The Cleveland Show
| The Cleveland Show | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Animated sitcom |
| Created by | Seth MacFarlane Richard Appel Mike Henry |
| Voices of | Mike Henry Sanaa Lathan Kevin Michael Richardson Reagan Gomez-Preston Jason Sudeikis Seth MacFarlane |
| Theme music composer | Walter Murphy |
| Composer(s) | Walter Murphy |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 88 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Seth MacFarlane Richard Appel Mike Henry |
| Producer(s) | Kara Vallow Courtney Lilly |
| Editor(s) | Kirk Benson |
| Camera setup | Animated rendition of single camera |
| Running time | 21–22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Person Unknown Productions Happy Jack Productions Fuzzy Door Productions Fox Television Animation 20th Century Fox Television |
| Distributor | 20th Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Picture format | 720p (16:9 HDTV) |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Original release | September 27, 2009 – May 19, 2013 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Family Guy |
The series was conceived by MacFarlane in 2007 after developing the two animated series Family Guy and American Dad! for the Fox network. MacFarlane centered the show on Family Guy character Cleveland Brown, his new wife Donna Tubbs, his step-children Rallo and Roberta Tubbs, and his son Cleveland, Jr., who, in the show, is depicted as an obese, soft-spoken teen, as opposed to his depiction as a younger, hyperactive child with average body weight on Family Guy.
The series originally aired from September 27, 2009, to May 19, 2013, for a total of four seasons and 88 episodes. The Cleveland Show was nominated for one Annie Award, one Primetime Emmy Award, and two Teen Choice Awards, but received mixed reviews from media critics. The series was canceled after its fourth season.[1] Cleveland has since returned to Family Guy, accompanied by the rest of the Brown-Tubbs family, as of the twelfth season episode "He's Bla-ack!".
Contents
Production
Development
Seth MacFarlane initially conceived The Cleveland Show in 2007 while working on his other two animated series, Family Guy and American Dad![2][3]The Cleveland Show first appeared on the development slate at Fox in early 2008, under no official name for the pilot, after a report that Fox had purchased the series from creators.[4] On May 5, 2008, MacFarlane and 20th Century Fox Television inked a deal.[5] The pilot was named The Cleveland Show in May 2008, when it appeared on the primetime slate for the 2008–09 television season, although it wasn't officially on the network schedule.[6] Shortly after a report that King of the Hill just ended, leaving air time for The Cleveland Show, the show was picked up for a full season after an additional nine episodes of the show were ordered.[7] In May 2009, The Cleveland Show appeared on the primetime slate for the 2009–10 television season, for airing on Sunday nights at 8:30 pm[8] On June 15, 2009, it was announced that The Cleveland Show would premiere on September 27, 2009.[9]
MacFarlane and Henry pitched a 22-minute pilot to Fox which aired on September 27, 2009, but had been leaked on the internet in June 2009. Even before the pilot episode premiered, the show had already been renewed for a 22-episode second season. After the first season of the show aired, it was given the green light to start production. On June 10, 2010, less than three weeks into the first season's summer hiatus, it was announced that Fox was ordering a third season.[10] A fourth season was announced on May 9, 2011, just a few days before the second season concluded.
Executive producers
Seth MacFarlane, Mike Henry and Richard Appel served as executive producers on the series since the first season.[11]Voice cast
Mike Henry voices two of the show's main characters: Cleveland Brown and Rallo Tubbs. The voice of Cleveland was developed originally for Family Guy by Henry after being influenced by one of his best friends who had a very distinct regional accent.[12] For the voice of Rallo, Henry has stated that he had originally created the voice over twenty years ago, when he had made a series of prank calls.Sanaa Lathan voices Donna Tubbs, the wife of Cleveland, stepmother of Cleveland Brown Jr., and mother of Roberta and Rallo Tubbs. In developing the character, Lathan said that the producers "wanted her to be educated, but to have some edge."[13] Prior to voicing Donna, Lathan had only one other voice credit in a relatively low-budget film entitled The Golden Blaze. In addition to the show, she also primarily worked as an actress in such films as Alien vs. Predator, Love & Basketball and The Family That Preys.
