Conception In 1999,
Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane's first animated show, aired on Fox to massive ratings success. During this time, MacFarlane had come up with the idea for
American Dad! after the 2000 presidential election; stating "me and co-creator Matt Weitzman were so frustrated with the Bush administration that we would just spend days bitching and complaining, and we figured we should channel this into something creative and hopefully profitable." Later, series co-creator Mike Barker stated, "About a year and a half ago, Seth called and asked if Matt and I would be interested in working on a show about a right-wing CIA agent and his liberal daughter. It was right up our alley, and everything just fell into place." In late 2003,
Variety reported that Fox Broadcasting had ordered a pilot presentation of the then tentatively titled
American Dad! and "If greenlit,
American Dad! could launch as early as fall 2004." At the time, Fox was aiming to develop a new lineup of adult animated sitcoms following the cancellation of
Family Guy.
Cast The season aired on the
Fox Network in the United States. Season one had a cast of five main actors. MacFarlane provided the voice of
Stan, the Republican C.I.A. agent patriarch of the family. The family's flamboyant pet alien,
Roger, was also voiced by MacFarlane. Other members of the family include
Francine, the mild-mannered housewife, voiced by
Wendy Schaal;
Steve, the geeky, high school aged som, voiced by
Scott Grimes; and
Hayley, the liberal daughter, whom often butts heads with Stan, voiced by
Rachael MacFarlane. The family also includes
Klaus Heisler, the often overlooked, incredibly horny fish, voiced by
Dee Bradley Baker. ==Episodes==