• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, Yesterday

Seth MacFarlane, whose animated series have been mainstays of the Fox prime-time schedule since the start of “Family Guy” in 1999, nevertheless held center stage at the NBCU Upfront last week at Radio City Music Hall.

The cartoon voice artist and animation mega-producer sang and danced on the big stage accompanied by an orchestra and a troupe of dancers to open NBCU’s annual pitch to advertisers (photo above).

His connection to NBCU these days is his live-action “Ted” series on Peacock, a prequel series to the “Ted” movies about a potty-mouthed teddy bear. MacFarlane is the voice of Ted in the show and the movies.

Peacock has also picked up an additional “Ted” series from MacFarlane, this time an animated series that takes place after the “Ted” movies.

Over at Fox, “Family Guy” returns with new episodes later this month. And one of MacFarlane’s other animated hits, “American Dad!,” will return to Fox with new episodes some time next season. “American Dad!” originated on Fox in 2005, then moved to TBS from 2014 until this year. 

Whether or not Fox wanted to have MacFarlane for its own Upfront is anybody’s guess. But it is also true that MacFarlane’s dance number could never have been performed on the tiny stage of the 1906 Hammerstein Ballroom (now the Manhattan Center) where Fox staged its Upfront last week. The Hammerstein is a cramped, ancient place, and it looks it. 

Back at NBCU, one mildly startling bit of news was the announcement made onstage by Mike Tirico of NBC Sports that the voice of a former NBC NBA narrator who died eight years ago will be revived by AI to participate in NBC’s coverage of the NBA starting next season.

The voice belonged to Jim Fagan, who was heard introducing NBC’s NBA games the last time the network held the rights from 1990 to 2002. Fagan also voiced NBC’s NBA promo spots.

And now, the voice of Fagan will do it again, only this time the voice will be introducing today’s stars and today’s teams.

“We are going to utilize the voice that guided a generation of basketball fans through the opening of some of those memorable eras,” Tirico said of the former heyday of the NBA on NBC.

“Through the power of AI, the voice of the late Jim Fagan, NBC Sports’ long-time NBA narrator who passed away in 2017 is going to be used to promote today’s players and games. We are all grateful to Jim’s family for working with us to honor his legacy,” he said. 

As usual when wrapping up another Upfront week, I am fascinated by the words and phrases that recur in multiple presentations by the various companies.

One of them is the word “excited,” which was used so many times by literally everybody who came on stage or addressed the Upfront audience on video that it would not even make for a fun drinking game. No one could possibly drink that much without dying.

I’m just getting started on these oft-used words and phrases. In fact, “we’re just getting started” was a phrase that was also heard often at the Upfronts.

It means that the sales initiatives and plans for new shows announced at the Upfronts, where they were all positioned as already colossal, are nevertheless nowhere near to achieving their potential. Now that’s something to get excited about, right?

And who wouldn’t be excited at the way TV is “marrying art and science” today, in the manner suggested in the name of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, governing body of the Emmy Awards?

Listen to Bobby Voltaggio, co-president of U.S. ad sales for Warner Bros. Discovery, on-stage at the WBD Upfront last Wednesday morning: “We have never been more excited about the future because the old rules no longer apply and the combination of art and science makes anything possible,” he said, sharing the stage with the other co-president, Ryan Gould.

Then take a look at what Amy Reinhardt, Netflix president of advertising, had to say that afternoon at the Netflix Upfront. 

“The biggest tailwind behind our ads business is our ability to marry art and science, combining best in class technology with the shows and movies everyone is talking about and watching,” she said.

Lastly, a few random things from the Upfronts, starting with Jimmy Kimmel’s annual monologue at the Disney Upfront in which he takes down the entire TV industry, including his own company.

At one point, he hinted that the monologue, which has been an Upfront staple for years, might be his last. 

His current contract is reportedly up at the end of this year and it has been rumored for some time that he is ready to call it a day.

When he was done hurling his hilarious insults at all the big TV companies staging their Upfronts last week, kudos to Kimmel for getting serious for a moment to ask the TV industry to support “60 Minutes” in its legal battle against Trump.

And lastly, a pet peeve that is surely not mine alone: seat-saving. The childish activity of running into the Upfront venues and then throwing down jackets and handbags to reserve entire rows of seats for co-workers is behavior unbecoming of adults.

The worst Upfront for this was NBC’s at Radio City, but it is done elsewhere too. When I see this, I have to ask: Is it really so important for the people -- presumably grown-ups -- who make up the great New York City advertising industry to sit together at these events?