.
The evening kicked off in true “Family Guy” fashion, with a live performance of the “Family Guy” title theme song sung by MacFarlane and Alex Borstein, who play main characters Peter and Lois Griffin. As the crowd quieted its roaring applause, MacFarlane gave thanks to the festival.
“PaleyFest, 20th Television Animation, our buddies at Hulu and of course Fox. Yes, I said it. That’s how much I’ve had to drink,” MacFarlane joked, then moved on to introduce the panel of cast and crew members. It included MacFarlane, Borstein, Seth Green (Chris Griffin), Mila Kunis (Meg Griffin), Arif Zahir (Cleveland Brown), Patrick Warburton (Joe Swanson), Jennifer Tilly (Bonnie Swanson) and showrunners Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin. The orchestra was led by the show’s composer, Walter Murphy.
Once everyone got settled on stage, MacFarlane outlined the evening’s events.
“What we’re going to do here tonight is we’re going to do a live ‘Family Guy’ read of an upcoming episode… in between acts we’re going to do some of your favorite tunes from the show, which, you’re no doubt familiar. So Rich, I think you’re taking it from here,” MacFarlane said.
In between each act, MacFarlane and other cast members stepped off their director’s chairs and sang several songs, including Peter’s rendition of “The Music Man” tune “Shipoopi” that appeared in Season 4, Episode 20 of the show, “Patriot Games.” The “Family Guy” version was written by Danny Smith, who joined MacFarlane on stage to sing together. The two also performed “Prom Night Dumpster Baby” and “My Drunken Irish Dad,” which was nominated for an Emmy but was beat out by Justin Timberlake’s classic “Saturday Night Live” track “Dick in a Box.”
“We wrote the song, and Seth put it in the episode, and that year the song was nominated for an Emmy Award for [Outstanding Music and Lyrics],” Smith said. “But the bad news is, we got all dressed up and went downtown and we had a nice dinner, and we got beat by Justin Timberlake’s ‘Dick in a Box.’”
“How do you remember that?” MacFarlane questioned Smith.
“How do I remember? I’m trying to forget it,” Smith responded.
The cast then welcomed producer Kara Vallow and Mike Henry, who originally played Cleveland Brown before the part was recast, and who also voices Herbert the pervert, Bruce and other characters. Together, the group reflected on the show’s early beginnings, how they developed their characters, their favorite episodes and more.
Season 22 of “Family Guy” premiered on Fox on Oct. 1, 2023 at 9:30 p.m. ET. New episodes air on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET. All seasons of “Family Guy” can also be streamed on Hulu.