BGSU alumna leads ‘American Dad’ into 20th season

In the world of entertainment, Diana Ritchey found a home building cohesive teams to create lasting animated content.

After three decades working in animation, Diana Ritchey still loves telling a good story.

The 1990 graduate of Bowling Green State University has produced more than 300 episodes of “American Dad,” the long-running animated sitcom that FOX recently re-acquired for four seasons, and the process of creating the show still has Ritchey excited to go to work.

The most challenging – and most rewarding – part of the job is crafting a group of creative, like-minded people to keep telling funny stories that connect with audiences, which the show has done inarguably well across 20 years.

It takes one full year to make each 22-minute episode of “American Dad,” from script to air, but the synergy that goes into the creation of the show is what Ritchey enjoys most.

“In hindsight, because I’ve been doing this for more than 30 years, the most fulfilling part of my job is building a production crew and creating strong relationships within it,” Ritchey said. “There’s the dynamic of having the crew member’s backs and knowing they have mine. They work hard and know they are appreciated but still have fun while able to make tough deadlines.”

The next new season of “American Dad,” which first debuted on FOX in 2005 and then moved to TBS, will return to FOX for its 20th season.

FOX’s re-acquisition will carry the show through at least season No. 22, putting “American Dad” among the class of animated titans like “The Simpsons,” “South Park” and “Family Guy” for its longevity.

“We have such a talented group of writers and artists who continuously keep American Dad fresh and funny,” Ritchey said. “Even though the characters are, at times, horrible to each other, their intentions are pure. The Smith family loves each other, and in the end, that’s really what matters. The show has a heart.”

Ritchey ended up producing animation for a living after earning an early-career opportunity and maximizing it.

The summer after she graduated from BGSU with a degree in interpersonal and public communications, Ritchey bought an open-ended plane ticket to Los Angeles. There, a connection with a co-worker helped her resume find its way to Hanna-Barbera, the animation studio that had recently been acquired by Turner Broadcasting.

At the time, Turner was creating a new TV channel that would eventually be called The Cartoon Network. In her role for Hanna-Barbera, Ritchey was in charge of scheduling up-and-coming artists for a cartoon shorts program, which put her behind the scenes for the infancy of many hit animated shows, including Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Dexter’s Laboratory,” Craig McCracken’s “The Powerpuff Girls,” David Feiss’ “Cow and Chicken” and Van Partible’s “Johnny Bravo.”

Ritchey moved into producing and worked on properties like “Scooby Doo” movies, “Johnny Bravo” and “Samuri Jack,” and found the skill set she developed as a BGSU student helped her thrive as a producer.

“I think what really helped me was public speaking classes and my involvement in Undergraduate Student Government and the Panhellenic Council,” Ritchey said. “Being involved in campus organizations really helped with my interpersonal skills, speaking in front of people and projecting that kind of confidence. As a producer, you have to effectively communicate with all kinds of creative personalities.”

In her role, Ritchey builds the team, compiles a budget, crafts a schedule, manages the crew, works with writers and showrunners, and, as she puts it, “constantly puts out fires” to help the show finish on schedule and within budget constraints.

Because each episode takes a year to complete, the crew works on multiple episodes concurrently, making the process a juggling act for a producer.

“Production is challenging because you never know what you’re going to get from one day to the next depending on the episode, its complexities and how large it is,” Ritchey said. “We have the same amount of time and the same budget for every, single episode, no matter how big or small, so you really need to rely on a talented team that goes above and beyond to get it done, which is really the most fulfilling part.”

Ritchey joked that “American Dad” has been a version of “The Little Engine That Could” during its history, surviving two cancellations and mostly subsisting on one-year pickups before its recent four-year acquisition.

As the show preps to air its 20th season – with more to come – Ritchey said she’s grateful to have been a key part of the ride.

“I love a good story,” Ritchey said. “It’s so fun to watch a story develop from script to animation, and I’m forever grateful I get to do this.”