Family Guy's bid for best comedy Emmy

Family Guy is to go head-to-head with live action comedies at this year’s Emmy awards after creator Seth MacFarlane decided not to shun the animated category.

No animated show has ever won the award’s prestigious comedy award, although several – including The Simpsons and even The Flintstones – have tried.

MacFarlane told Hollywood trade journal Variety: ‘We don\'t produce our show the that way SpongeBob does. We\'re much more analogous to traditional sitcoms.

‘Our writers don\'t come from animation; they come from comedies. I hear people all the time tell me that they love The Office, 30 Rock and our show. Then why are we not all competing in the same world?’

Family Guy did try to crack the comedy section last year, but was also allowed to enter the animated category as the feature-length Star Wars parody Family Guy: Blue Harvest was considered a separate programme.

But this year MacFarlane has to put all his eggs in one basket – although he doesn’t think he has anything to lose.

‘We\'ve been so conspicuously absent from the animation nomination for so many years,’ he added: ‘A lot of the artists felt like, “It doesn\'t matter, they\'re ignoring us anyway.’

Published: 29 May 2009