Reagan Gomez-Preston plays Roberta Tubbs, the stepdaughter of Cleveland. Gomez has stated that she uses her own voice to portray Roberta, and that she herself gets mistaken for a fifteen-year-old over the phone "all the time."[13] Before Gomez was cast as Roberta, Nia Long (who co-starred with Lathan in The Best Man franchise) provided the character's voice during the first thirteen episodes. According to Long, she was replaced because producers decided they wanted an actress with a younger-sounding voice, given that the character is a teenager.[14]
Kevin Michael Richardson, a recurring guest voice on Family Guy and American Dad, portrays Cleveland, Jr., as well as Cleveland's next door neighbor Lester Krinklesac. In portraying Cleveland, Jr., Richardson drew inspiration from a character named Patrick that he had played on the NBC drama series ER who was mentally impaired and wore a football helmet. For Lester, Richardson stated in an interview that, being African American, he had "run into a few rednecks in [his] time," and decided to simply perform a stereotypical redneck impression for the voice of Lester.[13]
Jason Sudeikis plays Holt Richter, one of Cleveland's drinking buddies with a short stature, and Terry Kimple, one of Cleveland's longtime friends who now works with him at Waterman Cable. Sudeikis originally began as a recurring cast member, but starting with the episode "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner", he was promoted to a series regular.
Seth MacFarlane played Tim the Bear up until season 3 episode 10, which MacFarlane admits is a "Steve Martin impression [...] a Wild and Crazy Guy impression". Jess Harnell voices Tim from season 3 episode 11 onwards.
Other voices include that of Arianna Huffington as Tim's wife Arianna the Bear, Nat Faxon as Tim and Arianna's son Raymond the Bear, Jamie Kennedy as Roberta's boyfriend Gabriel Friedman, a.k.a. "Federline Jones", Will Forte as Principal Wally, Frances Callier as Evelyn "Cookie" Brown, Craig Robinson as LeVar "Freight Train" Brown and David Lynch as Gus the bartender.
| Main cast members | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Mike Henry | Sanaa Lathan | Reagan Gomez-Preston | Kevin Michael Richardson | Jason Sudeikis | Seth MacFarlane |
| Cleveland Brown, Rallo Tubbs | Donna Tubbs | Roberta Tubbs | Cleveland Brown, Jr. and Lester Krinklesac | Holt Richter and Terry Kimple |
Tim the Bear (seasons 1–3) |
Characters
The Brown-Tubbs family. Clockwise from top left: Cleveland, Donna, Roberta, Rallo, and Cleveland, Jr..
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Nielsen ratings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Rank | Viewers (millions) |
|||
| 1 | 21 | September 27, 2009 | May 23, 2010 | No. 72[18] | 6.38[18] | |
| 2 | 22 | September 26, 2010 | May 15, 2011 | No. 90[19] | 6.12[19] | |
| 3 | 22 | September 25, 2011 | May 20, 2012 | No. 144[20] | 4.03[20] | |
| 4 | 23 | October 7, 2012 | May 19, 2013 | No. 129[21] | 3.05[21] | |
Crossovers with other animated sitcoms
The Cleveland Show characters have appeared on other animated sitcoms and vice versa. The Cleveland Show crossovers have all involved two other animated programs. Both the other two animated programs were also created by Seth MacFarlane: Family Guy and American Dad!There are also many brief cameos of characters from other Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and King of the Hill.
Broadcast
Syndication
In July 2010, the Turner Broadcasting System picked up syndication rights, for their networks TBS and Adult Swim.[22] The series first aired in syndication on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network in the United States on September 29, 2012. In Canada, MuchMusic ran previews of the show on September 2, 2013, followed by its official debut on the next day.Cancellation
On April 17, 2013, Fox dismissed increasing rumors that The Cleveland Show had been cancelled, reporting rather that renewal of the series was undetermined as of that time.[23][24] However, on May 13, 2013, in the New York Daily News, Fox Chairman of Entertainment Kevin Reilly confirmed its cancellation.[1] Following the series cancellation, it was confirmed that Cleveland and the Brown/Tubbs family would be moving back to Quahog to rejoin the Family Guy cast.[25]International broadcast
| Country | Network | Premiere date |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | Global MuchMusic |
September 27, 2009 – May 19, 2013 September 3, 2013–August 31, 2017 |
| Latin America | Canal Fox Canal TBS |
October 6, 2009 - present |
| Spain | TeleCinco Canal Fox |
November 7, 2009 - present |
| Brazil | Rede Globo Canale Fox Canale TBS RBTV |
November 7, 2009 - present |
| Australia | Network Ten Eleven FOX8 |
December 2, 2009 – January 12, 2011 January 12, 2011 – 2014 March 13, 2011 – present |
| Germany | Comedy Central | August 7, 2016 – present |
| Lithuania | TV6 | August 7, 2016– present (Klyvlando Šou) |
| Ireland | 3e | September 27, 2009 |
| Italy | Italia 2 Italia 1 Fox |
2010-2012[26]
