TBS has ordered two more seasons of Twentieth Century Fox’s American Dad!, the animated show from Seth MacFarlane.
The deal takes the show through 2018 on both TBS and Adult Swim, which airs an encore episode after each original premieres on TBS. Last November, TBS picked up season 11 of American Dad!, composed of 22 new episodes. Those will air on both cable networks early next year.
Created by MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman, original episodes of American Dad! joined TBS last October with the start of its 10th season. Prior to that, American Dad! had aired on the Fox network as part of its Sunday night animation line up.
Since then, American Dad! has been basic cable’s top-rated scripted series on Mondays at 9 p.m. among adults 18-34 and second in the time slot among adults 18-49, according to TBS. Overall, American Dad! reaches nearly 4 million viewers per episode, including airings on TBS and Adult Swim as well as on TBS’ on-demand, digital and mobile platforms.
"American Dad! has thrived since coming to TBS and Adult Swim, demonstrating the Turner portfolio's ability to build enduring hits through a combination of smart programming, savvy promotion and extensive multi-platform distribution," said Deborah Bradley, executive VP of networks optimization and content commercialization for Turner Broadcasting in a statement.
Renewing American Dad! is part of TBS’ overall strategy to update the network’s brand and expand its original programming line-up, as promised by Kevin Reilly, president of TBS and TNT and chief creative officer for Turner Entertainment, during last spring’s upfronts. As part of that plan, TBS plans to grow its original programming slate to more than 15 series over the next two years, focusing on live-action and animated comedies. The rebrand will launch in the fourth quarter in conjunction with the season 12 premiere of American Dad! and the launches of two new comedies, Angie Tribeca and The Detour.
