There were some funny parts, and I agree with you: the humor is mostly situational because the characters just lack personality. It's like less effort was put into making this show. I love Family Guy, and I watched the first few episodes of The Cleveland Show (and I love the show's opening), but I just got very little out of it in terms of humor.
I actually hate Family Guy, and while this show isn't exactly great, it does make me laugh more than Family Guy, and infinitely more than American Dad, mainly because this show doesn't feature Peter, who was an unfunny jackass, and Brian who was a Mary Sue Author Avatar.
Without music, life would be a mistake. -Friedrich Nietzsche
My guess as to why he created this show would be one of two scenarios, if not a combination of both: either as a quick cash grab from Fox who at this point loves nothing more than to eat out of his and Groening\'s hands or to disprove all those rumors that he\'s a racist. Hell, even when this show was airing on TBS at the same time as Tyler Perry\'s House of Payne and Meet the Browns, me and my friends were going, \"Gee, which creator could make the more offensive show for Blacks?\"
I can't deal with these forums; they anger up the blood too much.
I think the best benefit was that by this point Family Guy had decayed so badly that this felt like an earlier more enjoyable counterpart. The later seasons of Cleveland Show were starting to show elements of its fall (eg. the trademark of all Seth's shows where the characters become increasingly mean spirited and unlikeable as a punchline) but it at least got cancelled before it became the lazy 'more shock value than actual humour' revolved dreck that Family Guy is now.
Except of course the racist humour. Cleveland Show is ever predictable with that from start, to the point I feel like Cleveland was chosen solely on that notion.
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Why???
I guess this show has its defenders, but I think we can all agree it's unnecessary. I mean, Cleveland? He was basically just a prop in Family Guy. His only characteristic was being the voice of reason towards the group of Peter, Joe, and Quagmire. So why does Cleveland get a show? I guess it's something to have an animated sitcom with a primarily black cast, but does that actually make it entertaining???
The Cleveland show focuses on Cleveland and his new family. He moves to the backwater town of Stoolbend, Virginia, where he marries his old high school sweetheart Donna. She has 2 children, teenage teenager (for this is a character type to Seth MacFarlene) Roberta, and poorman's Stewie Rallo. Cleveland also has his somewhat bland son Cleveland Jr. who is now in his early teens, although on Family Guy he was younger.
Anyway, like most modern animated sitcoms such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and Futurama, the humor comes from the dysfunctional characters and the unlikely or unusual things that happen to them. In this case, the characters seem somewhat bland so most of the humor is situational. Occasionally the show is very funny, but most of the time each episode has only a few smiles, hardly worth half an hour. It should be noted that much of the humor comes from the supporting cast, like Tim the Bear and Lester, a redneck who is voiced by a black man, while Cleveland is voiced by a white man. Make of that what you will.
Anyway, were TV Tropes to have a rating system, I would give it 2/5, for being a money grab that the network won't stop buying more of because it's from MacFarlene. I mean a second season was ordered before the season 1 premiere! It is sometimes funny but I don't like most of the characters, and it's easily the weakest of Fox's animation lineup. I prefer The Simpsons and Family Guy to sitting through this show.