2012-2014 2010 - present[27] |
| United Kingdom | E4 Fox ITV2 |
February 1, 2010 – January 4 2016[28] January 6, 2011 – ? February 29 2016–Present [28] |
| United States | Fox Adult Swim TBS |
September 27, 2009 – May 19, 2013 September 29, 2012 – present September 16, 2013 – December 1, 2017 |
| Hungary | Comedy Central
Humor+ |
July 6, 2010 – October 30, 2016
October 30, 2016 – present |
| Middle East | FX | Unknown |
| New Zealand | C4 Four Comedy Central |
2010 February 10, 2011 – present 2011–present |
| Pakistan | FX | Unknown |
| Portugal | Fox
Fox Comedy |
June 5, 2010
Unknown |
| Philippines | Jack TV Fox Philippines |
October 2010 - Present (Rerun) March 2013 - Present (Rerun) |
| South Africa | Vuzu | November 29, 2010 |
| Singapore | Fox | April 2, 2012 (Season 2) (Mondays to Wednesdays 11:40 pm (UTC+8)) |
Reception
Critical reception
The Cleveland Show has received mixed reviews from critics and negative reviews from fans. Review aggregator Metacritic gave the show a score of 57 out of 100.[29] Tom Shales of The Washington Post spoke very negatively about both the show and MacFarlane himself, describing him as "no better than the dirty old man hanging around playgrounds with naughty pictures or risque jokes as lures".[30] Roberto Bianco of USA Today wrote a similarly negative review, suggesting that the easiest fix for its problem was "cancellation".[31] John McWhorter of The New Republic called it "a patronizing mess" and "basically Family Guy in blackface". He added: "What isn't black in it is so shamelessly ripped off from Family Guy that it's hard to believe it's the product of creators who are usually so studiously 'post-' obvious stunts of the sort."[32] Matt Rouse of TV Guide wrote, "The lamest, most unnecessary spin-off since Private Practice, Cleveland rests on the shoulders of the hopelessly bland title character".[33] However, Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was more positive about the program, writing that although The Cleveland Show was "just as rude-crude" as Family Guy, it also had "more warmth" due to Cleveland being a more likeable character than Peter Griffin. Owen also praised the character of Tim the Bear, stating that "Tim is by far the most amusing creation."[34]Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV: Animated Show | The Cleveland Show | Nominated |
| People's Choice Awards | Favorite New TV Comedy | The Cleveland Show | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Annie Awards | Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production | Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Animated Program | "Murray Christmas" | Nominated | |
| NAMIC Vision Awards | Animation | The Cleveland Show | Nominated | |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV: Animated Show | The Cleveland Show | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Artios Award | Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Animation | Robert McGee and Ruth Lambert | Nominated |
| 2013 | American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Awards | Top Television Series | The Cleveland Show | Won |
| People's Choice Awards | Favorite Cartoon Show | The Cleveland Show | Nominated |
Home media
DVD releases
| DVD Title | # of Disc(s) | Year | # of Episodes | DVD release | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||||
| Season One | 4 | 2009 & 2010 | 21 | September 28, 2010[35] | October 11, 2010[36] | June 29, 2011[37] | |
| Season Two | 4 | 2010 & 2011 | 22 | September 27, 2011[38] | January 30, 2012[39] | November 2, 2011[40] | |
| Season Three | 3 | 2011 & 2012 | 22 | March 1, 2013[41] (manufactured on demand (MOD) on DVD-R) |
N/A | N/A | |
| Season Four | 3 | 2012 & 2013 | 23 | December 17, 2013[42] (manufactured on demand (MOD) on DVD-R) |
N/A | N/A | |
References
- Lambert, David (December 19, 2013). "The Cleveland Show - 'The Complete Season 4' - The Show's Last - Is Now On DVD!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013.
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Cleveland Show |
Categories:
- The Cleveland Show
- 2009 American television series debuts
- 2013 American television series endings
- 2000s American adult animated television series
- 2000s American black sitcoms
- 2000s American satirical television series
- 2010s American adult animated television series
- 2010s American black sitcoms
- 2010s American satirical television series
- American adult animated television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
- American adult animated television spin-offs
- American flash adult animated television series
- Single-camera television sitcoms
- English-language television programs
- Family Guy
- Fox network shows
- Television series about dysfunctional families
- Television series created by Seth MacFarlane
- Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
- Television series by Fuzzy Door Productions
- Television shows set in Virginia
- Fox animation
- Crossover animation
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