Origins and comparison with Family Guy and All in the Family Seth MacFarlane was inspired by the 2000
election for the show, noting: "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." In early February 2005, 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." : co-creator and co-showrunner from seasons 1 through 10
American Dad! had a
mid-season debut. Its first episode, titled "
Pilot", was originally shown directly following
Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005. The rest of the
first season, however, would not launch until May 1, 2005, as part of the debut of Fox's Animation Domination lineup. Initially, it was a replacement for the originally failed series
Family Guy (1999–2002).
American Dad! was originally intended to be
Fox's answer to the hordes of fans left behind from the original failure of MacFarlane's previous animated venture. Just three short months after
American Dad!s debut however,
Family Guy was revived, leaving
American Dad! with a formidable expectation: whether the series could distinguish itself from its counterpart and succeed on its own merits. In actuality, however, the program's beginnings take cues from the TV series
All in the Family, almost a farcical animated version of the
live action sitcom. Both shows make use of political satire,
bigotry, ludicrous expressions of conservatism from their paternal main character (Stan likened to
Archie Bunker), and equally ludicrous expressions of liberalism from their daughter character (Hayley likened to
Gloria Stivic). Moreover, the daughter in both series each have a liberal hippie boyfriend turned husband (Jeff likened to
Michael Stivic) to whom the daughter's conservative father is antagonistic. Also in both, the daughter lives in her parents' home with her boyfriend turned husband as a housemate.
American Dad! in its original form was even said to have been inspired by
All in the Family.
Development of American Dad!s individuality In
American Dad!s initial seasons MacFarlane was described as focusing more attention on his coexisting obligation of
Family Guy. This was to the extent that
American Dad! was completely secondary to him, and he did not understand the show. Because he was not getting the show at the time, he was described as "just going along for the ride". Likewise, the rest of the show's creators Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman were also trying to figure out the show and where it was going.
Developing plot lines and scripts On developing scripts for
American Dad! episodes, co-creator
Mike Barker revealed that he and the rest of the show's staff never know when and from where plot line ideas will emerge. "Just as an example," Barker explained, "
All About Steve" is an episode where Stan wants his son to be more of a jock and more like he was when he was his age. That whole episode came about from one of our writers
Dave Hemingson coming into our office, telling us he just visited the dentist and he may need to get braces. And the idea of a grown man with braces appealed to us, and we just decided what if we put Stan in braces, and he understands for the first time what it's like to feel like a geek." During the
2012–13 season, Barker revealed that much of his
inspiration for
American Dad! plots came through listening to music. Barker's revelation to use music as a muse for his
American Dad! writing came from attending the 2008
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. During that event, he watched the
rock band My Morning Jacket perform a four-hour set in the rain and realized from the experience that he could generate ideas for
American Dad! by tapping into music: "From that point on, I realized that music should be playing a bigger role in my writing", Barker told the
Louisville Courier-Journal. "Writing is hard for me, and when you hear music that inspires good ideas, you're really grateful." The beginning of the show's theme song, "Good Morning USA", uses a variation on the introduction to "
Stars and Stripes Forever". In particular, Barker has credited music from
Wax Fang for his inspiration in writing certain
American Dad! plots. Said Barker, "There's just something so inherently
cinematic about Wax Fang's music. [Scott] Carney's voice is stunningly clear and dramatic. And his lyrics are specific enough to build stories around while staying flexible enough for different
interpretations." Barker added that through listening to the Wax Fang track
Majestic, he was able to come up with major plot elements for the episode "
Lost in Space" (this episode features the Wax Fang songs
Majestic and
At Sea). Barker has stated that once he and the rest of the show's staff get the idea for the
plot line, they spend a couple of weeks in a room with all the
screenwriters. There, they break the story and make sure that each act of the two
act breaks are strong. As another procedure, Barker stated that they make a point of twisting the story in such a way so as to make audiences come back for more after the commercial break. When Barker was asked what his favorite part was of the
American Dad! pre-production process, he answered, "I like the story breaking process, personally—coming up with the stories. To me, that's the most gratifying."
Animation MacFarlane played a lead role in the character designs for
American Dad!. in a large two-story residence with a basement and an attic. In addition, the Smith house is apparently enhanced with numerous secret rooms, facilities, and large
habitats, these unorthodox attachments usually only seen once apiece (i.e., the episodes "
Of Ice and Men", "Bush Comes to Dinner", "
The Missing Kink", "
The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith", etc.).
Greg and Terry are a
gay couple that live across the street from the Smiths. Within the neighborhood, they are portrayed as running a neater and tidier home than the Smiths. Greg and Terry are also the
local news anchor for W-ANG-TV. Also in the area is the high school attended by Steve,
Pearl Bailey High School.
Voice cast The
voice actors are not assembled as a group when performing the lines of their characters; rather, each of the voice actors perform their lines privately. The voice actors have stated that because of their personalities and tendency to goof off when together as a group, they would never get anything completed if they performed their lines collectively. ==Plot techniques==