Summary

• Collider’s Steve Weintraub talks with the cast of Family Guy at San Diego Comic-Con 2025.
• Family Guy has been renewed for four more seasons, with a Halloween special and Season 24 in 2026.
• The team discusses behind-the-scenes changes over the years, their favorite episodes, what fans can expect from Season 24, and more.

Few things have been ever-present in our lives throughout the 21st century. Whether it’s ever-evolving technology or the shift in our language, little has stayed the same. That’s what makes Family Guy so impressive, with the long-running animated series having premiered back in 1999 and almost remaining a constant in our viewing habits ever since.

Created by Seth McFarlane, who is the voice behind more than 800 characters in the show’s run to date, Family Guy boasts the regular vocal talent of the likes of Seth Green, Mila Kunis, and Patrick Warburton, as well as numerous guest stars, including several high-profile A-listers, from Liam Neeson to Glen Powell. Now, over 25 years since that first episode aired, McFarlane’s family is showing no signs of slowing down, with a Halloween special confirmed to be next on the horizon, followed by Season 24 in 2026.

Recently, the series was joined by The Simpsons and Bob’s Burgers in receiving a huge four-season renewal. In light of the renewal, and ahead of new Family Guy coming later this year, the aforementioned Green, alongside Jennifer Tilly, Alex Borstein, and Alec Sulkin, sat with Collider’s Steve Weintraub at San Diego Comic-Con 2025 to chat all thing’s Family Guy, from the evolution in the show’s production to, aptly, some entirely unrelated but effortlessly hilarious business.

The ‘Family Guy’ Team Chat Comic-Con Collectibles and More

“I like to collect t-shirts of defunct department stores.”

COLLIDER: We’re at Comic-Con, and I’ve been asking everyone the same two questions. The first is, a lot of people here collect things, so I’m just curious if there’s something that you collect. And if you went on the Comic-Con floor, what would you be looking to buy?

ALEX BORSTEIN: I collect men.

SETH GREEN: You got some prime-A choice down there.

BORSTEIN: I’m at a stage in my life now where I’m getting rid of things. I’m in the declutter-and-burn-it-all stage of my life. Kids, how about you?

GREEN: I’d say just shoot photos of it. If you burn it.

JENNIFER TILLY: Well, I love to come to Comic-Con every year because I love to collect funky t-shirts, and you find the craziest t-shirts at Comic-Con. I get them in an extra, extra large so my boyfriend and I can both wear the same t-shirt. So, every year I stock up.

GREEN: I’m still into three-and-three-quarter, four-inch figures. There’s only so much here. Sometimes I like to still root through bins if anybody’s got anything, but I made a deal with myself more than 20 years ago that I wasn’t going to buy anything that I wouldn’t open.

So you don’t keep anything in the packaging?

GREEN: Can’t do it.

BORSTEIN: But where do you put it?

GREEN: I rotate displays. I’ve got various shelves where individual things get displayed, and then I just rotate them.

BORSTEIN: I’m unable to do it.

ALEC SULKIN: I like to collect t-shirts of defunct department stores.

GREEN: I’ve got a website for you.

SULKIN: I have a few of those, and I’m from New England, so I wear my Caldor shirt.

Oh, I know Caldor. Do you have a Lechmere t-shirt?

SULKIN: I do. I have Lechmere, I have Bradlees, I have Caldor.

I’m going to date myself, but years ago, because I grew up in New England, I worked at Bradlees. I was in high school, and for some reason, they thought a junior or senior in high school should work the jewelry department at Bradlees. Oh, and I would. I’m a guy who doesn’t know anything about jewelry, and they had me working the jewelry department.

GREEN: That’s why they thought they could trust you. [Laughs]

It’s probably why they’re out of business, because they were putting people in departments that should not be there.

GREEN: Do you remember at school they used to ask you what you’re studying, and you’d say fencing? [Laughs]

SULKIN: Do you remember Mrs. B? She was like the advertising woman for Bradlees. Mrs. B. It was this red-headed woman actress from the ’80s. I just found out through a documentary about Arthur Miller that she was Arthur Miller’s sister.

GREEN: Now you know why Family Guy is so tangential, because we are so far from the topic.

SULKIN: I try to be tangential.

