Over the last year, we've seen a different side of Seth MacFarlane as he has taken on a bunch of roles with Fox's The Orville, a science fiction comedy and drama series that he created, produces, stars in and even writes sometimes. However, MacFarlane is still the creative mind behind such animated hits as Family Guy and American Dad! and naturally his fans are curious as to whether or not he will head back into creating animated programs at any point in time. When asked about it during a panel for The Orville at San Diego Comic-Con, MacFarlane gave an interesting and thoughtful answer, noting,
I was in animation for 20 years and I still love it. I can see myself going back to it in one capacity or another. I have very much enjoyed the immediacy of working with actors and knowing what you have when you leave a scene. You know with animation you have to wait sometimes nine months to know whether or not the joke is working or not because it takes that long to do the animation. So, you know I'd like to keep a hand in both worlds if I can. At the moment, I'm very much enjoying the show. It's oddly---I think I'm more comfortable in this genre than I have been in comedy for the past two decades. So, I feel like maybe I've been in the wrong job for a long time!
People transition into different career paths in the entertainment industry all the time. Just ask Fred Savage how much he likes directing compared to acting. However, Seth MacFarlane isn't just some random dude in animation. He's the creative mind behind some of the most popular animated programs over the last couple of decades. To hear him say he really feels he's maybe been in the wrong job is a little bit shocking, even though it's easy to see how he sees great pros in writing and working on a series like The Orville where results hit the small screen so much faster.
Lest you think Seth MacFarlane is done with animation for good, he did reassure fans at Comic-Con that the ideal situation would be dabbling in both, also saying,
You know, yeah I'd like to keep doing both. At the moment, this show has got my full energy. So, this is it for as long as we stick around.
Prior to his panel for The Orville, Seth MacFarlane also headlined the panel for the TV series Cosmos: Possible Worlds, a program he and Neil deGrasse Tyson are also involved in. He also voices characters including Peter Griffin, so he's not out of the animated world completely, but he's no longer involved with the day-to-day on Family Guy and is throwing most of his efforts into his new sci-fi series. Luckily, you can catch him on Fox's The Orville when it returns to TV for Season 2 on December 30. Hopefully, it's a show that will stick around for a long time.
