Animator Jason Ruiz Inks 20th Deal and Preps Fox Project (Exclusive)

Jason Ruiz is back in the animated game.

As part of his one-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV, the California-born animator has reteamed with David Goodman (Family Guy, Futurama) to develop an animated project, Murder Police (working title), which has been set up at Fox.

“It’s about bumbling homicide detectives who are trying to do their jobs but are just not very good at it. It’s like if Scooby Doo was solving murders,” says Ruiz, adding that he was inspired by The First 48, an A&E crime investigation docu-series that he calls “an obsession.”

He first worked with Goodman on Fathers & Son, an animated series project that Fox ultimately passed on. “It was the most devastating feeling ever, so I’m really trying to avoid that heart break again,” he says, laughing now.

For Ruiz, 26, who began doing Web animation at 12 years old, Seth MacFarlane’s career is the model. Already, he is the first writer to come out of Fox and 20th’s joint Fox Inkubation program for budding animators whose full pilot was produced in the last cycle.

Ruiz is repped by UTA, Levity and Ziffren Brittenham.

Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose