Family Guy creator pens new cartoon

The creator of cult animated comedy Family Guy has been commissioned to make a new show in the States

Fox, which unceremoniously dumped Seth MacFarlane's first series last year, has now ordered a pilot episode of American Dad.

And if executives like it, the show could launch as early as autumn 2004.

The show will revolve around a right-wing CIA agent and his wife, their two kids (including a liberal daughter), a housebound alien and a French-speaking goldfish.

As with Family Guy, MacFarlane plans to provide several of the voices, in addition to enlisting other vocal talents.

Fox's Craig Erwich told Hollywood bible Variety: "Animated comedy is a part of our brand, and has been for a long time. You've got to make sure you've got the next ones in the pipeline -- not that the shows we have now are going anywhere."

MacFarlane added: "The dynamic is very much All in the Family, with a left-wing daughter who's constantly clashing with her father. It's a great time to be doing a show like this, because it's such a politically charged period that's ripe for satire."

Last week, it emerged that MacFarlane was also working on a film-length version of Family Guy for DVD release.

Published: 15 Sep 2003