BORSTEIN: Oh, shoes. I guess I collect shoes.

Do you have an unhealthy amount or a healthy amount?

BORSTEIN: Not like Imelda Marcos insanity, but just more than a person could need.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

GREEN: It’s only a problem if you don’t have an occasion to wear them all, which is what I suspect you have, is an occasion to wear any of those shoes.

SULKIN: She has feet. [Laughs]

BORSTEIN: It’s not like fancy, fancy or expensive. It’s not a fancy brands. It’s just funky, weird, interesting little shoes.

‘Family Guy’ Executive Producer Alec Sulkin Reveals His Least-Favorite Movie Theater

“It’s where they store all the stray cats.”

My other question I’m asking everybody is, I’m obsessed with getting more people to see movies in movie theaters. That’s the way to watch a movie. So, for each of you, do you have a favorite movie theater?

GREEN: It’s the Cinerama Dome, which I hope they reopen soon, or the New Beverly on Beverly Boulevard near La Brea.

SULKIN: I’d say the Ziegfeld in New York.

That closed.

SULKIN: I know, but it was my favorite.

TILLY: That’s where we had our premiere for Bullets Over Broadway, at the Ziegfeld.

BORSTEIN: In LA, there’s a cool place called Vidiots, and they show a lot of old films. I took my kids to see — very inappropriate — Animal House the other day, and that was a blast.

SULKIN: Can we say worst theater?

TILLY: Wait, I have to say first, best theater is the IMAX in the Century City shopping center.

I love you, but I’m going to respectfully disagree. I’m a huge IMAX person, and let me tell you, the IMAX in Century City to me is not all that.

TILLY: Oh, it’s substandard? Oh, gosh.

Listen, it’s okay. But the IMAX at the AMC Burbank 16 is spectacular.

TILLY: But you have to go to the Valley. [Laughs]

So I live in the Valley, I know, but I’m letting you know that the Chinese Theater or the Universal CityWalk, or the AMC Burbank 16, they’re all better than Century City.

TILLY: They all are very long drives for Miss Tilly, but that’s all right.

BORSTEIN: For relaxing in the laid-back seats, I like The Landmark.

TILLY: When they bring you beer.

BORSTEIN: Landmark is kind of nice for that.

SULKIN: Worst theater is Beverly Center.

Do they still have a theater there?

SULKIN: It should be gone.

That theater is a shit-box. That’s a terrible theater.

SULKIN: I saw The English Patient there. [Laughs]

GREEN: That’s where they store all the stray cats.

TILLY: There was one on Fairfax where they said that there were rats in the popcorn, and so I never went there again.

GREEN: No, it’s just rat droppings.

I worked at a movie theater, another job in high school, and the popcorn was pre-made a day or two in advance. In the popcorn room, they’d have bags of popcorn, and we would always see little holes, and it was the mice. By the way, that’s the way it is. They would still serve that pop.

TILLY: Of course!

It’s crazy.

BORSTEIN: This is why I sneak all my food into the movie theaters.

The Next Season of ‘Family Guy’ Will Feature a Moment Fans Have Been Desperately Waiting For

” We did a live reading of that, and it was very touching.”

Jumping into why I get to talk to you guys, what is it like to be part of a series that has gone on for so long? Because getting on TV for one season is a miracle, but to be on something so popular for so long, it does not happen.

BORSTEIN: You talking about Bonanza?

Yeah, Bonanza. Not Family Guy.

BORSTEIN: It’s unheard of.

It’s crazy.

GREEN: What’s it like? It’s sort of a delicate balance between feeling awesome and being consistently humbled by the fact that you’re in this position. You know what I mean? Like, this is the greatest job I’ve ever had. I’ve never had a job last this long.

BORSTEIN: The luckiest man in baseball is the only way to describe it.

GREEN: It’s so rare to get on a team that performs.

TILLY: And the scripts are consistently brilliant after 30 years.

GREEN: And the fans are only growing internationally. It’s a very strange sensation.

TILLY: Yeah, but it’s a great feeling.

SULKIN: Well, these three are a lot of the reason that we’re still going. They come in the booth every time, and they make okay lines hilarious, and they make hilarious lines extra hilarious.

GREEN: The writing has just gotten sharper and sharper.

