Seth MacFarlane Says TV Shows Have Gotten Too ‘Pessimistic’ and ‘Dystopian’: ‘Give People Hope’

Seth MacFarlane is calling for more positivity in the TV industry.

During a recent appearance on the “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” podcast, the “Family Guy” creator discussed the abundance of “negative” stories in Hollywood, and said audiences need more movies and TV shows that “give people hope.”

“That’s why I did ‘The Orville’… because when I was a kid, Hollywood was providing that voice in various forms,” MacFarlane said. “There was a lot of hope, and some of the blame lies right here in this town. The dishes that we are serving up are so dystopian and so pessimistic. And yeah, there’s a lot to be pessimistic about, but it’s so one-sided. There’s nothing we’re doing that’s providing anyone an image of hope.”

MacFarlane used “The Handmaid’s Tale” as an example. And while he admits it’s a “beautifully written, beautifully directed show,” he maintained there is “a lot more of that what we used to get from Captain Picard” and the stories from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

He also mentioned “The Sopranos,” adding that ever since that show’s heyday, Hollywood is “all about the antihero.”

“ the only thing really that Hollywood can do that’s worthwhile because as we all learned from this election, nobody gives a fuck what celebrities think,” he added. “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.”