Latest news with #AmericanDad
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘American Dad' Producers on No Longer Getting to Swear as They Return to Fox; Upcoming Guest Stars Include RuPaul, Chris Pine
With 'American Dad!' returning to Fox — and broadcast television — the show's producers admit they're going to have to adjust to those broadcast standards. 'The only thing that we're gonna have to get used to is no longer being able to say 'shit' and 'God damn it,'' executive producer Matt Weitzman told the audience at the show's San Diego Comic-Con panel on Saturday. 'But you know what? We don't have to find creative ways to be entertained.' The show, entering its Season 20, recently received a whopping four-season order at Fox, alongside four-season renewals for 'The Simpsons,' 'Family Guy,' and 'Bob's Burgers' — all shows fomr 20th TV Animation. Fox originally launched the show in 2005, but after it canceled the show, TBS picked it up in 2014. After TBS opted not to renew it, Fox opted to take it back. More from Variety 'The Simpsons' Upcoming Guests Include Kieran Culkin, Viola Davis, Idris Elba; Matt Groening on How to Liberate Parents from MAGA: 'Delete Fox News' 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Teases Puppet Episode for Season 4 'Futurama' Cast, Producers Joke About Their Frequent Cancellations, Tease Upcoming Guests and Storylines 'I'm just super excited to be able to say that we're gonna be making another 56 episodes of 'American Dad,'' Weitzman said. 'We're really happy to really just be able to make more episodes. We were on Fox for eight years, and then we're on TBS for 10 more years. And I can't tell you how giddy I was when I found out that we're going to be back on Fox for four more years. I thought maybe we were going to find another place for a little while, but the fact that we're going to be back on Fox is super exciting.' As 'American Dad!' returns to Fox in 2026, Weitzman also revealed some of next season's guest stars: Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson, Joe Mantegna, Chris Pine, Ming Na Wen, RuPaul, Wayne Newton, Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, Jonathan Frakes and Kyle Maclachlan. Also, 'American Dad' will soon hit its 400th episode and in that episode, per exec producer Matt Weitzman, Stan (voiced by creator Seth MacFarlane) nearly dies on his 400th mission — only to discover that the CIA has already replaced him with a clone. Other upcoming stories include a space anthology — three different stories that take the show out of its normal world. This repped the first Comic-Con panel for 'American Dad!' since the news that it would be returning to Fox after its lengthy run on TBS. Among those on stage: Wendy Schaal (Francine), Scott Grimes (Steve), Dee Bradley Baker (Klaus) and Jeff Fischer (Jeff), along with executive producers Weitzman and Kara Vallow and writer Nic Wegener, who served as moderator. 'American Dad!' centers on super-patriotic CIA agent Stan Smith (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) and the misadventures of his unconventional family in Langley Falls, VA. The family includes mom Francine (Wendy Schaal), left-wing activist daughter Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane), geeky-yet-confident son Steve (Scott Grimes), as well as Roger (MacFarlane), a sassy, sarcastic and routinely inappropriate space alien, and Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker), an attention-starved goldfish with the brain of a German Olympic skier. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? Final Emmy Predictions: Talk Series and Scripted Variety - New Blood Looks to Tackle Late Night Staples Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
90+ TV Shows That Switched Networks — And How Long They Ran After They Relocated
Not every TV series finishes where it started. Just ask the following 90+ shows, whose runs were extended by one (or more) seasons after they departed their original network or streaming home. Following word that American Dad! will return to Fox in 2026 (after a 10-season run on TBS), TVLine is singling out more than eight dozen scripted series that got a second (or sometimes third) lease on life once they moved to another network. More from TVLine Casting News: Tom Mison Joins Robin Hood, Y&R Vet to Days and More Every New Scripted Show Confirmed to Premiere in 2025 - Save the Dates! Mariska Hargitay Thinks Benson and Stabler Should Get Together in SVU's Last Episode - Respectfully? Nope. As you'll see, some shows proved more successful than others. While 9-1-1 and Days of Our Lives are still in production, and the likes of Baywatch, Cougar Town and Friday Night Lights all ran for multiple seasons after they relocated, shows like All Rise, Family Matters and Magnum P.I. weren't as lucky. All told, 54 of the following series ran for two or more seasons after they made the jump, while 42 of them saw their lives extended by one measly season. Of note: The following list excludes any shows that migrated from UPN or The WB to The CW in 2006 (e.g., 7th Heaven, Reba, Veronica Mars), as well as any FX shows that migrated to FXX to populate the sister network upon its launch in 2013 (e.g., Archer, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia). It also excludes any shows that were revived by