‘Family Guy’ season 14: Ashton Kutcher to appear in live-action short

Given that Mila Kunis has been a part of “Family Guy” for so long, you had to assume that sooner or later the producers would want to get Ashton Kutcher aboard … right? Well, while we cannot say how long they were pursuing him, we can confirm now that it is actually happening.

As executive producer Steve Callaghan tells Entertainment Weekly (who first reported the news), Kutcher is not actually going to be appearing in animated form; instead, he will play himself in sort of live-action short, and is apparently going to have some pretty insane things to say:

“We wrote him some of the most ridiculous dialogue … He just couldn’t have been a nicer guy or a better sport about it.”

Some of the other just-announced guest stars for the season include John Mellencamp (who will perform an original song) and “Modern Family” star Ed O’Neill. Margaret Cho, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Kyle Chandler were already announced as people stopping by.

“Family Guy” will return to Fox later this month, and for them the challenge remains pretty singular: Continuing to find new ways to be funny. Guest stars are a great way to do that; you’ve come to know the original cast so well, and bringing in new people and even trying new visual mediums are great ways to continue to spice things up. Given that this show remains one of Fox’s most-popular in their Sunday animation block, we have a feeling that it is not going to be going anywhere in the near future.

Excited to see Kutcher on the show, or do you always take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to “Family Guy” guest stars? Share with a comment.