‘Family Guy’ casts Cleveland Brown’s new voice after committing to hire Black actor for character

Fox’s “Family Guy” said Friday that YouTube star Arif Zahir will be the new voice of one of its most beloved characters, Cleveland Brown.

The announcement ends a months-long search after the show committed to finding a Black actor to voice the character.

Zahir, who’s known for impersonating Cleveland and other “Family Guy” characters on his popular YouTube channel, will replace Mike Henry in the 2021-22 season, according to the network.

Henry, who’s white, announced in June he would step down from playing the Black character, a move that followed a series of protests for racial justice across the country, bringing renewed scrutiny into the casting of characters of color in animated series.

The news came a day after “The Simpsons” announced Alex Désert, who is Black, would take over the part of Carl from Hank Azaria.

“It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years,” Henry, who also writes and produces for the animated sitcom, said at the time. “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role.”

“The Simpsons” announced around the same time that its black characters, including Dr. Hibbert and Lou the cop, would also be voiced by black actors going forward.

Zahir, who has more than six million subscribers on YouTube, put his name in the hat just hours after Henry’s announcement.

“Haha, I wonder who could do the job. I seriously have zero idea,” Zahir, speaking in a Cleveland voice, said in a video that day.

The character will still be voiced by Henry in the upcoming 18th season, which premieres Sunday. The show was recently renewed for two more seasons and Henry will stay on board as a writer and voicing other characters.

Zahir, known on YouTube as Azerrz, said Cleveland is his favorite cartoon character of all time and he was “shocked and saddened” to hear Henry was stepping down.

“When I learned I would get to take over the role? Overabundant gratitude,” he said in a statement Friday.

He thanked Henry for creating “something truly special” as well as series creator Seth MacFarlane and showrunners Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin for choosing him for the role.

“And to the millions of fans who love this show,” Zahir said, “I promise not to let you down."