54-479: The Cleveland Show is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane , Richard Appel , and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company . A spin-off of Family Guy , and the second television series in the franchise , the series centers on Cleveland Brown , his new wife Donna Tubbs-Brown , and their children Cleveland Brown Jr. , Roberta Tubbs , and Rallo Tubbs . The animation
108-431: A weighted average , gave the season a score of 57 out of 100 based on 18 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Ahsan Haque of IGN gave the pilot episode a grade of 8.3 out of 10, praised the opening theme and the humor of the show, and said, "While it seems to be missing some of the over-the-top offensive bite we're used to on Family Guy , and Cleveland's new drinking buddies aren't quite as amusing as
162-524: A 15-year record for biggest opening weekend for a film starring a Black woman, debuting with $ 38.2 million. In 2006, she co-starred with Simon Baker in the romantic comedy Something New , and as Michelle Landau, the much younger wife of a Texas businessman ( Larry Hagman ) in the fourth season of the television series Nip/Tuck . She played Andrea in Tyler Perry 's The Family That Preys , also starring Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates , released in
216-1206: A Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre in London. She reprised her role as Robyn in the Christmas-themed sequel of The Best Man , in The Best Man Holiday (2013). In 2022, she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series , for her work on the television series Succession . As a voice actress , from (2009 to 2013), she voiced Donna Tubbs in The Cleveland Show and in all concurrent and subsequent Family Guy appearances, as well as Catwoman on Harley Quinn . Her other notable film credits include Out of Time (2003), Something New (2006), Wonderful World (2009), Contagion (2011), Repentance (2013), The Perfect Guy (2015), and Now You See Me 2 (2016). Lathan also made her directorial debut with
270-450: A bias towards live-action and raunchy animated sitcoms, compared to early pioneers. However, the result is a new audience that is ready for narratively-sophisticated adult animated works and a new crop of creators exploring the adult animation space. This development allows creators to continue challenging the perceived limitations of animation. Many animators and adult animation fans, both international and non-Disney respectively, boycotted
324-525: A busy schedule which kept him away from voicing the character, while he was working on Ted . Other voices include that of Arianna Huffington as Tim's wife Arianna the Bear , Nat Faxon as Tim and Arianna's son Raymond the Bear , Jamie Kennedy as Roberta's boyfriend Gabriel Friedman, a.k.a. "Federline Jones" , Will Forte as Principal Wally , Frances Callier as Evelyn "Cookie" Brown , Craig Robinson as LeVar "Freight Train" Brown and David Lynch as Gus
378-456: A football helmet. For Lester, Richardson stated in an interview that, being African American, he had "run into a few rednecks in [his] time", and decided to simply perform a stereotypical redneck impression for the voice of Lester. Jason Sudeikis plays Holt Richter , one of Cleveland's drinking buddies with short stature, and Terry Kimple , one of Cleveland's longtime friends who now works with him at Waterman Cable. Sudeikis originally began as
432-575: A guest column in Variety criticizing the Academy for the remark and how Hollywood has been treating animation. The column commented that "no one set out to diminish animated films, but it's high time we set out to elevate them." Alberto Mielgo , director of The Windshield Wiper , later gave an acceptance speech for the Oscar: "Animation is an art that includes every single art that you can imagine. Animation for adults
486-473: A novel by Terry McMillan . In the HBO film, she played an aspiring singer/songwriter in love with a carpenter, played by her Blade co-star Wesley Snipes. For her work in the film, she earned an Essence Award for Best Actress. That year, she was named by Ebony magazine as one of its 55 Most Beautiful People and was honoured by Essence magazine and Black Entertainment Television . In 2002, Lathan starred in
540-472: A psychological thriller directed by Phillipe Caland. She played series regular Mona Fredricks in the second season of Starz ' original series Boss , starring Kelsey Grammer . In 2013, Lathan reprised her role in The Best Man ′s sequel, The Best Man Holiday . In 2016, she was cast in the ensemble of the sequel of Now You See Me , entitled Now You See Me 2 , which was a box-office success; and in
594-407: A recurring cast member, but starting with the episode " Harder, Better, Faster, Browner ", he was promoted to a series regular. Seth MacFarlane played Tim the Bear up until season 3 episode 10, which MacFarlane admits is a " Steve Martin impression [...] a Wild and Crazy Guy impression". Jess Harnell voices the character for the rest of the series from the next episode onward, as MacFarlane had
