“Family Guy” values

Twenty-five-year-old Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the upcoming Fox TV primetime animated series “Family Guy,” has signed a five-year, multi-million dollar development deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television. Under the deal, MacFarlane will develop new programming and remain the executive producer and principal voice actor on his series “Family Guy.” Fox has guaranteed MacFarlane $2 million to $2.5 million for the first three years and if the show continues to air after that time, he will receive large increases the final two years. MacFarlane will also receive a share of the profits if the show is successful and sells in syndication. The series, expected to premiere in early ‘99, possibly after the Superbowl in January, focuses on the dysfunctional Griffin family, which includes: Peter, the dimwitted father, brilliant, but homicidal, Baby Stewie, loving mother Lois, and Brian, a talking dog. On average, MacFarlane provides the voices to more than a dozen characters in each episode.