49 Fun Facts About The Cleveland Show

Before his spin-off, Cleveland Brown was a neighbor and drinking buddy of which animated dad?

Peter Griffin is also why he leaves: in the pilot Peter wrecks Cleveland's house one time too many, the last straw that sends Cleveland and his son off on the road.

Whose affair with Cleveland's first wife, Loretta, ended the marriage back on Family Guy?

Glenn Quagmire slept with Loretta; Cleveland chased him with a bat but could not bring himself to swing, and the divorce that followed is what set up the spin-off.

On The Cleveland Show, what is the name of Cleveland's new wife?

Donna Tubbs-Brown was his best friend and unrequited crush in high school; years later he stops in his hometown, finds her working at their old school and stays.

How was Cleveland Jr. redesigned for The Cleveland Show?

As an obese, soft-spoken teen, Cleveland Jr. is the reverse of the small, hyperactive boy he had been on Family Guy; the pilot says only that he is now 14 and has put on weight.

What happened to The Cleveland Show's pilot about three months before Fox broadcast it?

It leaked online in June 2009; the show had been ready for a spring start, but Fox chose to hold it until the fall.

In The Cleveland Show's pilot, Cleveland and his son are driving to which state when they stop in Virginia?

California was the dream: Cleveland meant to become a minor league baseball scout there, but a two-day stop in his old hometown turned into a new marriage instead.

Which Family Guy episode brought Cleveland and his family back after The Cleveland Show ended?

He's Bla-ack! opens with his old drinking buddies ribbing him about The Cleveland Show's failings, then a feud between the two wives keeps him and his best friend apart.

The Cleveland Show is set in which fictional Virginia town, Cleveland's old hometown?

Stoolbend is where Cleveland was a high school baseball star; back in town as an adult, he ends up as head coach of the team at his old school.

The end of which Fox series freed up airtime for The Cleveland Show?

King of the Hill was dropped after 13 years as Fox lined up new cartoons for Sunday nights, yet it outlasted its replacement in the end, returning with new episodes in 2025.

Which pop duo appear as the angel and devil on Cleveland's shoulders in The Cleveland Show?

Hall & Oates voice themselves, Daryl Hall as the angel and John Oates as the devil, and in their first appearance the pair break into their own hit 'Maneater'.

Who voiced both Cleveland Brown and Rallo Tubbs on The Cleveland Show?

Mike Henry, who is white, voiced Cleveland for two decades before announcing in 2020 that he would step down, saying that 'persons of color should play characters of color'.

Cleveland's ex-wife Loretta is killed by his own Family Guy running gag: sliding out of a wrecked house in what?

A bathtub: Cleveland slid out of the house in his tub again and again without a scratch, but when a dinosaur skeleton hits the same house in 'Gone with the Wind', the fall kills Loretta.

Which actress voices Cleveland's wife on The Cleveland Show?

Sanaa Lathan, the star of Love & Basketball, did not let go of the part when the show was cancelled: she carried on voicing the character on Family Guy.

Which pop star voiced Paul, the boyfriend Terry Kimple marries on The Cleveland Show?

Justin Timberlake voiced Paul; the wedding comes about because Cleveland learns his own marriage was never legal, so both couples head to Vermont for a double ceremony.

Who voiced Roberta Tubbs early in the first season of The Cleveland Show before being replaced?

Nia Long says she was let go because the producers decided they wanted a less mature voice for the 15-year-old; Reagan Gomez-Preston took over the part.

In a Christmas episode of The Cleveland Show, Cleveland retells which action film with himself as the hero?

Die Hard becomes 'Die Semi-Hard': Cleveland tells his own version of the story to pass the time while the family poses in a live nativity scene.

Which actor voices both Cleveland Jr. and neighbor Lester Krinklesac?

Kevin Michael Richardson also filled the gap Cleveland left on Family Guy: he voiced Jerome, the new friend the guys recruit in 'Jerome Is the New Black'.

Which middle name does Cleveland Brown share with the given first name of O. J. Simpson?

Orenthal is the O in O. J. Simpson, and the football joke may not stop there: the writers are thought to have named Cleveland Brown after the Cleveland Browns.

Which SNL alum voices Holt Richter and Terry Kimple?

Jason Sudeikis began as a recurring guest while still on SNL, and the producers made him a full cast member from the second season's opening episode.

On The Cleveland Show, where do Cleveland and Terry Kimple work together?

Waterman Cable first hires Cleveland to sell by phone; there he runs into Terry, a high school friend who once took the blame for him, and soon joins him as an installer.

What kind of business did Cleveland own on Family Guy before leaving for The Cleveland Show?

A deli: Cleveland ran Cleveland's Deli until he left for his own show, and when he came back to Family Guy he traded the counter for a job with the post office.

Why does Cleveland Jr. run off and marry Cecilia on The Cleveland Show?

To stop her deportation: once the neighbor Lester reports Cecilia to immigration, Junior marries her to keep her in the country, over his father's protests.

Which Breaking Bad star took over as the voice of Dr. Fist late in The Cleveland Show's run?

Bryan Cranston inherited the doctor from Seth MacFarlane, and the part soon took a shady turn of its own: Cleveland befriends Dr. Fist, then learns he is mixed up with the mob.

Which media mogul voiced Tim the Bear's wife on The Cleveland Show?

Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, voiced a bear who shares her first name; in the final season the bear insults Cleveland's wife, and he defends her honor by egging the bear's house.

On The Cleveland Show, what alias does Roberta's boyfriend Gabriel Friedman go by?

Federline Jones borrows the name of the rapper Kevin Federline for a suburban teenager who fancies himself a hip-hop star; Jamie Kennedy voices him.

