‘Family Guy’ Will Stop Airing on Adult Swim Extremely Soon

Adult Swim will apparently stop airing Family Guy re-runs later this month, and fans are perplexed. According to Zap2It TV listings, Family Guy‘s final night on Adult Swim will be Saturday, Sept. 18. Twitter user Swimpedia shocked fans with this revelation on social media this weekend.

 Family Guy has been a Fox series since it premiered in 1999, but it has been an essential part of the success of Adult Swim. Although the late-night block on Cartoon Network is now known for its original programming, syndicated cartoons like Family Guy, American Dad and Futurama helped build it up to that point throughout the early-2000s. If those shows are really leaving the network, it represents a big step forward for Adult Swim, but also the end of an era for fans. So far, Adult Swim has not officially confirmed or denied this rumor.

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Some reports speculate that Adult Swim’s deal to license Family Guy may be expiring without a renewal now that Fox is owned by Disney, and Disney has plenty of outlets under its own umbrella where it could air Family Guy re-runs itself. Commenters online are also speculating that it has something to do with the success of Adult Swim original shows like Rick and Morty. The fact that those shows are now available on HBO Max likely doesn’t hurt their growing popularity either.

“Buy back Family Guy from Fox! I’m so sick and tired of their damn network,” one fan tweeted. Another added: “Damn it’s gotta end like this huh?” And a third commented: “Now it’s ending and leaving like Aqua Teen Hunger Force did all those years ago.”

 For those worried about losing access, Family Guy will still be available to stream on Hulu. In addition to the regular season airing on Fox, re-runs will continue to air on TBS, FX and FXX. So far, there is no sign of the series joining Disney+ with The Simpsons.

Family Guy premiered in 1999 and first began airing on Adult Swim in 2003. The show had been canceled in 2002, and Fox had given Cartoon Network a favorable deal in purchasing the rights. However, after seeing how well it performed on Adult Swim and in DVD sales, the network revived the series in 2004.

 Series creator Seth MacFarlane has made no secret of his issues with Fox over the years, often referencing them within the show itself. Most recently, he tweeted about his frustration, joking that he wanted to “divorce” Fox in favor of NBC. Fans wondered if there was any serious chance of Family Guy jumping ship.

So far, there’s no sign of such a movie. Family Guy has been renewed for two more seasons on Fox, but it’s not clear when the next one, Season 20 will premiere. The series may stop airing on Adult Swim after Sept. 18, 2021.