Seth MacFarlane And Showrunners From ‘Family Guy,’ ‘American Dad!’ Join Striking WGA Writers

Seth MacFarlane and the showrunners of Family Guy and American Dad! have joined the ranks of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike and will not return to their shows until the WGA gets a new contract.

What’s MacFarlane’s involvement with the strike? MacFarlane has been involved with the strike since it began on May 2, and has been seen numerous times on the picket line with other writers. He was also very involved in the last WGA strike back in 2007-2008, advocating on behalf of the WGA and its membership.

Who else is involved? MacFarlane is the household name here, but the departures of American Dad’s Brian Boyle and Matt Weitzman and Family Guy’s Richard Appel and Alec Sulkin are significant. Each was among the ranks of showrunners who received letters saying that they were expected to fulfill all non-WGA duties associated with their roles. That letter enflamed an ongoing debate between the WGA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers about what duties are considered writing, with the WGA arguing that writing is involved in every part of a showrunner’s work.

What impact will this have on the shows? In the short term, very little. According to Deadline, which first reported the news of the walkout, MacFarlan’s voice acting work for the next season of Family Guy is already finished and American Dad! has roughly three months of scripts and voice work already completed. Long-term, even if production is down for a while, both shows will likely be fin as they each two-season renewals in January.

Check out our coverage of the strike and all the affected animated shows here.