The show isn't set in Cleveland. The lead character never lived in Cleveland. And the creator of the character isn't from Cleveland.

Still, the city did play a key role in the naming of Cleveland Brown, the soft-spoken "Family Guy" character getting his own series.

This animated spinoff show premieres at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27 on WJW Channel 8.

"I created the character of Cleveland when I was in the writers' room very early on, during the first few episodes of 'Family Guy,' " said Mike Henry, the writer-comedian who provides the voice of Cleveland Brown. "I started doing the voice and people were laughing, so someone said, 'OK, what's his name?' And it just popped out -- Cleveland."

PREVIEW The Cleveland Show What: The premiere of the "Family Guy" spin-off series featuring the soft-spoken character Cleveland Brown. When: 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Where: Fox (WJW Channel 8).

Why Cleveland?

Henry is from Virginia, which is where "The Cleveland Show" is set.

"It was because I was getting ready to get on a plane in a couple of days to go to Cleveland for Christmas," said Henry, co-creator and executive producer of the "Family Guy" spinoff. "I have many relatives there . . . aunts, uncles, cousins and my grandparents, Robert J. Sullivan and his wife, Doris. So I spent 25 or so Christmases in University Heights.

I have the greatest memories of snowy Christmases and going to a Browns game at the old stadium. I love Cleveland, and that's why the character is Cleveland."

The history of prime-time television is chock-full of similar stories about how characters got their names. Here are just a few examples:

Emma Peel, played by Diana Rigg on "The Avengers" (ABC, 1966-68): The producers and writers knew they wanted a character with strong "man appeal." They started using the shorthand term "M. Appeal." And from there, it was a kung fu kick to Emma Peel.

Fred Sanford, played by Redd Foxx on "Sanford and Son" (NBC, 1972-77): Foxx, born John Elroy Sanford, named his junk dealer character after his late brother, Fred.

Homer and Marge Simpson on "The Simpsons" (Fox, 1989-present): The long-running show's creator, Matt Groening, often borrows his relatives' names for animated characters. His parents' names: Homer and Margaret Groening.

Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose on "Rocky and His Friends" and "The Bullwinkle Show" (NBC, 1961-62): The show's producer, Jay Ward, turned his first name into the middle initial for both Rocky and Bullwinkle. Groening was so influenced by Ward's work, he gave Homer Simpson the middle name of Jay.

Cosmo Kramer, played by Michael Richards on "Seinfeld" (NBC, 1990-98): The show's co-creator, Larry David, named the character for his neighbor, comedian Kenny Kramer.

Sam Malone, played by Ted Danson on "Cheers" (NBC, 1982-93): "Cheers" is the place where everybody knows your name, but Sam's name was meant to evoke a solitary nature, despite his womanizing ways. So Sam Malone was about as close as you could get to "am alone."

Dana Scully and John Doggett, played by Gillian Anderson and Robert Patrick on "The X-Files" (Fox, 1993-2002): The supernatural series' creator, Chris Carter, is a baseball fan, so he named Dana and John after longtime Dodgers announcers Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett.

Bailey Salinger, played by Scott Wolf on "Party of Five" (Fox, 1994-2000): What better last name for an angst-filled teen than that of an author, J.D. Salinger, who penned a classic novel about teen angst, "The Catcher in the Rye"?

Punky Brewster, the title character played Soleil Moon Frye on the NBC comedy (1984-86): NBC's entertainment president, Brandon Tartikoff, named the precocious Punky after the object of a boyhood crush.

Lt. Columbo, played by Peter Falk in 69 mystery movies aired by NBC and ABC (1968-2003): Falk never said what the lieutenant's first name was, but the mystery behind his last name finally was solved. The character's creators, Richard Levinson and William Link, thought they came up with the name as a cross between Columbus and the Philadelphia restaurant Palumbo's. Looking through a book a few years ago, Link stumbled on the name of heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano's pal and corner man, Allie Colombo. He remembered they were big boxing fans and that was the true origin of the character's name.