another network more than three years after their initial run ended (Arrested Development, Futurama) or returned years later in the form of a sequel series (Fuller House, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, That '90s Show). Scroll through eight decades of TV history below, then hit the comments and tell us which shows you followed upon their moves. After six seasons (96 episodes) on Fox, 9-1-1 made the jump to ABC for two seasons (28 episodes) and counting. After three seasons (56 episodes) on CBS, Airwolf made the jump to USA Network for its fourth and final season (24 episodes). After 41 seasons (10,712 episodes) on ABC, All My Children made the jump to The Online Network for its 42nd and final season (43 episodes). After two seasons (38 episodes) on CBS, All Rise made the jump to OWN for its third and final season (20 episodes). After nine seasons (175 episodes) on Fox, American Dad! made the jump to TBS for Seasons 10-19 (213 episodes). It will return to Fox in 2026, where it has been picked up for Seasons 20-23 (60 episodes). After four seasons (88 episodes) in first-run syndication, Babylon 5 made the jump to TNT for its fifth and final season (22 episodes). After one season (21 episodes) on NBC, Baywatch made the jump to first-run syndication for Seasons 2-11 (212 episodes). After one season (13 episodes) on Fox, Between Brothers made the jump to UPN for its second and final season (four episodes). After two seasons (37 episodes) on ABC, The Bionic Woman made the jump to NBC for its third and final season (22 episodes). After five seasons (112 episodes) on Fox, Brooklyn Nine-Nine made the jump to NBC for Seasons 6-8 (41 episodes). After one season (16 episodes) on NBC, Brotherly Love made the jump to The WB for its second and final season (24 episodes). After five seasons (100 episodes) on The WB, Buffy the Vampire Slayer made the jump to UPN for Seasons 6 and 7 (44 episodes). After one season (22 episodes) on CBS, Charles in Charge made the jump to first-run syndication for Seasons 2-5 (104 episodes). After one season (18 episodes) on ABC, Clueless made the jump to UPN for Seasons 2 and 3 (44 episodes). After two seasons (20 episodes) on YouTube Premium, Cobra Kai made the jump to Netflix for Seasons 3-6 (45 episodes). After five seasons (97 episodes) on NBC, Community made the jump to Yahoo! Screen for its sixth and final season (13 episodes). After three seasons (61 episodes) on ABC, Cougar Town made the jump to TBS for Seasons 4-6 (41 episodes). After one season (13 episodes) on ABC, The Critic made the jump to Fox for its second and final season (10 episodes). After three seasons (39 episodes) on FX, Damages made the jump to DirecTV's Audience Network for Seasons 4 and 5 (20 episodes). After four seasons (120 episodes) on ABC, The Danny Thomas Show made the jump to CBS for Seasons 5-11 (223 episodes). After one season (13 episodes) on ABC, Davis Rules made the jump to CBS for its second and final season (16 episodes). After 57 seasons (14,430 episodes) on NBC, Days of Our Lives made the jump to Peacock for an additional four seasons (and counting). After seven seasons (170 episodes) on NBC, Diff'rent Strokes made the jump to ABC for its eighth and final season (19 episodes). After four seasons (52 episodes) on Nickelodeon, Doug made the jump to ABC for Seasons 5-7 (75 episodes). After 19 seasons on CBS, The Edge of Night made the jump to ABC for Seasons 20-28. After one season (13 episodes) on CBS, Evil made the jump to Paramount+ for Seasons 2-4 (37 episodes). After three seasons (36 episodes) on Syfy, The Expanse made the jump to Prime Video for Seasons 4-6 (26 episodes). After eight seasons (193 episodes) on ABC, Family Matters made the jump to CBS for its ninth and final season (22 episodes). After one season (eight episodes) on ABC, Father Dowling Mysteries made the jump to NBC for Seasons 2 and 3 (35 episodes). After one season (26 episodes) on CBS, Father Knows Best made the jump to NBC for Seasons 2-4 (107 episodes). It then returned to CBS for Seasons 5 and 6 (70 episodes). After one season (eight episodes) on NBC, For Your Love made the jump to The WB for Seasons 2-5 (76 episodes). After two seasons (37 episodes) on NBC, Friday Night Lights made the jump to DirecTV's 101 Network for Seasons 3-5 (39 episodes). Each of those three seasons aired on NBC following their DirecTV run. After three seasons (64 episodes) on The CW, The Game made the jump to BET for Seasons 4-9 (83 episodes). After four seasons on NBC (112 episodes), Get Smart made the jump to CBS for its fifth and final season (26 episodes). After one season (12 episodes) on ABC, Getting By made the jump to NBC for its second and final season (19 episodes). After one season (26 episodes) on NBC, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir made the jump to ABC for its second and final season (24 episodes). After two-plus seasons (42 episodes) on Fox, Grounded for Life made the jump to The WB for Seasons 3-5 (49 episodes). After four seasons (126 episodes) on NBC, Hazel made the jump to CBS for its fifth and final season (29 episodes). After five seasons (97 episodes) on NBC, The Hogan Family (originally titled Valerie and later Valerie's Family: The Hogans) made the jump to CBS for its sixth and final season (13 episodes). After two seasons (45 episodes) on ABC, The Hughleys made the jump to UPN for Seasons 3 and 4 (44 episodes). After five seasons (96 episodes) on NBC, In the Heat of the Night made the jump to CBS for Seasons 6 and 7 (46 episodes). After two seasons (26 episodes), In the House made the jump to UPN for Seasons 3 and 4 (44 episodes). That was followed by an abbreviated fifth and final season (six episodes) in first-run syndication. After two seasons (27 episodes) on ABC, It's a Living made the jump to first-run syndication for Seasons 3-6 (93 episodes). After one season (22 episodes) on NBC, JAG made the jump to CBS for Seasons 2-10 (205 episodes). After one season (18 episodes) on ABC, The Jeff Foxworthy Show made the jump to NBC for its second and final season (23 episodes). After three seasons (97 episodes) on NBC, The Joey Bishop Show made the jump to CBS for its fourth and final season (26 episodes). After three seasons (38 episodes) on AMC, The Killing made the jump to Netflix for its fourth and final season (six episodes). After 17 seasons (547 episodes) on CBS, Lassie made the jump to first-run syndication for Seasons 18 and 19 (44 episodes). After six seasons (130 episodes) on ABC, Last Man Standing made the jump to Fox for Seasons 7-9 (64 episodes). After six seasons (133 episodes) on NBC, Law & Order: Criminal Intent made the jump to USA Network for Seasons 7-10 (62 episodes). After four seasons (65 episodes) on NBC, Law & Order: Organized Crime made the jump to Peacock for Season 5 (10 episodes). It is still awaiting a renewal decision. After one season (39 episodes) on CBS, Leave It to Beaver made the jump to ABC for Seasons 2-6 (195 episodes). After three seasons (33 episodes) on A&E, Longmire made the jump to Netflix for Seasons 4-6 (30 episodes). After three seasons (57 episodes) on Fox, Lucifer made the jump to Netflix for Seasons 4-6 (36 episodes). After four seasons (76 episodes) on CBS, Magnum P.I. made the jump to NBC for its fifth and final season (20 episodes). After two seasons (35 episodes) on NBC, Mama's Family made the jump to first-run syndication for Seasons 3-6 (95 episodes). After three seasons (42 episodes) on NBC, Manifest made the jump to Netflix for its fourth and final season (20 episodes). After six seasons (128 episodes) on NBC, Matlock made the jump to ABC for Seasons 7-9 (58 episodes). After five seasons (95 episodes) on NBC, Medium made the jump to CBS for Seasons 6 and 7 (35 episodes). After three seasons (67 episodes) on Fox, The Mindy Project made the jump for Hulu for Seasons 4-6 (50 episodes). After eight episodes on NBC, Minor Adjustments made the jump to UPN for the remainder (12 episodes) of its only season. After one season (26 episodes) in first-run syndication, Mister Ed made the jump to CBS for Seasons 2-6 (117 episodes). After five seasons (184 episodes) on ABC, My Three Sons made the jump to CBS for Seasons 6-12 (196 episodes). After one season (20 episodes) on ABC, The Naked Truth made the jump to NBC for Seasons 2 and 3 (35 episodes). After four seasons (86 episodes) on ABC, Nashville made the jump to CMT for Seasons 5 and 6 (38 episodes). After three seasons (39 episodes) on Netflix, One Day at a Time made the jump to Pop for its fourth and final season (seven episodes). After 44 seasons (11,094 episodes) on ABC, One Life to Live made the jump to The Online Network for its 45th and final season (42 episodes). After two seasons (26 episodes) on Fox, The Orville made the jump to Hulu for Season 3 (10 episodes). After six seasons (130 episodes) on Showtime, The Outer Limits made the jump to the Sci-Fi channel for its seventh and final season (22 episodes). After eight seasons (1,971 episodes) on NBC, Passions made the jump to DirecTV's 101 Network for its ninth and final season (260 episodes). After two seasons (31 episodes) on Fox, The PJs made the jump to The WB for its third and final season (12 episodes, with two left unaired until the show entered syndication). After three seasons (65 episodes) on Showtime, Poltergeist: The Legacy made the jump to the Sci-Fi channel for its fourth and final season (22 episodes). After two seasons (43 episodes) on The WB, Roswell made the jump to UPN for its third and final season (18 episodes). After four seasons (97 episodes) on ABC, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch made the jump to The WB for Seasons 5-7 (66 episodes). After two seasons (20 episodes) on MTV, Scream: The TV Series made the jump to VH1 for its third and final season (10 episodes). After seven seasons (150 episodes) on NBC, Scrubs made the jump to ABC for Seasons 8 and 9 (32 episodes). After four-plus seasons (84 episodes) on CBS, SEAL Team made the jump to Paramount+ for Seasons 5-7 (30 episodes). After 31 seasons (7,472 episodes) on CBS, Search for Tomorrow made the jump to NBC for Seasons 32-35 (1,715 episodes). After two seasons (44 episodes) on CBS, Silk Stalkings made the jump to USA Network for Seasons 3-8 (132 episodes). After four seasons (92 episodes) on NBC, Silver Spoons made the jump to first-run syndication for its fifth and final season (24 episodes). After two seasons (31 episodes) on ABC, Sister, Sister made the jump to The WB for Seasons 3-6 (88 episodes). After three seasons (48 episodes) on Fox, Sliders made the jump to the Sci-Fi channel for Seasons 4 and 5 (40 episodes). After