Fox is waving the flag for “American Dad,” renewing the Seth MacFarlane-produced animated series for a fifth season.
The renewal had been expected by executives at 20th Century Fox Television, which produces the show.
Fox has ordered 22 episodes of “Dad.” When those are completed, that will bring the total number of episodes in the can to 109, more than enough for 20th sister company Twentieth Television to take to the syndication marketplace.
Twentieth is expected to begin approaching station groups and cable networks about “Dad” deals later this year.
So far this season, “Dad” is showing ratings gains compared with last season, improving 6% among adults 18-49 and 8% in total viewers. The series airs Sundays at 9:30 p.m., immediately after “Family Guy.”
Mr. MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman co-created “Dad” and serve as executive producers.