BORSTEIN: Hilarious-er.

SULKIN: We’re going to have a compliment-off.

GREEN: No, no, no, no. You’re handsome and really wonderful!

SULKIN: Okay. You win.

Thinking back on all the episodes, what do you consider the craziest episode of the show, or the one that you cannot believe what you got away with? Just pushing boundaries.

GREEN: I’m very excited to see the upcoming episode where Lois and Stewie have a conversation.

BORSTEIN: Is that the edibles?

GREEN: It hasn’t happened yet.

SULKIN: Well, we’re not giving away how it happens. It has not happened, it’s coming up.

GREEN: It’s so good and so fun, groundbreaking-ly cool, unique, and great performances.

BORSTEIN: There was actual acting. We did a live reading of that, and it was very touching. It was really interesting.

When does this episode air?

SULKIN: I think it’s the 450th? I don’t know. I’m serious because we’re at, like, 440-something now, so it’s next season. But yeah, through a bizarre set of circumstances, they’re able to communicate with each other, and it’s the first time we’ve seen that. They had a lot to say to each other.

How much do they talk about previous episodes and things that have happened?

SULKIN: They do talk about it, but as Alex touched on, they talk about it in a very real and dramatic way. They don’t say like, “Hey, remember when…” and flashback. It’s more like, “Why do you hate me?” kind of stuff.

Oh, so it’s real-real.

SULKIN: Yeah. It gets very real, but also very funny. But it’s very real.

BORSTEIN: We should have done it live action. Just [Seth] McFarlane and I sitting in a room. [Laughs]

GREEN: They’d give him a headpiece.

Jennifer, for you?

TILLY: I really like the episode where Bonnie has an affair with the dog. [To Green] Are you the dog? Who’s the dog?

GREEN: No, it’s McFarlane. I’m the kid with the blond hair, with the hat.

TILLY: So, she runs off with the dog, which is Seth MacFarlane, but I don’t know, because I do my lines and then they put in the other lines later on.

GREEN: Real talk, I kept a tape of your side of it just so I could insert my lines.

TILLY: Well, yes, it’s much easier when you’re acting opposite me, but I prefer to act by myself. [Laughs] But I really liked that it was a parody of The Heartbreak Kid, and I just like that Bonnie had more than three lines. The whole episode, I believe, was about her running off with the dog, and then at the end, I think that it just didn’t work out because interspecies romance is never…

BORSTEIN: Spoiler! I’m teasing. [Laughs]

After Over 400 Episodes, How Does ‘Family Guy’ Avoid Repeating Storylines?

“It does happen sometimes.”

We touched on how long the show’s been on the air, but what’s incredible is you guys got a four-season renewal. I guess my big question is, you find out you’ve been renewed for four seasons, what do you buy?

BORSTEIN: Right now, a bomb shelter.

I don’t want to get into real life, but yeah, you’re not wrong.

GREEN: I don’t really make a purchase; it’s more that you just have a certain amount of confidence in any of the little things that you would worry about. You’re like, “Okay, we’ll be able to solve this problem.” But it’s not like, “Let’s get a boat!”

TILLY: I always wanted to get, you know how the hip-hoppers have statues around their [necks]? Somebody has a Stewie statue, and I wanted to get a Bonnie statue.

BORSTEIN: Like a necklace, you mean?

TILLY: Yeah, but with real amethyst. Like a Bonnie pregnant statue and diamonds and everything.

GREEN: With, like, a thick rope chain.

TILLY: Yes! Like, very hip-hop. I can probably afford it since we’re going to do four more seasons.

BORSTEIN: I feel like that’s a good cast gift idea.

TILLY: Yes. Everybody can chip in.

SULKIN: Cast gift, what the heck is that?

GREEN: I thought you said “casket.”

SULKIN: I bought an extra-large bag of cocaine.

GREEN: Just to get the hours.

BORSTEIN: To bring into my bunker.

The ideas have to come from somewhere.

How has the writers’ room changed? How is it similar? What goes on behind the scenes? How much of it is bringing in new writers each season to pitch new things, and how much is it, “These guys have done a great job, so we’re not getting rid of them?”

