- - Seth MacFarlane calls for less 'pessimistic' and 'dystopian' stories: 'It's so one-sided'

Daysia TolentinoAugust 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM

Michael Becker/FOX Seth MacFarlane on 'The Orville'

Seth MacFarlane shared the need for more hopeful stories in Hollywood amid a plethora of dark projects released in recent years.

MacFarlane sat down with Ted Danson on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast to discuss the importance of optimism and fun. The multi-hyphenate shared that he took on The Orville in order to put out something more positive in media.

"The dishes that we are serving up are so dystopian and so pessimistic," MacFarlane said. "And yeah, there's a lot to be pessimistic about, but it's so one-sided."

MacFarlane said while he enjoys shows like The Handmaid's Tale, he's become fatigued with dystopian narratives. The Family Guy creator noted that every time he drives down Beverly Boulevard, he only sees billboards for horror films and other "negative" projects.

"They're certainly giving us a lot of cautionary tales, but where are the blueprints that they once gave us for how to do things correctly?" he said. "It can't all be just, 'Here's what's going to happen to you if you f--- up.' You do need, 'Here's what you can achieve if you change your ways and do things right.'"

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Jasper Savage/Hulu Elisabeth Moss on 'The Handmaid's Tale'

The actor added that Hollywood has become obsessed with anti-heroes "ever since Tony Soprano." This has created good television, he said, but in the case of a show like The White Lotus, "no one is someone you'd want to be."

Part of the entertainment industry's job, MacFarlane said, is to create characters that inspire people to be better.

"That's the only thing really that Hollywood can do that's worthwhile because as we all learned from this election, nobody gives a f--- what celebrities think," he said. "We can tweet, we can talk. Like, people don't care. They don't care. What we do do well is tell stories. And we're not doing the best job right now of telling those stories in a way that gives people hope."

Check out the full episode of Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Seth MacFarlane below.

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