Deadline is reporting that FX Networks has landed the off-network rights to FOX comedies Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers.
Family Guy will be airing on FXX beginning Tuesday, April 16th, with the series to be paired with The Simpsons for the first time in syndication and air Tuesdays 9:00 – 11:00, Thursdays 12:00 – 1:00 a.m., and Sunday 7:00 – 9:00. Not to be left out of this blatant piece of corporate synergy, fellow Disney network Freeform will get an hour of Family Guy per week, airing the series on Wednesdays at 9:00.
This latest deal, said to be in the works prior to the closure of the Disney/FOX merger, doesn’t encompass the first 15 seasons of the show, which remain on Turner’s Adult Swim and TBS for the time being. However, FXX will become the exclusive off-network home for Family Guy come fall 2021.
Bob’s Burgers is in a similar situation, as its current season will be the first to show up on FX Networks this fall before its entire run eventually migrates over. Unlike Family Guy, however, there’s no indication of when how Bob’s Burgers will be scheduled, but its library will migrate over to FX Networks around 2023.
With the success of The Simpsons for FXX, it makes perfect sense for Disney to move Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy to the cable network. Not only have the three (all renewed for next season) shown themselves to be compatible on FOX’s current schedule, having all on the same schedule should provide FXX with the type of visibility it’s been lacking outside of Simpsons reruns.
What’s most interesting about this deal is what it means for Adult Swim, which has seen a lot of success with both Bob’s and Family Guy. The only other adult animation on broadcast television will be FOX’s upcoming Bless the Harts and Duncanville, both produced by 20th Century FOX and likely earmarked for a Disney cable network should they prove successful enough. Either Adult Swim will have to take back some series it lost to other outlets (e.g. The Cleveland Show, Futurama, King of the Hill), acquire series that are older or rooted in cable/streaming, or produce more original content