one season (24 episodes) on NBC, Something So Right made the jump to ABC for its second and final season (13 episodes). After one season (seven episodes) on NBC, Southland made the jump to TNT for Seasons 2-5 (36 episodes). After five seasons (109 episodes) on Showtime, Stargate SG-1 made the jump to the Sci-Fi channel for Seasons 6-10 (104 episodes). After six seasons (141 episodes) on ABC, Step by Step made the jump to CBS for its seventh and final season (19 episodes). After one season (20 episodes) on CBS, Supergirl made the jump to The CW for Seasons 2-6 (106 episodes). After four seasons (90 episodes) on ABC, Taxi made the jump to NBC for its fifth and final season (24 episodes). After four seasons (72 episodes) on ABC, T.J. Hooker made the jump to CBS for its fifth and final season (19 episodes). After one season (22 episodes) on ABC, The Tony Randall Show made the jump to CBS for its second and final season (22 episodes). After one season (10 episodes) on Netflix, Tuca & Bertie made the jump to Adult Swim for Seasons 2 and 3 (20 episodes). After three seasons (48 episodes) on CBS, Unforgettable made the jump to A&E for its fourth and final season (13 episodes). After three seasons (30 episodes) on Lifetime, UnREAL made the jump to Hulu for its fourth and final season (eight episodes). After one season (13 episodes) on ABC, Wonder Woman made the jump to CBS for Seasons 2 and 3 (46 episodes). After one season (10 episodes) on Lifetime, YOU made the jump to Netflix for Seasons 2-5 (40 episodes). After six seasons (72 episodes) on TV Land, Younger made the jump to Hulu and Paramount+ for its seventh and final season (12 episodes). Best of TVLine TV's 30+ Best Cliffhangers of All Time From Buffy, Friends, Grey's Anatomy, Twin Peaks, Severance, Soap and More 20+ Age-Defying Parent-Child Castings From Blue Bloods, ER, Ginny & Georgia, Golden Girls, Supernatural and More Young Sheldon Easter Eggs: Every Nod to The Big Bang Theory (and Every Future Reveal) Across 7 Seasons
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Emmy-winning actor Keith David shares tearful reaction to ‘surprise' Hollywood Walk of Fame honor
Renowned voice and screen actor Keith David shared his heartwarming reaction to the news that he will be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. The three-time Emmy-winning actor, 69, known for voicing many famous characters, such as The Princess and the Frog's Dr. Facilier, has been announced as part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame's 2026 class. 'What a surprise! Being blessed to get to do this for a living is enough for me; to be recognized for my contribution to the arts is the cherry on top,' David wrote of the honor on X. 'Thank you, Hollywood Walk of Fame & Hollywood Chamber for this honor. This will be a wonderful birthday present next year.' Alongside the post, he shared a video of himself watching as the list of inductees was read aloud. In the clip, he appears in complete shock when he hears his name, putting his hand over his mouth and then his heart. A voice off-screen then tells him, 'Happy 70th birthday.' 'Oh my god,' David responds before crying tears of joy, while his wife, Dionne Lea Williams, kisses him and embraces him in a big hug. To land a coveted Hollywood star, an artist must be nominated by another individual and agree to the nomination when applying. According to the website, the criteria for receiving a star consists of the following: professional achievement, longevity in the category of five years or more, contributions to the community and the guarantee that the celebrity will attend the dedication ceremony if selected. A committee must then approve the nomination before selecting 24-30 names they deem to be the most qualified. Finally, every star must be approved by the Hollywood Chamber's Board of Directors and the City of Los Angeles' Board of Public Works Department. What a surprise! Being blessed to get to do this for a living is enough for me; to be recognized for my contribution to the arts is the cherry on top.🙏🏿Thank you, Hollywood Walk of Fame & Hollywood Chamber for this honor. This will be a wonderful birthday present next year. — Keith David (@ImKeithDavid) July 2, 2025 The prolific actor, who will celebrate his 70th birthday next year, has appeared in nearly 400 movies and TV shows. His voice acting credits include Family Guy, American Dad, and Rick and Morty, while his on-screen appearances include cult classics like The Thing (1982), They Live (1988), Armageddon (1998), and Crash (2004). In 2005, David earned his first Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in PBS's Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise And Fall Of Jack Johnson. He won the award twice more, first for narrating a 2008 episode of PBS's The War docuseries and again for its 2016 Jackie Robinson docuseries. David is one of 35 stars to be inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame class of 2026. Timothée Chalamet, Miley Cyrus, Chris Columbus, Marion Cotillard, Keith David, Rachel McAdams, Demi Moore, Franco Nero, Deepika Padukone, Molly Ringwald, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci are among the others whose names will be emblazoned onto an embedded plaque along the Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk.
