Things have gone well recently for “Family Guy” and its creator Seth MacFarlane. The show recently became just the second animated series to score an Emmy nomination in the Best Comedy field, and MacFarlane personally has one of FOX’s most lucrative deals.
But nothing is perfect, and the “Family Guy” team is not immune from disappointment. MacFarlane noted at this weekend’s Comic-Con that FOX declined to air a controversial upcoming episode on abortion.
“20th Century Fox, as always, allowed us to produce the episode and then said, ‘You know what? We’re scared to f–king death of this,'” said MacFarlane, who later clarified his comment as sarcastic.
“Clearly my sarcasm doesn’t come across in print. I completely support whatever decision Fox makes. We were allowed to take a crack at this controversial story and that’s enough for me,” said MacFarlane in an email statement. FOX has not commented on the matter.
The comment was also likely designed to spark interest in the episode; if it does not make it to television, it will likely appear on a future DVD release.
“Family Guy” has made abortion-related cracks with little sensitivity in the past, but the belief is that this episode would have gone much farther in pushing the envelope. Of all the controversy and censor scrutiny for “Family Guy,” only one episode, 2000’s “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein,” has been rejected (though it later aired on Comedy Central and was released on DVD).