Say what you will, Seth MacFarlane is a busy guy. For years, he's jumped back and forth between his two mainstay shows Family Guy and American Dad, not to mention his other side ventures, ranging from animated TV to feature films. At San Diego Comic-Con this year, MacFarlane got his own "Animation Block" panel, which included sneak peeks at both of his shows.
Upon arriving onstage in Ballroom 20 Saturday, MacFarlane mentioned that, despite his seemingly busy schedule, he's usually only working on one thing at a time. "Believe it or not," he said, "on a day to day basis, I'm only giving my time and effort to one project."
Going off that, MacFarlane was asked if a second season of the popular documentary series Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey, which he produced, was in the works. "It is looking good," he replied. "There's nothing official yet, but the talks are happening." MacFarlane also mentioned that everyone who worked on the first season is game for Season 2. "I am very optimistic," he added.
Coming off Ted 2, MacFarlane said he didn't have any new movies planned -- at least "not at the moment." But after a much-needed vacation, he explained, he said he'd be ready to get back to work and think up some new ideas. He also noted that a new live-action comedy show was "not outside the realm of possibility."
MacFarlane was then joined by the casts and executive producers from Family Guy, including Seth Green, Alex Borstein, Mike Henry, Rich Appel and Steve Callaghan, who were all on hand for a live read of select scenes from the show.
The team also teased several upcoming episodes:
Stewie has his first nightmare, and Stewie invents a machine that lets Brian travel into his sleeping mind to battle the evil entities in his dreams.
Chris becomes a registered sex offender after sending a d*** pic to a girl. (Not surprisingly, this premise was met with quieted, nervous laughter from the audience.)
Peter and Lois get a new mattress. ("It's more exciting than it sounds," MacFarlane said of the episode.)
Stewie and Brian open an Italian restaurant and are met once again by Frank Sinatra Jr. (Naturally, there's a musical number in that one.)
Peter goes on a drunken rampage one night, and Mayor West raises the legal drinking age to 50.
Brian and Stewie get hooked on Aderall, because Stewie is diagnosed with ADHD. Brian uses it to work on his novel, but soon they both become addicted.
Next, the cast and EPs of American Dad (now airing on TBS) joined the panel to talk about upcoming episodes of that show:
When Steve and Snot decide to throw a party, their future selves travel back in time to warn them that becoming cool will make them losers as adults (as opposed to remaining nerds and succeeding later in life).
Francine practices to be widow, because the Smith family doesn't have life insurance.
A two-part episode where Stan loses religion, but his faith is restored when he thinks he's the next Noah.
Klause has to "Ratatouille" Steve when Steve joins the water polo team; but instead of pulling the hair on his head, Klause has to work the controls -- ahem -- down south.
Speaking of sports, there's also a basketball episode and a bowling episode.
Stan and Francine have a terrible "Kiss Cam" experience, and Stan questions everything about their marriage.
Last season, fans also learned that Hayley's boyfriend Jeff was in fact an alien named Zebleer. According to EP Matt Weitzman, "Alien Jeff" is in roughly half the episodes of the new season.
Family Guy returns September 27 on FOX, while American Dad returns to TBS this October.