Forbes
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Seth MacFarlane Charts Higher Than Ever, With A Little Help From Frank Sinatra
Seth MacFarlane's Lush Life debuts at No. 17 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart, marking his ... More highest-ever showing and a top 10 launch on two jazz tallies. HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 20: Seth MacFarlane attends "Back from the Ink: Restored Animated Shorts" during the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 20, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo byfor TCM) Seth MacFarlane is better known for his hugely successful TV career than his work in music, as series like Family Guy and American Dad rank among the longest-running in animated history. In addition to working daily as a titan of that industry, MacFarlane — who voices dozens of characters on his own programs — is also a prolific musician, known for his love of the Great American Songbook. He's already released more than half a dozen albums and scored multiple Grammy nominations in the traditional pop field, and this week, his latest full-length not only brings him back to the Billboard charts, but helps him reach a new career peak. Lush Life Earns Seth MacFarlane a New Bestseller Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements debuts on a trio of Billboard charts in the United States this week. It opens inside the top 10 on two genre-specific rankings and comes in at No. 17 on the Top Album Sales tally. While that marks the title's lowest starting point on the charts, it's also a new best showing for MacFarlane. The comedian and crooner reaches the top 20 on the Top Album Sales chart for the very first time in his music career. Lush Life opens inside that area with a little more than 4,400 pure purchases during its first tracking frame (per Luminate). Seth MacFarlane's Previous Best Showing Before this frame, he had only cracked the top 40 once, more than a decade ago, when Holiday for Swing! opened and peaked at No. 38. Back when the Top Album Sales list featured far more than the 50 spaces it does today, Music Is Better Than Words spent a single turn at No. 111, and those are his only three placements on the tally. Seth MacFarlane's New Top 10s Lush Life is far more successful on two of Billboard's style-focused rankings. The collection, which sees MacFarlane recording music written for Frank Sinatra that the legend never got to make during his lifetime, launches at No. 3 on the Traditional Jazz Albums chart and No. 4 on the slightly broader Jazz Albums tally. He's now collected half a dozen top 10s on both of those rosters.
Forbes
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Seth MacFarlane Talks Bringing Long-Lost Frank Sinatra Tunes To Life
Seth MacFarlane revives lost Sinatra songs on his new album Lush Life, bringing ... More never-before-recorded arrangements to life in his signature pop-jazz vocal style. HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 19: Seth MacFarlane attends the PaleyFest LA 2024 "Family Guy" 25th anniversary celebration at Dolby Theatre on April 19, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by) Seth MacFarlane has built an empire with his voice. Most people know him as the creator and star of long-running animated comedies like Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show, as well as the writer-director behind Ted, A Million Ways to Die in the West, and The Orville. He has won multiple Emmys for voicing a multitude of characters on the programs he's developed, and he's known as a gifted actor. What's less widely known — even among his most dedicated fans — is that MacFarlane is also one of today's most talented traditional pop vocalists. His musical career, which leans heavily on the Great American Songbook, has earned him five Grammy nominations, including several in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. His latest release, Lush Life: The Lost Sinatra Arrangements, may be the most exciting of his nine full-lengths due to the story behind its creation. While MacFarlane has spent over a decade reviving the stylings of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and their contemporaries, Lush Life stands apart and sounds quite different. It's not just another tribute to Sinatra, though even that would have been welcome, given MacFarlane's skill. MacFarlane was granted access to original arrangements written for Sinatra himself, but which, for one reason or another, were never recorded or released. In many cases, these orchestrations have been sitting in boxes for decades, waiting to be discovered and appreciated. 'When I got the offer from Tina Sinatra to acquire the library of charts,' MacFarlane explained during a recent interview, 'we found a lot of orchestrations and in some cases, whole songs that [Sinatra] That's exactly what MacFarlane has done. Working with top-tier musicians and staying faithful to the original arrangements, Lush Life brings these forgotten songs to life for the first time. These new recordings are performed in MacFarlane's signature smooth, deep voice, which lends itself perfectly to this space – but even in Sinatra's shadow, the TV star manages to make these decades-old tunes his own. 'You really do have to put your own stamp on it, because there is no recording that exists,' he says. 