SULKIN: That’s a great question. We have brought in some new writers over the last four or five seasons, and they’ve been great. But we do have this spectacular core. I’ve been working there for 21 years, and I’m still one of the newbies. So, there’s a core of the Steve Callaghans, the Danny Smiths, the Mark Hentemanns, who have been there basically since day one.

GREEN: They don’t seem to run out of ideas. They genuinely know how to make everything funny.

SULKIN: It’s true. There’s the Malcolm Gladwell theory about 10,000 hours. If you do something for 10,000 hours, you become an expert in it. So many of these guys in the room now are experts at writing the show. They’re just so good at it.

BORSTEIN: You talked about, “I’m sure you don’t remember every episode.” Steve Callaghan does. By number. He’ll be like, “Oh, that was ACX402,” and you’re just like, “What?”

Because, surely, at some point, people pitch stuff you’ve done already?

SULKIN: Oh yes.

GREEN: There are definitely monitors in the room that know it. You can always look it up, is the craziest part.

SULKIN: And still, even with these safety nets, I did have an experience recording Seth in the booth where he started reading a little bit, and he’s like, “Ah, you doing this story again, huh?” I was like, “What? What?” And he was like, “We’ve done this.” I was like, “We know that. This is different.” You have to cover for it. But it does happen sometimes.

The ‘Family Guy’ Cast Explain How Recording Has Changed Over the Decades

“It’s all become very economic, but it doesn’t impede the creativity of it.”

For the three of you, how does it work in terms of when you’re voice recording? How has it changed over the years, and how is it similar?

GREEN: It’s so streamlined. The craziest thing that came out of the pandemic was everyone got the ability to record at home. You realize how short the road to broadcast can be, and you can set up a space where you can work over some kind of camera. They send the whole thing over Dropbox. You don’t have to go in. But it becomes a much quicker experience. Everyone is so clear on what they need, which lines. They’ll organize as many things together as they can, but not so many that you blow out your voice. It’s all become very economic, but it doesn’t impede the creativity of it. I find I still get the chance to just try a bunch of shit, which is really wonderful.

TILLY: I record in my closet now after the pandemic, and I realized a lot of it was driving all the way there and driving all the way back. So, it is really fast. For me, it’s usually three to seven minutes. Bonnie doesn’t have a lot to say. [Laughs] But I used to love to go into the Family Guy office because you never knew who you were going to run into, and they had ping-pong and cake, and snacks for the road. So, I miss going in and seeing everybody, but it sure is expedient doing it at home, for sure.

BORSTEIN: I prefer going in. We’ve been going back in now, and I like it. When the pandemic happened, I was living abroad, and we tried to put a makeshift recording booth together, and we could not figure it out. They shipped me this tent that turns out. It was like a hydroponic… It was to grow pot in, and it didn’t breathe. Then, it had these wool blankets on the walls to help with the sound, and so I would just be sweating and sweating and sweating, and the sound was never great. For me, it was not so smooth.

Someone sent you the wrong thing.

BORSTEIN: I know. But I love going in. We’re back in business now with the booth.

SULKIN: It’s the best for Mila [Kunis]. Because she comes in once every two or three weeks, or does it from home. She’ll have six episodes piled up to do and be like, “Okay, let’s do that first episode.” And it’s like, “Ew, dad, stop. Okay, let’s go to the next episode.” [Laughs] She’ll be done in, like, six minutes.

I’ve spoken to her a number of times about Family Guy, and like you said, Seth, she said it’s her favorite job. She cherishes it, she loves it. It’s only the most enthusiastic words to describe the job and what it means to her.

BORSTEIN: We’re so lucky.

GREEN: She’s clearly very talented, but also has been a part of enormous brands again and again. So, you do see her appreciation of that uniqueness. She knows that doesn’t happen to everybody.

SULKIN: Yeah, American Psycho 2, yeah.

BORSTEIN: And the longevity. When we started, Mila had her permit to drive. She was 15.5 years old when I met her. It’s just crazy now. She’s a full-grown adult with two children. It’s so unique this experience.

I really mean it, congrats on four more years. It’s amazing. Especially for everyone in Hollywood, with job security. It’s amazing.

TILLY: We’re really lucky.

Family Guy returns this October. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more content from San Diego Comic-Con 2025.