Earlier this year, Fox announced a new Family Guy spinoff series following the infantile hijinks of Stewie Griffin.
The network seems so confident in the project that it’s already picked it up for two seasons. Seth MacFarlane (who co-created the show with Kirker Butler) will, of course, voice the dimension-hopping baby genius of Spooner Street.
Appropriately titled Stewie, the spinoff finds the eponymous character attending a new daycare after he’s kicked out of his old one (for tormenting his fellow toddlers, no doubt). Surrounded by a group of kids he doesn’t know and an aged, conspiracy-minded class turtle, Stewie relies on his arsenal of trusty sci-fi gadgets to turn every ordinary school day into a thrilling adventure.
Longtime Family Guy veteran Mike Henry was recently confirmed as part of the supporting voice cast, which also includes Kenan Thompson, Vanessa Bayer, Jessica Lowe, Melissa O’Neil and Aaron Lee.
In particular, Henry is voicing Bruce Jr. (BJ), the infant son of mild-mannered Quahog resident Bruce. While Bruce’s parenthood status has not been revealed before, Henry promised it “will be established on Family Guy before Stewie airs.”
Family Guy Veteran Mike Henry Teases Stewie Griffin Spinoff Series
“BJ talks very similar to Bruce—or maybe identical to Bruce,” he teased over an exclusive Zoom call with SYFY Wire. “We’ve had three table reads so far, and they’re really funny. It takes advantage of a lot of Stewie’s conventions, with his ability to travel [across] different dimensions…I hope we get to keep making a ton of them.”
“Stewie’s so funny because he’s so many different archetypes at the same time…he can surprise you at any moment,” Henry continued. “The daycare situation with Stewie [and his] peers…maybe he’s going to grow up a little bit or get put in his place, but I think he’s just finding his way like everyone.”
It certainly fits with the character’s notable evolution over time from no-nonsense evil genius with matricidal and megalomaniacal tendencies to multilayered individual.
“At the very beginning, Stewie was very arch,” Henry explained. “He was very, ‘I’m going to kill my mother and take over the world.’ He was extremely dramatic and that can only sustain for so long…But we didn’t need to stick with that. There was so much room to grow with that character, that was just one dimension [of him].”
Henry has been a part of the Family Guy universe since the very beginning. He helped MacFarlane pitch the show to Fox in the late ’90s and became one of its very first writers, producers and cast members.
“We started in June of ’98 in a little building in the San Fernando Valley, making each other laugh,” he recalled. “A bunch of sitcom vets, other random funny people and Seth. Who knew that we’d be here 28 years later? It’s been insane and it’s been wonderful.”
Aside from Bruce, he also originated such beloved characters as Cleveland Brown (now played by Arif Zahir), Herbert the Pervert, Greased-Up Deaf Guy and everyone’s favorite obstinate cleaning lady, Consuela.
“That’s the cool thing, is I’m sort of anonymously famous,” Henry added. “People don’t know my face…Every once in a while, when someone realizes that I’m involved in the show, I’ll hear stuff like, ‘I’ve got to tell you, man, it meant so much when my brother had cancer. Before he died, that was our relief every day.’ The fact that it transcended and really touched people is great.”
He credits the series’ longevity to its ability to keep pace with an ever-changing zeitgeist—”As long as pop culture keeps happening, I think Family Guy can stay relevant,” he noted—as well as an unabashed habit of calling a spade a spade.
Though a more appropriate phrase would be to call a giant chicken a giant chicken.
“A lot of people are tiptoeing around their job,” Henry elaborated. “They don’t want to lose their 401(k), their salary and their medical insurance, so you can’t say things. But we say ‘em. We’re basically just calling BS on stuff that is BS.”
And with a second Simpsons movie finally on the way, it may be time for MacFarlane & Co. to start seriously considering a Family Guy feature. “That’s been talked about for 20 years,” finished Henry. “Seth always says, ‘I don’t know when, but it’s absolutely going to happen.’ That’ll be a big undertaking, because it’s gotta be great.”
In the meantime, here’s Conway Twitty…
Stewie is expected to premiere on Fox in fall 2027.
