Writing įor the first season, the writers shared a single office lent to them by the King of the Hill production crew. Cartoonist Butch Hartman voiced several minor characters. Other recurring characters included Carlos Alazraqui as Peter's boss Jonathan Weed, and Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams. The season had a number of secondary characters including Lori Alan as Diane Simmons, a local news anchor Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown, a neighbor and friend of the Griffins Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson, a handicapped neighbor and Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson, Joe's pregnant wife. Other members of the family include Peter's responsible but rebellious wife Lois Griffin, voiced by Alex Borstein their angsty and self-loathing teenage daughter Meg, voiced by Lacey Chabert and their goofy but lovable teenage son Chris, voiced by Seth Green. The family's evil-genius baby Stewie and their anthropromorphic pet dog Brian, were also voiced by MacFarlane. MacFarlane voiced Peter Griffin, a blue-collar worker and the patriarch of the Griffin family. Season one had a cast of four main actors. See also: List of Family Guy cast members
After the pilot aired, the series was green-lit. While working on the series, Larry and Steve slowly evolved into Peter and Brian. Several aspects of Family Guy were inspired by the Larry shorts. Fox proposed that MacFarlane complete a 15-minute short, and gave him a budget of $50,000. Įxecutives at Fox saw the Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series based on the characters entitled Family Guy. In 1996, MacFarlane created a sequel to The Life of Larry entitled Larry and Steve, which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve the short was broadcast in 1997 as one of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons. There he created his thesis film The Life of Larry, which his professor at RISD later submitted to Hanna-Barbera this led to MacFarlane being hired by the company. Seth MacFarlane conceived the idea for Family Guy in 1995 while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Seth MacFarlane conceived the idea for Family Guy while working on his thesis film for college. While working on the series, Larry and his dog Steve slowly evolved into Peter and Brian the rest of the series characters were added later.
Executives at Fox saw the Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series based on the characters entitled Family Guy.
There, he created his thesis film The Life of Larry, which his professor at RISD later submitted to Hanna-Barbera this led to MacFarlane being hired by the company.
MacFarlane conceived the idea for Family Guy in 1995, while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). The series has since been released in syndication. The Volume One DVD box set, including all seven episodes and the second season, was released in Region 1 on April 15, 2003, Region 2 on November 12, 2001, and Region 4 on October 20, 2003. The series received praise from most critics, particularly " I Never Met the Dead Man" and " Brian: Portrait of a Dog", however some critics disliked the themes of the episodes. The series premiere, " Death Has a Shadow", was broadcast directly after Super Bowl XXXIII and was watched by 22.01 million viewers. The executive producers for the first season were David Zuckerman and MacFarlane. The show features the voices of series creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Lacey Chabert in the roles of the Griffin family. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family-father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, son Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog. Family Guy 's first season aired on Fox from January 31 to May 16, 1999, and consisted of seven episodes, making it the shortest season to date.