Family Guy Reveals New Actor Voicing Cleveland Brown In Season 19

By Andy Swift
Family Guy Cleveland VoiceCourtesy of Disney–ABC Domestic Television

Three months afterFamily Guy starMike Henry announced that he was stepping down as the voice of Cleveland Brown, a replacement has been named.

Family Guy Cleveland VoiceArif Zahir (pictured right) will assume the role for the show's upcoming 19th season. Several episodes were already produced — including Sunday's premiere — and will continue to feature Henry's voice, but the episodes currently in production will find Zahir playing the part.

Henry, who is not Black, has voiced Cleveland, who is Black, since the character was introduced inFamily Guy's 1999 series premiere. He also headlined its spinoff, TheCleveland Show, for four seasons (2009–2013).

"Firstly, I'm eternally grateful to have received this once in a lifetime opportunity," Zahir said in a statement. "When I heard that Mike Henry was stepping down from the role ofCleveland Brown — my favorite cartoon character of all time — I was shocked and saddened, assuming we'd never see him again. When I learned I would get to take over the role? Overabundant gratitude. To Mike, you created something truly special and I promise I will do my absolute best to honor your legacy. To Rich Appel, Alec Sulkin and Seth MacFarlane, thank you for this incredible gift. And to the millions of fans who love this show, I promise not to let you down."

Added Henry, "I welcome Arif to theFamily Guy team. Arif's vocal talent is obvious, but his understanding of Cleveland and his respect for the character give me confidence that he is in the right hands. I look forward to getting to know Arif and working with him to make sure Cleveland stays every bit as awesome as he has always been."

Zahir has been doing impressions of Cleveland on his YouTube channel for several years. Lest you doubt his ability to fully embody the popular character, check out his impressive work below:

Of course, Cleveland is just one of several Black characters that have been incorrectly voiced by white actors for years;The Simpsons recently announced that actor Alex Desert willassume the role of Carl Carlson, at least for Sunday's season premiere. Earlier this summer, we also learned of replacements forKristen Bell's character on Apple TV+'sCentral Park, as well asJenny Slate's character on Netflix'sBig Mouth.

Your thoughts on Zahir's Cleveland impression? Hit PLAY on the video above, then drop a comment with your take below.

Recommended

WHAT TO WATCH TODAY

ET
The Beatles Anthology
Down Cemetery Road
Ink Master
Jingle Bell Heist
Loot
Palm Royale
Pluribus
Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
WondLa
ET
Countdown to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
Stranger Things
Survivor
ET
Sistas
Southern Charm
ET
The Amazing Race
ET
South Park
ET
Beavis and Butt-Head
Read More