Family Guy has officially left the network that essentially saved it from oblivion more than a decade ago. Saturday marked the final time the Seth MacFarlane show aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, the animation showcase that gave it a home after an abrupt cancelation by Fox back in 2003.
Long before the MacFarlane staple was popular enough to spark spinoffs and stretch into Simpsons territory, the show was canceled after only three seasons. But airing on Adult Swim, along with the show’s strong DVD sales, eventually led to it being revived on Fox in 2004, where it has aired consistently ever since.
Family Guy is now slated to run at least 21 seasons, but as of Monday that catalog of 369 episodes and counting will run on Fox and FXX. As The Hollywood Reporter noted, FXX picked up the rights to air reruns, with the final episode running Saturday on Adult Swim, along with a fairly poignant promo bump.
As THR noted, Hulu will continue to be the streaming location for Family Guy, but the full 19 seasons of the show will now air on FXX on Monday–Tuesday (8:00 p.m. – midnight), Thursday (8:00 p.m.–10 p.m.), Saturday (8:00 p.m. – midnight) and Sunday (10:00 p.m.– midnight). The change gives FXX an impressive lineup of animated comedy, with Family Guy joining shows like Archer, Bob’s Burgers and The Simpsons, all airing on the same networks.