Country of origin United States Original network Fox | No. of episodes 21 | |
Original release September 27, 2009 (2009-09-27) – May 23, 2010 (2010-05-23) | ||
The Cleveland Show's first season began airing on September 27, 2009, and ended after 21 episodes on May 23, 2010. Production of the 22 episode season began in May 2008 and was expected to begin broadcast in January 2009 but was later pushed back to September 2009.
The DVD was released as a "Complete Season" featuring all of the aired episodes. It was released in the Region 1 on September 28, 2010, and was released in the Region 2 on October 11, 2010.
Reception
The season started off with mediocre to above average reviews. On the series premiere IGN wrote "While it seems to be missing some of the over-the-top offensive bite we're used to on Family Guy, and Cleveland's new drinking buddies aren't quite as amusing as the Quagmire, Joe and Peter combination - there's a lot to like here. It might take a while for the show to grow out of its Family Guy shadow, but with a greater focus on wacky family focused stories, we might get to see much personality burst out of the normally sedate Cleveland."
For the following episodes reviews were generally positive as well. Episode 2 received a 7/10, although IGN mentioned "[the show] hasn't really shown any signs of innovation or desire to stray too far from the well-established Family Guy comedic formula", while the third episode, "The One About Friends", shared similar criticisms such as "This show still seems to be trying to find its way, and without a memorable supporting cast like we have on Family Guy, it will be hard to see how this show can make it with only Cleveland's sedated humor."