Family Guy's Seth reboots The Flintstones

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane is to oversee a new version of The Flintstones.

He is to reboot the franchise for America’s Fox network, which has long pioneered animated comedies such as The Simpsons.

MacFarlane said Fred Flintstone was the very first cartoon character he drew, when he was just two, ‘so it’s appropriate that events have come full circle, allowing me to produce the newest incarnation of this great franchise’.

He added: ‘Plus, I think America is finally ready for an animated sitcom about a fat stupid guy with a wife who’s too good for him.’

Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly added: ‘The Flintstones are among the funniest and most beloved characters in television history, and we can’t wait to introduce them to a whole new generation on Fox.

‘Fox has long been home to iconic families like the Simpsons and the Griffins, so I have no doubt that the Flintstones and the Rubbles are going to fit right in on our air.’

No broadcast date has yet been announced for the new show.

Published: 17 May 2011