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#1733115324692648-431: A well known DJ. She attended Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics as well as Beverly Hills High School . Lathan's adolescence was a tough period. She has stated she was a latchkey kid whose parents weren't around much. As a result, she was left with relatives who happened to suffer from drug abuse. However, she went on to develop a solid relationship with her parents in the ensuing years. She graduated from
702-493: A year after the series' cancelation, Cleveland returned to Family Guy , accompanied by the rest of the Brown-Tubbs family, in the season 12 episode " He's Bla-ack! ". Seth MacFarlane initially conceived The Cleveland Show in 2007 while working on his other two animated series, Family Guy and American Dad! . The Cleveland Show first appeared on the development slate at Fox in early 2008, under no official name for
756-403: A younger, hyperactive child with average body weight on Family Guy . The series premiered on September 27, 2009, and ended on May 19, 2013, after four seasons consisting of 88 episodes . The Cleveland Show was nominated for one Annie Award , one Primetime Emmy Award , and two Teen Choice Awards , but received mixed reviews from media critics. Fox cancelled the series after 4 seasons. Nearly
810-528: A younger-sounding voice, given that the character is a teenager. Kevin Michael Richardson , a recurring guest voice on Family Guy and American Dad! , portrays Cleveland, Jr. , as well as Cleveland's next-door neighbor Lester Krinklesac . In portraying Cleveland, Jr., Richardson drew inspiration from a character named Patrick that he had played on the NBC drama series ER who was mentally impaired and wore
864-412: Is a fact. It's happening. Let's call it cinema. I'm very honored because this is just the beginning of what we can do with animation." They also suggested to the Academy that the category should be presented by filmmakers who respect the art of animation as cinema. Another factor is that numerous feature-length animated films have been made for older audiences or with ranges of PG-13 or more, starting in
918-476: Is available to stream on Star on Disney+ . The Cleveland Show initially received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 44% approval rating for the first season, with an average rating of 5.10/10 and based on 18 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, " The Cleveland Show is simply not interesting enough to capture the same comedic lightning of Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy ." Metacritic , which uses
972-746: Is catered specifically to adult interests and is mainly targeted and marketed towards adults and adolescents, as opposed to children or all-ages audiences. Animated media (includes animated films , television series , and web series ) in this medium could be considered adult for any number of reasons, which include the incorporation of toilet humour , nudity , sexual content (either explicit or suggestive), graphic violence , profanity , dark comedy , political themes, or other thematic elements inappropriate for children and/or younger viewers. Works may explore philosophical, political, or social issues. Some animated productions are noted for their complex and/or experimental storytelling and animation techniques,
1026-519: Is the daughter of actress Eleanor McCoy and film director Stan Lathan . Her career began after she appeared in the shows In the House , Family Matters , NYPD Blue , and Moesha . Lathan later garnered further prominence after starring in the 1998 superhero film Blade , which followed with film roles in The Best Man (1999), Love & Basketball (2000), Disappearing Acts (2000), and Brown Sugar (2002). In 2004, Lathan's performance in
1080-521: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stated that although The Cleveland Show is "just as rude-crude" as Family Guy , it also had "more warmth" due to Cleveland being a more likable character than Peter Griffin . Owen also praised the character of Tim the Bear, stating that "Tim is by far the most amusing creation." Tom Shales of The Washington Post spoke very negatively about both the show and MacFarlane himself, describing him as "no better than
1134-556: The Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun , earned her a nomination at the Tony Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Play . Following this, she played the role of Alexa "Lex" Woods in the film Alien vs. Predator . In 2008, she landed a leading role in film The Family That Preys by Tyler Perry . Lathan returned to theatre work in 2010, starring in the all-black performance of Cat on
