Fox forges 'Family' tie
Goodman new 'Guy' at 20th Century
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Deal comes in the wake of 20th quietly greenlighting production on 22 additional episodes of "Family Guy." Fox Broadcasting has not formally renewed "Guy" for a fifth season, but given the show's stellar Sunday ratings since its May revival, such a pickup is all but a formality.
Seven-figure pact with Goodman will keep the scribe onboard as exec producer and showrunner of the series (with creator Seth MacFarlane). He'll also create and develop new comedy programming for 20th through 2007.
It's the first solo overall deal for Goodman, who's been with "Family Guy" since its third season in 2000. Skein returned to Fox's sked in May and has since proven to be a young-adult powerhouse for the net.
Studio prexy Gary Newman cited Goodman's humor and organizational skills as reasons for making the deal.
"He's a fantastic piece of manpower and deserves a lot of credit for the resurrection of 'Family Guy,' " Newman told Daily Variety. "The show's as good as or better than it's ever been."
Newman added he looked forward to seeing Goodman's future development, saying, "We believe David has his own show within him."
For his part, Goodman -- who's worked on a slew of skeins over the last two decades -- said he's just happy to have a steady gig.
"It'll keep my wife off my back for at least 18 months," he joked.
Goodman said that while "Guy" is clearly a vehicle for MacFarlane's comic vision, MacFarlane is also collaborative.
"He actually likes input and to hear other people's jokes, which doesn't go for everyone I've worked with," Goodman said. "My job is to be Seth's enabler and play off his insecurities so he thinks he needs me."
"Family Guy's" Lazarus act has paid off bigtime for Fox. Despite intense competish from "Desperate Housewives," laffer has improved the net's timeslot ratings by 45% in adults 18-49 and a stunning 82% in adults 18-34.
Skein is also a juggernaut on DVD, with high hopes for Fox Home Entertainment's release this month of a new feature-length "Family Guy" disc, "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story."
Goodman, repped by ICM, got his start working on "The Golden Girls." He's since written for more than a dozen skeins including Tea Leoni starrer "Flying Blind," "Dream On" and two years on "Star Trek: Enterprise."
On the animated front, Goodman was co-exec producer of "Futurama."
