Fox Orders Animated Series From Dan Harmon As It Shapes Its Strategy Post-Disney Sale

The Fox network has ordered an adult animated comedy from Emmy-winning writer-producer Dan Harmon, the co-creator of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty.

Here are the details:

• The as-yet-untitled series is set in ancient Greece, and stars a flawed family of humans, gods, and monsters who try to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other. It is due to premiere in 2022.
• The show will be produced and owned by Fox Entertainment, the tv production arm of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation, as part of a direct animation deal it signed with Harmon last year. The animation will come from the Fox-owned studio Bento Box Entertainment.
• Fox Corporation was formed in 2019 out of the assets Disney didn’t get through its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Ownership of flagship Fox shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy did transfer to Disney — they are now produced by Disney’s 20th Television division.
• At the time, Fox Entertainment signaled that it would build up its in-house production capabilities and finance its own shows. The acquisition of Bento Box, then an independent studio of some 500 people, in August 2019 was part of that drive, and Harmon’s new series is an early product.
• In addition to airing on Fox, the series will be available on Tubi, Fox’s ad-supported streaming service. The platform streams all Fox shows starting 14 days after the broadcast premiere.
• Before Rick and Morty, Harmon created and produced NBC’s live-action sitcom Community. He co-founded the production company Starburns Industries, which produced the first season of Rick and Morty and the 2015 stop-motion feature Anomalisa; his departure from the company was announced last year. Harmon has previously admitted to sexual harassment and treating women “like garbage”. Harmon deleted his Twitter account in 2018 after a lewd video skit resurfaced that depicted him graphically violating a baby doll.
• Adult animation has a strong and growing presence on Fox. Aside from classic series like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers, the network also airs newer shows like Duncanville, Bless the Harts, and The Great North. It has ordered the upcoming animated sitcom Housebroken, whose voice cast is led by Lisa Kudrow.

(Photo at top: Shutterstock)