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#17331153246921188-642: The University of California, Berkeley , with a bachelor's degree in English. She then attended Yale University and earned a master's degree in drama. Following her training at Yale, where she studied with Earle R. Gister and performed in a number of Shakespeare plays, Lathan earned acclaim both off-Broadway and on the Los Angeles stage. Encouraged by her father to make Los Angeles her professional base, she found early television roles in episodes of such shows as In
1242-593: The 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress, and a BET Award . In 2000, she appeared in the Off-Broadway production of The Vagina Monologues with Teri Garr and Julianna Margulies . In 2001, Lathan earned acclaim for her work in the multicultural comedy film Catfish in Black Bean Sauce . Next was her second collaboration with Prince-Bythewood, Disappearing Acts , based on
1296-533: The Academy over remarking that animation was synonymous with "kids" during the 94th Academy Awards in 2022. The award for the Best Animated Feature was presented by three actresses who portrayed the Disney princess characters in live-action remakes of their respective animated films: Lily James ( Cinderella ), Naomi Scott ( Aladdin ), and Halle Bailey ( The Little Mermaid ) . While introducing
1350-568: The Heron , officially rated PG-13 by the MPA . For the 22-year history since the inauguration , it became the first adult animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 96th Academy Awards ; all the previous winners were either rated G or PG. Sanaa Lathan Sanaa McCoy Lathan ( / s ə ˈ n ɑː ˈ l eɪ θ ən / ; born September 19, 1971) is an American actress. She
1404-613: The House , Family Matters , NYPD Blue , and Moesha . In 1998, Lathan earned a degree of recognition with her role as the mother of Wesley Snipes ' title character in Blade . The following year she appeared in Life with Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy and did back-to-back turns in The Best Man and The Wood . The Best Man, a comedy-drama ensemble film starring Taye Diggs , Nia Long , Harold Perrineau Jr. and Morris Chestnut ,
1458-479: The Quagmire, Joe and Peter combination - there's a lot to like here. It might take a while for the show to grow out of its Family Guy shadow, but with a greater focus on wacky family focused stories, we might get to see much personality burst out of the normally sedate Cleveland." Jonathan Storm of The Philadelphia Inquirer found The Cleveland Show to be "a little warmer and sillier" than Family Guy . Rob Owen of
1512-517: The Sun with Sean Combs , Audra McDonald , and Phylicia Rashad , and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger. She reprised the role in ABC Network's 2008 film adaptation . The same year, she was given the lead role in Alien vs. Predator . It was a major success, grossing over $ 171 million worldwide. With this role she held onto
1566-608: The U.S. on September 12, 2008. In 2009, Lathan co-starred with Matthew Broderick in the drama Wonderful World . From 2009 to 2013, she voiced the character Donna Tubbs on The Cleveland Show . In 2011, Lathan co-starred in the Steven Soderbergh thriller Contagion with Matt Damon , Jude Law , Marion Cotillard , Kate Winslet , Gwyneth Paltrow , Bryan Cranston , and Laurence Fishburne . In 2011, she starred with Anthony Mackie and Forest Whitaker in Repentance ,
1620-650: The United States on September 29, 2012. On July 14, 2018, Viacom later picked up the rights to the series and the series left Adult Swim and TBS on September 9, 2018. The series began airing on Comedy Central in the United States on October 8, 2018, until April 29, 2022 and then again since November 6, 2023 airing sporadically on the network, previously along with BET and VH1 . The series aired on FXX from September 20, 2021 to September 20, 2024. On April 17, 2013, Fox dismissed increasing rumors that The Cleveland Show had been canceled, reporting rather that renewal of
1674-613: The bartender. Cleveland's newly introduced family includes his new wife, Donna Tubbs-Brown (voiced by Sanaa Lathan ); Donna's daughter Roberta (originally voiced by Nia Long , but later voiced by Reagan Gomez-Preston ); and Donna's son Rallo (voiced by Mike Henry ). Cleveland, Jr. underwent a complete redesign for the show, becoming sensitive and soft-spoken. In July 2010, the Turner Broadcasting System picked up syndication rights, for their networks TBS and later, Adult Swim . The series first aired on Adult Swim in
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1728-410: The category, Bailey stated that animated films are "formative experiences as kids who watch them," as James put it, "So many kids watch these movies over and over, over and over again." Scott added: "I see some parents who know exactly what we're talking about." The remarks sparked controversy and with those working in the animation industry describing them as infantilizing the medium and perpetuating
1782-455: The dirty old man hanging around playgrounds with naughty pictures or risque jokes as lures". Roberto Bianco of USA Today wrote a similarly negative review, suggesting that the easiest fix for its problem was "cancellation". John McWhorter of The New Republic called it "a patronizing mess" and "basically Family Guy in blackface". He added: "What isn't black in it is so shamelessly ripped off from Family Guy that it's hard to believe it's
