Rich Appel is staying put at 20th Century Fox TV, no matter who might own it.
The comedy writer and Family Guy showrunner has signed a new overall deal with the studio, which is in the process of being purchased by the Walt Disney Company. Appel’s latest deal, said to be for another three years, is just the latest in a long run of pacts with 20th TV. He hs been under a deal with the studio since 1997.
Said Appel of his decision, “I couldn’t be happier to work for FOX/Disney/Comcast because FOX/Disney/Comcast has long been my favorite network/studio/telecommunications conglomerate.”
Appel has been with Family Guy for a decade, the last five years of which he has served as showrunner. In addition to his work on the Seth MacFarlane cartoon, Appel has also written for The Simpsons, King of the Hill and The Bernie Mac Show.
“Rich is hilarious, talented, and one of our favorite people,” said 20th president of creative affairs Jonnie Davis. “Besides being incredibly smart and wickedly funny, he’s one of Seth’s trusted lieutenants on Family Guy, which is thriving under his and Alec Sulkin’s leadership. We could not love him more and are thrilled to announce he’ll stay in the family for years to come.”
Tuesday saw 20th TV lose its most high-profile and prolific creator, Ryan Murphy, to a massive deal at Netflix. But Appel is not the first to re-up with 20th TV since it was announced that parent 21st Century Fox was selling off the studio and the majority of its entertainment assets to Disney. Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter re-upped in January.
Appel is repped by WME and Ziffren Brittenham.