'But at the same time, you have the fun and the privilege of playing in that Nelson Riddle/Billy May playground.' The result is a fantastic collection of recordings, not just for Sinatra geek MacFarlane, but for anyone who cares deeply about this kind of music. Fans of the Great American Songbook will be delighted as delighted as ever to hear new takes on the classics, and Sinatra devotees in particular should be intrigued by the idea that there's still more of Ol' Blue Eyes' catalog left to explore. Hugh McIntyre: I've loved turning people on to your singing throughout the years. I always love dropping in, "He's got a great voice," and I've actually played things for people in the past, so I was very happy to hear this album, which is phenomenal. Seth MacFarlane: Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. McIntyre: This is more specific than some of your past records, so tell me about the genesis of this Frank Sinatra tribute. MacFarlane: I didn't set out to do a Sinatra album. If anything, I try to stay away from his material, because you're just not going to outdo anything that he's done. I try to take lessons from the way he approached a song and the way he approached an arrangement when I'm recording something new. But in this instance, when I got the offer from Tina Sinatra to acquire the library of charts, we found a lot of orchestrations and in some cases, whole songs that he never recorded for one reason or another, so that was a very different story. You take something like "Flying Down to Rio," which was written for the Come Fly With Me album and cut, and then just left in a box somewhere for seven decades. That's kind of something that somebody ought to record at some point, because it was written by Billy May, one of the greatest arrangers of popular song ever. And obviously, there are a number of charts by Nelson Riddle, who is probably the best of the best, and it would've been a crime not to put these things down on tape. McIntyre: Well, I'm glad someone did, and that it was you. I'm shocked that after all this time, there are still Sinatra compositions that were never recorded, or arrangements that were abandoned. Why do you think these have been left alone for so long? MacFarlane: I think it's probably a different reason for each individual chart. I mean, for "Flying Down to Rio," it may have just been cut for time or something. "How Did She Look?" was supposed to be included on the Only the Lonely album, and I don't know, because it's a fantastic chart. In some cases, I think it's superior to maybe one or two of the charts that were actually on that record — even though that record is just about flawless as far as I'm concerned. I think it's just the quantity of great music that you had back then made it almost... I don't want to use the word "disposable," but you could be a little fast and loose with what you cut because you always knew there was something else great coming down the line. It's in many ways similar to why we lost all those classic MGM charts. All the orchestral scores for The Wizard of Oz or Singin' in the Rain or any of those great musicals from the '40s are gone. They were bulldozed to make a parking lot somewhere. And the thinking was, "Well, we'll always have this." That kind of high musicality will always exist. And of course, it doesn't. It's just gone. So putting aside some of these songs because there was so much to choose from... that just doesn't exist anymore. McIntyre: When you acquired all of this content, you must have dug through... I mean, there must be so much more than the 12 songs you included on this. MacFarlane: Yeah. We were under some pressure, for reasons I can't remember now, to reduce the number to 12. I think that's one of those weird modern music industry things that I don't really understand. We had more that were prepped for this album. But even beyond that, there are others that we didn't even touch yet in the archives that are also ripe to be recorded. Charlie Pignone, who's our guru at Sinatra Enterprises and knows these archives better than anybody, says there are probably another two albums' worth of unrecorded material in there. So our process of digging is certainly not complete. We plan to do more of it. McIntyre: Were there any arrangements, as you picked these up and chose your 12, that were particularly tough to make come to life after so much time? MacFarlane: A lot of it was figuring out what the tempo was. That's something that really can't be quantified. I mean, I guess you can put a metronome number at the top of your chart, but in most cases, that wasn't done. It was something left to dynamic indication — 'moderate swing,' 'uptempo' — and that could mean any number of things. So we had to guess, based on what we knew of each arranger's style and other work they had done. And by this point, both Joel and I, and John Wilson our conductor, we're very familiar with all of these arrangers. So we were pretty confident that our guesses weren't too far off, and hopefully they were fairly accurate. Beyond that, the only other work done was lyrical. For "Arrivederci, Roma," there was an Italian verse — the English refrain was already written, had been sung by many artists — but the verse was all in Italian. I don't know that Sinatra would've sung it that way. I remember Dean Martin singing a lot in Italian, but not Sinatra. And I certainly didn't want to subject anyone to my attempt. So we had it translated, and I wrote a new lyric for that verse based on the translated content. Hopefully, it blends well with the lyrics that already exist. That was one of the few bits of writing I had to do. There are a couple of lyrics in "Hurry Home" and a couple in "Give Me the Simple Life" that I rewrote because I was damn sure they were the reason Sinatra didn't want to sing those songs. They were just absurd — so quaint that even in 1910 you might not get away with them. But that was all part of the process – understanding what they would have done. Changes are always made on the day when you're in the studio. You mess around until everything's just right. In those cases, I imagine Sinatra would've brought in someone like Sammy Cahn or Johnny Mercer to help him tweak things. But again, it's all guesswork. McIntyre: But what a great thought exercise — and what a great time for someone like you, who's such a fan of this space, to nerd out. "What would Sinatra do? What would Mercer do?" MacFarlane: Yeah, it's fun, and it's work, and it's pressure like anything else. Even writing a lyric for something like Family Guy, we hold ourselves to a rigid standard. We don't get to cheat. We don't get to use half rhymes, which I've always hated. Either it rhymes or it doesn't. But with something like this, where you're blending with lyrics written when the art form was in the hands of people like Oscar Hammerstein and Cole Porter and Alan Jay Lerner... there's a lot of pressure to really bring it. They were the best of the best. McIntyre: Throughout your musical career, it's been all traditional American songbook. You've really championed that music, those names you just mentioned. But when you come to a project like this — Sinatra, these great writers — how do you honor that and still put your stamp on it? MacFarlane: It's a little of both. We've done eight studio albums at this point, and I always look for songs that haven't been sung often by a lot of people, just because it's more interesting. That's what interested me about what Sinatra did. He took songs from the '20s and '30s that had been, if not forgotten, then certainly sidelined, and revitalized them. So that's always been my approach. I don't want to sing 'My Way' or 'Fly Me to the Moon.' I want to sing 'Green Dolphin Street,' or 'Ain't Got a Dime to My Name' from Road to Morocco. I want to find songs that maybe someone like Frank would have interpreted if he'd gotten around to them. So with this, the good thing is, you're not recreating something iconic. These songs were never recorded. You have to put your own stamp on them. But at the same time, you get to play in the Nelson Riddle/Billy May sandbox, and hear their signature voices as arrangers. It's like, if you're a Beatles fan and you find a lost Lennon/McCartney song — something unfinished but clearly theirs — and now you get to be the first to interpret it. That's the feeling. McIntyre: What is it about this era, the Great American Songbook, that fascinates you? MacFarlane: There's so much of it, and it's so enduring. It's the purest form of songwriting. Most decades have their musical signatures: 'Oh, that's disco,' 'That's rock,' 'That's hip-hop.' But with these songs, you can't do that. Take 'Blue Moon' or 'The Sound of Music' — what are they? Jazz? Classical? Pop? No. They're just melody. Pure, simple, beautiful melody that can be recorded in any style. They were written to be taken home and played by anyone with a piano. Structurally and melodically, it's songwriting in its purest form. And it's hard. You don't see people doing that now. Try to find someone who's written 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in the past 30 years. We've tried. It was an era of such high musicality, and we didn't realize how rare it was. None of it is kitsch. You look back at old TV shows you thought were great and now see they were... not. But you watch The Sopranos today? Still high art. There was just something deeper behind this music. Irving Berlin writing a song felt like more than just product. That's my theory — and it might be naive — but that's how I see it. McIntyre: But we also have hindsight. We can look back 70 years and say, 'Oh, those songs stood the test of time.' Give it 20 or 30 more and let's see how some of the garbage from the '80s holds up. MacFarlane: But I think we're already there. The '80s was 40 years ago. McIntyre: Right — 40 years! MacFarlane: Even by then, we knew older songs were classics. I love '80s music, but I don't think it stands the test of time the same way. There's fun stuff, but a lot of kitsch. I think another way to look at it is, we love '80s music because we were there. It's tied to our lives. That's why I'll listen to 'Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car.' It gets a pass because of the memory. But that's the difference – these older songs don't need that. You hear 'Heather on the Hill' or 'Laura' and they move you regardless of when you were born. It doesn't take production or nostalgia, they just hold up. McIntyre: I was struck as I listened by the lushness of these orchestrations. It's so beautiful. Can you tell me about you needing that many musicians? MacFarlane: Well, again, that was something that was common back then. You recorded a pop album with that size ensemble if you wanted to, and many people did. Most of Sinatra's albums were somewhere in that range in terms of the orchestra size. So to us, it's unusual because today, things are more economical. You've got your guitarist, your keyboardist, your bassist, your percussionist — maybe a couple more — and that's your band. Then it's all post-work. You just don't see these large ensembles anymore. I love it. It's special. And there's nothing like that sound, especially when it's in the hands of arrangers who really know how to write for those ensembles like these guys did. Nelson Riddle was a master. Don