Which comedian voices Principal Wally on The Cleveland Show?

Will Forte voices a principal with a grudge: Wally went to school with Cleveland, who picked on him back then, and he scrapped the baseball team out of spite.

Which film director voices Gus the bartender on The Cleveland Show?

David Lynch owes the part to a fan: the show's co-creator quit a job in advertising after seeing Wild at Heart, and years later talked the director into playing his bartender.

On The Cleveland Show, what is the nickname of Cleveland's father, LeVar Brown?

Freight Train, voiced by Craig Robinson, belittles his son at every turn, and the show traces the grudge to a family game show that young Cleveland lost for the Browns.

On The Cleveland Show, how is five-year-old Rallo related to Cleveland?

His stepson: Rallo is the younger child of Cleveland's new wife, and at first he fights the newcomer so hard that he breaks his own leg in a scheme to split the couple up.

In The Cleveland Show's second episode, what does Cleveland accidentally run over on his way to buy a cake?

The family dog, Meadowlark Lemon, named for the Harlem Globetrotter, is the victim, and Cleveland's attempt to cover it up nearly wrecks his fresh start with his stepchildren.

On The Cleveland Show, the family tells Rallo his absent father misses Christmas because he works as what?

An FBI agent is the family's cover story for a father who simply stays away, and it holds until Cleveland, playing Santa at an office party, has one eggnog too many and lets the truth slip.

Cleveland's neighbor Holt runs off to which city to marry Cleveland's sister-in-law, Janet?

Las Vegas is where the whole family ends up spending Thanksgiving: Janet leaves her sons behind when she elopes, so her sister marches everyone there to confront her.

After The Cleveland Show was cancelled, Cleveland and his family moved back to which town?

Quahog took him back in 2014: the family moved into Cleveland's old house, which had passed through a string of tenants while he was away and needed fixing up first.

As of 2026, which US streaming service carries all four seasons of The Cleveland Show?

Hulu carries it in the US, while abroad the same episodes sit on Disney+: both follow from Disney buying the Fox studio that made the show.

Which local landmark does Cleveland campaign to save from demolition on The Cleveland Show?

The drive-in theater is saved, and the campaign gets him invited to dinner by the town's preservation society, where what he learns about the founding father's legacy turns him against his new allies.

On The Cleveland Show, Cleveland and Rallo become a hit opening for a magician with what kind of routine?

A ventriloquist act, with Rallo playing the puppet: his sharp tongue wins the crowd, and he soon tires of watching Cleveland take the credit.

At Comic-Con on The Cleveland Show, which real director screens a blaxploitation film Cleveland's wife made in her youth?

Robert Rodriguez voices himself; she is horrified to see the old film resurface, while Cleveland has come to the convention to sell a comic book of his own.

Which wrestling legend hosts the camping trip Cleveland takes his friends on in the season three premiere?

Ric Flair plays himself; Cleveland plans the outing to bond with his new friends after feeling snubbed by an old one who came to town without calling.

Cleveland's mother Cookie leaves her husband to go on the road with which funk legend and his band?

George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars take her on tour after her husband forgets their anniversary, leaving Cleveland and his father to chase the band down.

Which 1970s TV mom voiced Barbara, the cultured nanny who helped raise Cleveland on The Cleveland Show?

Florence Henderson of The Brady Bunch plays the nanny he had forgotten; meeting her again explains his refined tastes, just after a dance contest gets him mocked as too white.

What secret sideline does Cleveland's gruff father turn out to have late in The Cleveland Show?

Mystery novelist: the hard man of the family writes whodunits under a woman's name, and his grandsons sign up as his pupils to learn how a mystery is built.

Besides Family Guy, which Seth MacFarlane show shared a crossover night with The Cleveland Show?

American Dad! joined in for 'Night of the Hurricane', one storm blowing through all three shows in an evening; Fox held it back five months after deadly tornadoes struck the South.

Which holiday episode earned The Cleveland Show its only Primetime Emmy nomination?

Murray Christmas sends Rallo to a retirement home for the weekend, where he meets Murray, a grump voiced by Carl Reiner, who teaches him about Hanukkah.

Why does Rallo have to lose his beloved Afro in the final season of The Cleveland Show?

A lice outbreak at school forces his mother to cut it all off, and when classmates tease the newly bald Rallo it is Cleveland Jr. who stands up for him.

On The Cleveland Show, Cleveland tries to reform a group of expelled teens by starting them in what business?

Baking cookies was the plan, but the teens take his baking terms for drug slang and start dealing instead, and Cleveland is the last to work out what they are selling.

Whom does Cleveland's father adopt in the final season of The Cleveland Show, making him Cleveland's brother?

Robert Tubbs, his wife's ex-husband: after Robert outshines Cleveland's birthday present with tickets to a prize fight, the old man adopts him to have a son he can be proud of.

On The Cleveland Show, why does Cleveland miss the start of his family's Spring Break cruise?

He is in rehab, hooked on the energy pills he took to work enough overtime for the trip; his escape to join the ship goes wrong, and he ends up held hostage by pirates.

The Cleveland Show's season two premiere, 'Harder, Better, Faster, Browner', spoofs a song title by which act?

Daft Punk's 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' is the target; Kanye West, who sampled that very song for his hit 'Stronger', guest-stars as a rapper whose career Cleveland tries to launch.

Which project kept Seth MacFarlane too busy to keep voicing Tim the Bear on The Cleveland Show?

Ted had MacFarlane directing his first feature and voicing a different talking bear, so the one on television passed to Jess Harnell partway through season three.