Fox Reuniting Itself With ‘Family Guy’

Stewie Griffin is back, and he has DVD sales to thank for it.

With his oblong cartoon head, sinister voice and taste for “total world domination,” the infant Stewie set the tone for the irreverent animated series “Family Guy,” which Fox canceled nearly three years ago because of lagging ratings. After they went off the air, however, Stewie and his bizarre family refused to die.

Right away, fans complained. Gary Newman, president of 20th Century Fox Television, remembers getting his first inkling that his company shouldn’t have pulled the plug on “Family Guy” while giving a talk at Yale University. When it came time for questions, he recalled, “about 20 hands shot up, and they all asked about ‘Family Guy.’ ”

But the DVDs were what really caught Newman’s attention. With no new episodes to watch, fans quickly snapped up more than 1 million copies of the first two seasons of “Family Guy” (as well as T-shirts, ball caps and dolls). More than 3.5 million units have been sold at a rate that has at times outpaced that other off-kilter Fox animated family, “The Simpsons.”

Now, “Family Guy” is officially “uncanceled,” Fox’s website says. On May 1, fresh episodes will begin airing on Fox. How will it do in the ratings the second time around? News Corp. executives say it doesn’t matter much. This time, their business model is not built around ratings-driven advertising but relies instead on license fees from cable and sales of new DVDs and merchandise -- including coffee table books, CDs, cellphone ring tones and games.

The return of “Family Guy” illustrates the shifting dynamics of the TV industry. As the proliferation of digital video recorders such as TiVo Inc.’s device enables more people to watch TV when they wish, 30-second advertisements are losing some of their luster.

Hungry for other revenue sources, television executives are increasingly turning to DVDs. Last year, sales from TV shows on DVD topped $2.3 billion, said Judith McCourt, director of Orange County-based Home Media Research. That’s up from $880 million for 2002.

DVD industry analyst Ralph Tribbey said that change appeared to set the table for future niche-audience shows like “Family Guy,” which primarily appeals to teenage boys and young men ages 18 to 34.

More and more, Tribbey said, “shows eventually may be designed for their DVD potential. The broadcast network will almost act like a promotional platform for the entire package.”

Seth MacFarlane, creator and executive producer of “Family Guy,” counts himself as one of the beneficiaries of this DVD boom.

“The DVD market barely existed when we were canceled,” he said. “But now, fans can protest the cancellation of a show with their wallets, buying the DVDs, rather than just writing letters to the network.”

The result, in this case at least, means that the wacky Griffin family from Quahog, R.I., lives again. Fox executives have ordered into production 35 new episodes of “Family Guy,” even though the network has thus far committed to airing only 13.

“We’re producing 35 no matter what,” Newman said, noting that old episodes of “Family Guy” have also developed a following on cable’s Cartoon Network. “Even if it doesn’t work for the Fox network, the Cartoon Network wants them. By producing new episodes we will be able to keep this thing alive.”

Cable channels Cartoon Network and TBS, both owned by Time Warner Inc., have dibs on the new episodes after their initial broadcast on Fox.

The keen interest is in contrast to about five years ago, when Newman and other Fox executives tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Cartoon Network to give “Family Guy” a home so the studio could cover the cost of production.

“We couldn’t get them to buy it,” Newman recalled. “So we gave it to them for free to try for 30 days.”

Now, units of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire have banded together to promote and profit from Stewie and the rest of the Griffin clan, which includes the loutish patriarch Peter Griffin and his martini-swirling philosopher dog Brian.

New merchandise will soon be sold by such retailers as Hot Topic Inc., Kohl’s Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Spencer Gifts.

News Corp.’s HarperCollins Publishers unit on April 26 will release the book “Family Guy: Stewie’s Guide to World Domination,” which features such riffs as “Why teething is not for the faint of heart,” and “Why women are such confounding and wicked creatures.” The 20th Century Fox film studio plans a “Family Guy” movie on DVD by the end of the year.

Fox Music partnered with Geffen Records to produce a soon-to-be-released CD titled “Family Guy: Live in Las Vegas.” MacFarlane describes it as “a blend of the rich, lush arrangements of the classic era of Rat Pack Vegas shows combined with the fart jokes of today.”

On Friday, the “Family Guy” voice actors including MacFarlane, who does the voices of three characters, including Stewie, will stage two live performances at the Wiltern LG theater in Los Angeles. Late this month, they will do the same in New York.

Earlier Friday, Fox publicists will audition Stewie sound-alikes at the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles.

MacFarlane is also producing another animated show for Fox called “American Dad,” which will be paired with “Family Guy,” beginning May 1.

MacFarlane acknowledges that after being left for dead, the hype is a bit intimidating. He described being shocked a few months ago when he arrived at an early-evening meeting at Fox to discuss marketing plans for the show’s relaunch.

“I thought it would be a small group, but I walked into the room and there were like 40 people,” MacFarlane said. “I thought, ‘Oh, my God.’

“I’m always prepared for another cancellation,” he continued. “But this time around there are so many components to the franchise that even if we don’t do huge numbers on Fox, the show could still have a life of its own.”