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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Jessica Gibb

Seth MacFarlane quits Family Guy and American Dad amid ongoing writers' strike

Seth MacFarlane has reportedly quit Family Guy and American Dad amid the ongoing writers' strike.

The 49-year-old and his showrunners - Brian Boyle, Matt Weitzman, Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin - have left both hit Fox series until until the Writers Guild of America (WGA) reaches an agreement with the studios, according to Deadline.

As well as being the creator and writer for the cartoons, Seth also voices four main characters on Family Guy - Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin, and Glenn Quagmire.

Meanwhile, on American Dad he voices two of the main characters, Stan and Roger Smith.

Family Guy ended 21st season last week on May 7, but American Dad started its 20th series in March.

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane has quit the show (BBC/20th Century Fox)
Work on American Dad has also ground to a halt (Fox Broadcasting Company)

The walkout won't have an immediate effect on TV schedules as they work three months ahead, but that could change if the strike rumbles on.

"There is quite a bit of runway to go before the wheels come off," a source told Deadline.

"The animated satire has about three months of scripts, v/o, etc already completed. Then the studio will have to figure out what steps to take next."

The Mirror has contacted Seth's representatives for comment.

The writers' strike has already impacted a lot of favourite shows and last week it was revealed Stranger Things season five is facing serious delays.

The creators of the sci-fi series have announced that the filming of the fifth and final season of the show is currently being impacted by the ongoing Writers Guild of America strikes.

Twins Matt and Ross Duffer, both 39, known professionally as the Duffer Brothers, are the creators of the hit show that stars the likes of Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour.

Matt and Ross took to Twitter on Saturday (May 6) to announce the sad news of delays to their loyal legion fans.

Family Guy stars (L-R) Rich Appel, Mike Henry, Seth Green, Seth MacFarlane, Mila Kunis and Alec Sulkin (Getty Images)

"Writing does not stop when filming begins. While we're excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike," penned the twins.

They continued: "We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then - over and out."

Although fans are anticipating the fifth and final season of the series, the filming process is still yet to begin, with reports saying that this will kick off next month in June.

This comes as much of Hollywood endures a standstill after the members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike for the first time in 15 years on Tuesday (May 2).

Many writers have joined the picket lines taking place in Los Angeles and New York after their current contract expired.

The main reason for the strike though is for the unsatisfactory pay many of them are in receipt of, with the members of the guild also demanding regulation in the "use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies."

It is also reported that writers are asking for more payments and residuals from shows that are dropped onto streaming platforms.

Charles Slocum, assistant executive director at the WGA told Deadline : "In streaming, the companies have not agreed to pay residuals at the same level as broadcast, or the same reward-for-success as they have traditionally paid in broadcast.

"If you write for a streamer, you get two residuals payments — one for domestic streaming and one for foreign streaming. It's a set amount of money. If it's a big hit, you do not get paid more residuals in streaming, whereas in the broadcast model, you do because of its success."

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