Costa was a master. These guys just really knew how to bring the most out of an ensemble. And comparatively, these aren't symphony-sized ensembles. We're not talking about 100 players. Sometimes it's 50 or 55, and even back then it might've been 35. But that still meant you had a full string section, a brass section, a woodwind section. You could paint with all those different colors and bring a lot of variety to even a single song. There's just nothing like being in the room with an orchestra. It really is the best thing in the world. McIntyre: You are famously very busy, you've got a lot going on. But do you ever wish you could take these songs out on the road? And would that even be feasible with that large of an orchestra? MacFarlane: What you do is you work with local ensembles. I've performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Philadelphia Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Boston Pops, the Cincinnati Symphony. Every one of those is a phenomenal ensemble, ready to play this stuff. You bring your rhythm section with you — maybe seven people. Your pianist, drummer, bassist, guitarist, maybe a lead trombone, lead woodwind, lead trumpet. That's really it. Everything else is filled in by the orchestra you work with locally. It would definitely be fun to do that at some point, but truthfully, it wasn't something that was very common back then. When someone like Nat King Cole or Sinatra or Dean Martin released an album, they weren't out on tour supporting it the way a pop star is now. It was about the recording. They might do some live shows — there are great recordings of the Rat Pack at the Sands, for instance — but it wasn't like they were touring heavily. That was more of an afterthought, like, "Hey, we're filming a movie in Vegas, might as well do a show." They were already onto the next album. In some ways, I kind of like that model. You're investing in what you're making in the studio, and then once it's out there, it's for people to discover, and you move on. McIntyre: People know you from a lot of different things, obviously — TV, film, comedy – but you put so much time and care into these albums, and it's clear how much you love and understand this music. Do you feel like you're still introducing this side of yourself to the public? And is that kind of strange, given how established you are in other areas? MacFarlane: Look, it's just a fact of entertainment – if you establish yourself as a musician first, like Will Smith or someone like that, and then move into acting or directing, you're usually granted a kind of freedom. People accept that transition. But it doesn't work the other way around. For some reason, if you're a writer or an actor who then decides, "Hey, I'd like to try making music," there's a lot more skepticism. I don't know why that is, but it's real. That said, I'm incredibly gratified by the reception we've gotten. I think we've had four or five Grammy nominations for these records, which tells me that, yeah, we're still introducing people to this side of what I do — but we've managed to make more headway than a lot of folks do when crossing over. Overall, it's definitely a lot harder to go from something like acting or animation into music than the reverse, and I see that all the time across the history of entertainment. McIntyre: You're a five-time Grammy nominee at this point, so you feel like you've gotten farther, but you're right. In my lifetime, Lady Gaga is an Oscar-nominated actress, Ariana Grande is an Oscar-nominated actress... but how many people were listening to an actor's albums? MacFarlane: Those are both great examples. There's an allowance for it from one side but not the other, with exceptions. I think people like Jared Leto have earned some genuine respect from parts of the music business. There are exceptions, but there's just no comparison. Quantitatively, if you're a musician getting into the world of acting, there's a lot more allowance — from both the press and the public — than there is the other way around. If you're Tom Hanks and you want to get into music, it's going to be a much more uphill climb than if you're Lady Gaga trying to become a great actor. McIntyre: Yeah, but you've gotta love Tom's son's rap career. MacFarlane: Oh, really? McIntyre: Oh, yeah. You're missing out on that one. Have you heard Jeff Goldblum's music? MacFarlane: I haven't. But first of all, he's a genuinely talented musician. And I think what he's doing is... in some ways it's like, you look at someone like Steve Martin, who is genuinely talented with the banjo. These guys aren't trying to become pop stars. They're just trying to make music. And if you respond to it, great. If you don't, fine. I think people can recognize in both of those individuals that there's an artist there. Someone who's just doing it because they love it, not because they're trying to become something else. McIntyre: Do you have a favorite Sinatra album? MacFarlane: Say it one more time? Yeah, it's breaking up a little—sorry. You want to try FaceTime? It's going to work a lot better. MacFarlane: Favorite Sinatra album? Only the Lonely. His ballad albums are my favorites because I feel like that's where he was really doing 150%. I mean, he was always giving 150%, but you can tell that's where his heart really was. His arrangers, too. As great as something like Songs for Swingin' Lovers is, there's no question when you listen to In the Wee Small Hours or Only the Lonely or any of those ballad albums, Nelson Riddle is giving you all of his art in a different way.