1836-457: The evening, but they are not generally pornographic or obscene. AdWeek called adult animation "animated projects aimed at grown-ups, not kids." They also focus on issues that adults handle, and have cheeky, and occasionally crass, humor "that has no limits—bouncing between funny and offensive," while evoking a "balance of reality and fantasy". They may also contain violence or sexual themes. International animators and filmmakers were among
1890-511: The film On the Come Up in 2022. Lathan was born in New York City. Her mother, Eleanor McCoy, was also an actress and dancer who performed on Broadway with Eartha Kitt . Her father, Stan Lathan , worked behind the scenes in television for PBS , as well as a producer on shows such as Sanford & Son and Russell Simmons ' Def Comedy Jam [Beat Street]. Her brother is Tendaji Lathan,
1944-456: The late-1990s with South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut , and for those future adult animated films including The Triplets of Belleville , Persepolis , Waltz with Bashir , Chico and Rita , The Wind Rises , Anomalisa , My Life as a Courgette , The Breadwinner , Loving Vincent , Isle of Dogs , I Lost My Body , and Flee . Most of them were nominated in various categories , though none have won until The Boy and
1998-601: The latter with many distinct styles have defined such unique artistry. Adult animation is typically defined as animation that is aimed at an adult audience. It is also described as something that "formative youths should stay far, far away from" or has adult humor and comes in various styles, but especially sitcoms and comedies. Some have stated that it refers to animations with "adult themes and situations", which uses "explicit language" and make jokes that adults, and occasionally teens, are "more likely to understand" than others. On television, such animations often run in
2052-472: The live broadcast; some speculations suggested that the speech played a role in the decision to not broadcast the award. The winner for the Best Animated Short award was The Windshield Wiper , a multilingual Spanish-American film which is considered adult animated, while another nominee in three categories: Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature Film , and Best International Feature Film ,
2106-750: The notables of adult animation works: Some television channels and their segments or blocks that focused on broadcasting adult animation: Several highly-acclaimed adult animated films and television series have received substantial recognition from critics. Thanks to Bakshi's Fritz the Cat , the film influenced animators and filmmakers over the course of the late-20th century and into the 21st century, catering such important artistic and narrative structures with mature subject matter. Conversely, several works have been largely ignored by many detractors for their depiction of graphic subject matter and sensitive topics, such as violence, race, gender, and sexuality. They still show
2160-470: The other two animated programs were also created by Seth MacFarlane — Family Guy and American Dad! . There are also many brief cameos of characters from three other Fox animated shows, The Simpsons , Futurama , and King of the Hill . Adult animation Adult animation , also known as mature animation , and infrequently as adult-oriented animation , is any type of animated motion media that
2214-505: The pilot episode premiered, the show had already been renewed for a 22-episode second season. After the first season of the show aired, it was given the green light to start production. On June 10, 2010, less than three weeks into the first season's summer hiatus, it was announced that Fox was ordering a third season. A fourth season was announced on May 9, 2011, just a few days before the second season concluded. Seth MacFarlane , Mike Henry and Richard Appel served as executive producers on
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2268-488: The pilot, after a report that Fox had purchased the series from creators. The pilot was named The Cleveland Show in May 2008, when it appeared on the primetime slate for the 2008–09 television season , although it wasn't officially on the network schedule. Shortly after a report that King of the Hill just ended, leaving air time for The Cleveland Show , the show was picked up for a full season after an additional nine episodes of
2322-453: The product of creators who are usually so studiously 'post-' obvious stunts of the sort." Matt Rouse of TV Guide wrote, "The lamest, most unnecessary spin-off since Private Practice , Cleveland rests on the shoulders of the hopelessly bland title character." episodes The Cleveland Show characters have appeared on other animated sitcoms and vice versa. The Cleveland Show crossovers have all involved two other animated programs. Both
