Planet Family Guy

Seth MacFarlane is dominating Fox’s evening schedule tonight with 2 hours of new episodes from Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show, plus a special half-hour variety show.

Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show is a one-off comedy variety show featuring Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein on stage. After some earlier sponsorship issues with Microsoft Fox have secured a deal with Warner Bros. to back the show.

Here’s the full schedule for tonight:-

• 7:30pm: American Dad – Man in the Moonbounce
• 8:00pm: Family Guy – Brian’s Got a Brand New Bag (guest voice Aimee Garcia)
• 8:30pm: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show
• 9:00pm: Family Guy – Quagmire’s Baby
• 9:30pm: The Cleveland Show – Cleveland Jr. Cherry Bomb (guest voices by Jason Sudeikis, Arianna Huffington and Jamie Kennedy)

Fox have released a number of promotional videos for tomorrow night’s Family Guy special, Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show:-

• Alex sketches
• Alex performing live
• Alex sings
• Family Guy Presents Marlee Matlin Guest Star
• Family Guy Presents Walter Murphy Family Guy Theme
• Jackson Douglas Directing

Just under a week since Microsoft pulled out of sponsoring the upcoming special, Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show, Warner Bros have seized the opportunity and will be using the special to promote their upcoming Sherlock Holmes film (to be released Christmas Day). Whether the special will feature promotions exclusively for “Sherlock Holmes” remains to be seen, but the movie certainly will have a prominent spot in the program. A commercial in Fox’s pregame broadcast before Game 3 of the World Series told viewers to tune in to the Nov. 8 special for a sneak peek of the movie.

The schedule for November 8th currently looks like this;

• 7:30pm: American Dad – Man in the Moonbounce
• 8:00pm: Family Guy – Brian’s Got a Brand New Bag (guest voice Aimee Garcia)
• 8:30pm: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show
• 9:00pm: Family Guy – Hannah Banana Quagmire’s Baby
• 9:30pm: The Cleveland Show – Cleveland Jr. Cherry Bomb (guest voices by Jason Sudeikis, Arianna Huffington and Jamie Kennedy)

Variety is reporting that Microsoft have pulled there sponsorship of Fox’s Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein special to be aired on November 8th. The comedy/variety special, Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show, was due to air free of commercial breaks due to special in show branding of Windows 7; however, Microsoft have withdrawn from the arrangement due to concerns over the show’s content: “We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of ‘Family Guy,’ but after reviewing an early version of the variety show, it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand,” said a Microsoft spokeswoman. “We continue to have a good partnership with Fox, Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein and are working with them in other areas. We continue to believe in the value of brand integrations and partnerships between brands, media companies and talent.”

Fox still plans on airing the show which was recorded the other week, but are looking for a new sponsor. The special will feature as part of an evening dedicated to Seth MacFarlane’s shows on Sunday November 8th, including two new episodes of Family Guy.

Seth MacFarlane recently paid a visit to the Family Guy corn maze at Conners Farm in Danvers, Massachusetts. Thanks to Family Guy Producer, Kara Vallow (aka teenagesleuth) for posting her pictures via Twitter.

It’s the big man’s big day: happy birthday Seth MacFarlane from everyone at Planet Family Guy!

Fox is dedicating a whole evening to Seth MacFarlane and his shows on Sunday November 8th. The line-up includes new episodes of American Dad and The Cleveland Show plus two new episodes of Family Guy. The night will also feature an all new commercial-free Seth and Alex Borstein special, Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show, sponsored by Microsoft Windows 7.

Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show will be a variety show featuring Seth MacFarlane and Family Guy co-star Alex Borstein. They’re collaborating with Microsoft for the show to produce a unique seamlessly blending of the Microsoft Windows 7 brand into the show’s content. Microsoft Windows 7 is Microsoft’s latest operating system. This sponsorship deal means that the half-hour show will not be interrupted for commercial breaks. Expect live action performances, sketch comedy, and animated segments.

Fans of American Dad and The Cleveland Show should note that both shows will be aired at different times to normal: American Dad goes out at the earlier time of 7.30pm and Cleveland at the later time of 9.30pm. Here’s the full evening’s schedule:-

• 7:30pm: American Dad – Man in the Moonbounce
• 8:00pm: Family Guy – Brian’s Got a Brand New Bag (guest voice Aimee Garcia)
• 8:30pm: Seth and Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show
• 9:00pm: Family Guy – Hannah Banana
• 9:30pm: The Cleveland Show – Cleveland Jr. Cherry Bomb (guest voices by Jason Sudeikis, Arianna Huffington and Jamie Kennedy)

Seth MacFarlane’s appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien has been rescheduled to air on Thursday, October 1, 2009. Michael Moore is also scheduled to be a guest on the same show.

Seth MacFarlane was scheduled to appear on ‘The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien’ on Friday, September 25, 2009.

However, E! Online has reported that Conan O’Brien was taken by ambulance to the hospital after a fall and bumping his head, and so the filming of this Tonight Show episode was not completed. A repeat airing of an earlier episode will be broadcast instead.

Afterward, according to the report, Conan said “Last thing I remember I was enjoying the play with Mrs. Lincoln, and the next thing I knew I was in bed being served cookies and juice.”

Seth MacFarlane discusses “The Cleveland Show”, the making of “Something, Something, Something Darkside”, his role in “Flash Forward”, and upcoming Family Guy guest stars in an interview conducted by Fred Topel of Crave Online. An excerpt from the article:

Crave Online: Is your Empire Strikes Back episode done?

MacFarlane: We just finished editing it.

Crave Online: How did it turn out?

MacFarlane: Great, great. It almost ******* killed me. It was so much work.

Crave Online: More than Blue Harvest?

MacFarlane: Yes, more than Blue Harvest and Jedi will be [the toughest.] It’s just with the CGI, with the complexity of the animation and more than anything with the music. Trying to make the music work in a way that sounds seamless, because you’re working with the original tracks. You can spend an hour on a single edit. It’s kind of brutal.
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Crave Online: What guest stars are coming up this year (on “Family Guy”)?

MacFarlane: Let’s see, Chevy and Dan, Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, Rush Limbaugh coming up. Who’s in the season premiere? I hate this question. I always think of everyone way after the fact… Elijah Wood.

Crave Online: What are Chevy and Dan doing?

MacFarlane: They’re doing a Spies Like Us homage because I loved that movie when I was a kid and I still love it. So Stewie and Brian wind up in Russia with Dan and Chevy. We’ll work on getting Donna Dixon next time.