Fox’s acquirement of the animation company Bento Box Entertainment was definitely a step in the right direction by way of building a new legion of fan-friendly animated projects.
(And specifically in the case of the temporarily cancelled Seth MacFarlane series, vocal and loyal fandoms, combined with DVD sales and mega-syndication.)
And while not every series is a huge hit — R.I.P. Hoops — network kinship and consistency are part of what helped keep The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers going for all these years.
Not that the shows aren’t capable of trying new things.