2376-445: The romantic comedy film, Brown Sugar with Diggs, Queen Latifah and Mos Def . Lathan's performance earned an NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. The film also received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture. In 2003 she co-starred with Denzel Washington in Out of Time . In 2004, Lathan starred on Broadway in A Raisin in
2430-522: The science fiction film Approaching the Unknown . In 2017, she returned to TV in a lead role in the series Shots Fired , and also appeared in the film American Assassin . She was then added to the main cast of The Affair , appearing in its fourth and fifth seasons, and starred in the Netflix film Nappily Ever After . In January 2021, it was announced that she was cast in season 3 of Succession as
2484-466: The series for its entire run. Mike Henry voices two of the show's main characters: Cleveland Brown and Rallo Tubbs . The voice of Cleveland was developed originally for Family Guy by Henry after being influenced by one of his best friends who had a very distinct regional accent. For the voice of Rallo, Henry stated that he created the voice over twenty years before; he had used it while making prank phone calls. Sanaa Lathan voices Donna Tubbs ,
2538-606: The series was undetermined as of that time. However, on May 13, 2013, in the New York Daily News , Fox Chairman of Entertainment Kevin Reilly confirmed the show's cancellation. Following the series cancellation, it was confirmed that Cleveland would be moving back to Quahog with the rest of the Brown-Tubbs family to rejoin the Family Guy cast . The series is available for streaming on Hulu . Internationally, The Cleveland Show
2592-462: The show were ordered. In May 2009, The Cleveland Show appeared on the primetime slate for the 2009–10 television season , for airing on Sunday nights at 8:30 pm On June 15, 2009, it was announced that The Cleveland Show would premiere on September 27, 2009. MacFarlane and Henry pitched a 22-minute to Fox which aired on September 27, 2009, but had been leaked on the internet in June 2009. Even before
2646-444: The stepdaughter of Cleveland. Gomez has stated that she uses her own voice to portray Roberta and that she herself gets mistaken for a fifteen-year-old over the phone "all the time." Before Gomez was cast as Roberta, Nia Long (who co-starred with Lathan in The Best Man franchise) provided the character's voice during the first thirteen episodes. According to Long, she was replaced because producers decided they wanted an actress with
2700-469: The stigma that animated works are strictly for children, especially since the industry was credited with sustaining the flow of Hollywood content and revenue during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic . An addition to the controversy was that the award for Best Animated Short Film (the nominees for which were mostly made up of shorts not aimed at children) was one of the eight categories that were omitted in
2754-556: The wife of Cleveland, stepmother of Cleveland Brown Jr., and mother of Roberta and Rallo Tubbs. In developing the character, Lathan said that the producers "wanted her to be educated, but to have some edge." Prior to voicing Donna, Lathan had only one other voice credit in a relatively low-budget film entitled The Golden Blaze . In addition to the show, she also primarily worked as an actress in such films as Alien vs. Predator , Blade , Love & Basketball and The Family That Preys . Reagan Gomez-Preston plays Roberta Tubbs ,
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#17331153246922808-512: Was Flee , a PG-13 rated animated documentary about an Afghan refugee. Phil Lord , co-producer of one of the nominated films, The Mitchells vs. the Machines , tweeted that it was "super cool to position animation as something that kids watch and adults have to endure." The film's official social media account responded to the joke with an image reading: "Animation is cinema." A week later, Lord and his producing partner Christopher Miller wrote
2862-521: Was one of the top ten highest-grossing African American films in history, and Lathan received an NAACP Image Award nomination for her performance. The Wood , another ensemble film starring Diggs and Omar Epps , cast her as Epps' love interest. Lathan and Epps were reunited onscreen in Gina Prince-Bythewood 's Love & Basketball , this time as a couple as passionate about basketball as they are about each other. Her performance earned Lathan
2916-485: Was produced by Fox Television Animation . The series was conceived by MacFarlane in 2007 after developing Family Guy and American Dad! for the Fox network. MacFarlane centered the show on Family Guy character Cleveland Brown and created new characters for Cleveland's family members. One preexisting character, Cleveland's son Cleveland Jr. (Junior), was redesigned as an obese, soft-spoken teen, as opposed to his depiction as
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