LOS ANGELES - Fox is producing fresh episodes of its animated comedy Family Guy without the participation of its striking creator Seth MacFarlane, who does many of the main voices, sources said.
The last episode completed before the Writers Guild of America strike began November 5 aired atthe weekend. Fox and sibling studio 20th Century Fox TV had the choice of going into reruns or continuing the show without MacFarlane, whose outspoken defiance of his employers has made him a cause celebre for striking writers.
After a large writers rally outside the Fox lot on Friday, where he was one of the speakers, MacFarlane said the studio could proceed without him, though he hoped it would not.
"It would just be a colossal dick move if they did that," MacFarlane told Variety.
20th TV had no comment on the matter yesterday but confirmed that it remains in production on new episodes. The first episode finished without MacFarlane's blessing has been delivered to Fox. Sources said it is one of three very close to completion, with others in various stages of production.
In addition to executive-producing the show, MacFarlane voices the characters of Peter, Brian and Stewie Griffin, the male members of the hapless Rhode Island family at the core of the domestic satire.
