Seth MacFarlane leaves Fox for NBCU

Seth MacFarlane’s long-running animated sitcom Family Guy

NBCUniversal (NBCU) has signed Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane to a five-year overall deal worth a reported US$200m.

Seth MacFarlane

It marks MacFarlane’s departure from 20th Century Fox, the company the actor, writer, showrunner and voiceover artist has been working with for several decades.

MacFarlane will now create and develop new projects for NBCU’s broadcast, cable and streaming platforms via his production company Fuzzy Door.

As the deal does not cover feature films, MacFarlane will be able to work with other parties on those projects.

“Seth’s voice resonates across multiple demographics and mediums. We all admire his ability to create audacious commentary with bold yet relatable humour and I look forward to working with him behind and in front of the camera,” said NBCU Content Studios chairman Bonnie Hammer.

The news comes after MacFarlane announced his sci-fi TV show The Orville will disappear from US broadcast network Fox and become available exclusively on streaming service Hulu for its third season.

NBCU last year brought its television studios, Universal Television and Universal Content Productions, together to function as one business unit, NBCU Content Studios.

The Comcast-owned media giant is preparing to launch its own streaming service, Peacock, later this year to take on the likes of Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max in the increasingly competitive US SVoD market.