Family Guy

Characters

The Griffin family. From left: Chris, Peter, Stewie (in baby carrier), Lois, Meg, and Brian (dog in front).

The show centers around the adventures and activities of the dysfunctional Griffin family, consisting of father Peter Griffin, a bumbling and clumsy yet well-intentioned blue-collar worker; Lois, a stay-at-home mother and piano teacher (in early episodes) who is a member of the affluent Pewterschmidt family; Meg, their often bullied teenage daughter who is also constantly ridiculed or ignored by the family; Chris, their awkward teenage son, who is overweight, unintelligent, unathletic and, in many respects, is simply a younger version of his father; and Stewie, their diabolical infant son of ambiguous sexual orientation who is an adult-mannered evil genius and uses stereotypical archvillain phrases. Living with the family is their witty, smoking, martini-swilling, sarcastic, English-speaking anthropomorphic dog Brian, though he is still considered a pet in many ways.^[8]

Recurring characters appear alongside the Griffin family. These include the family's neighbors: sex-crazed airline pilot bachelor Quagmire; deli owner/mail carrier Cleveland and his wife Loretta (later Donna); paraplegic police officer Joe, his wife Bonnie, their son Kevin and their baby daughter Susie; neurotic Jewish pharmacist Mort, his wife Muriel, and their geeky and annoying son Neil; and elderly child molester Herbert. TV news anchors Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons, Asian reporter Tricia Takanawa, and Blaccu-Weather meteorologist Ollie Williams also make frequent appearances. Actor James Woods guest stars as himself in multiple episodes, as did Adam West, prior to his death.

Setting

The skyline of Providence, as viewed from the northwest looking southeast, from left to right: One Financial Center, 50 Kennedy Plaza, and the Superman Building

The skyline's animated Family Guy counterpart

The primary setting of Family Guy is Quahog (/ˈk(w)oʊhɒɡ/ K(W)OH-hog), a fictional city in Rhode Island that was founded by Peter's ancestor, Griffin Peterson. MacFarlane resided in Providence during his time as a student at Rhode Island School of Design, and the show contains distinct Rhode Island landmarks similar to real-world locations.^[9][10] MacFarlane often borrows the names of Rhode Island locations and icons such as Pawtucket and Buddy Cianci for use in the show. MacFarlane, in an interview with Providence's Fox affiliate WNAC-TV, stated that the town is modeled after Cranston, Rhode Island.^[11]

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Griffin family

Griffin family

The Griffin family is a fictional family which appears in the animated television series Family Guy. The Griffins are a dysfunctional family consisting of the married couple Peter and Lois, their three children Meg, Chris, and Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog Brian. They live at 31 Spooner Street in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island. Their family car resembles a red sixth-generation Ford Country Squire. They were created by Seth MacFarlane, in model of his two animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. The family and the show itself debuted on January 31, 1999, after Super Bowl XXXIII, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow".

Chris Griffin

Chris Griffin

Christopher Cross "Chris" Griffin(born February 8th) is a fictional character from the animated television series, Family Guy. He is the second of three children of Peter and Lois Griffin and is also the older brother of Stewie Griffin and the younger brother of Meg Griffin. He is voiced by the American actor, producer and writer, Seth Green, and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998.

Peter Griffin

Peter Griffin

Peter Löwenbräu Griffin Sr. is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom Family Guy. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the 15-minute pilot pitch of Family Guy on December 20, 1998. Peter was created and designed by MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on Larry & Steve, a short made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. After the series pilot was given the green light, the Griffin family appeared in the episode "Death Has a Shadow".

Stewie Griffin

Stewie Griffin

Stewart "Stewie" Gilligan Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by the series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Stewie was created and designed by MacFarlane himself, who was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company, based on The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve, two shorts made by MacFarlane featuring a middle-aged man named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. After the pilot was given the green light, the Griffin family appeared in the episode "Death Has a Shadow".

Lois Griffin

Lois Griffin

Lois Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane, and was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on Larry and Steve, a short he made which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. After the series pilot was given the green light, the Griffin family appeared in the episode "Death Has a Shadow".

Meg Griffin

Meg Griffin

Meg Griffin is a fictional character in the animated television series Family Guy. Meg is the eldest child of Peter and Lois Griffin and older sister of Stewie and Chris, but is also the family's scapegoat who receives the least of their attention and tolerates the brunt of their abuse. She is often bullied, belittled, ridiculed, and ignored.

Brian Griffin

Brian Griffin

H. Brian Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated television series Family Guy. An anthropomorphic white Labrador retriever voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is one of the show's main characters as a member of the Griffin family. He primarily works in the series as a slightly smug and less-than-adept writer struggling to find himself, attempting essays, novels, screenplays, and newspaper articles.

Blue-collar worker

Blue-collar worker

A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and power plant operations, electrical construction and maintenance, custodial work, farming, commercial fishing, logging, landscaping, pest control, food processing, oil field work, waste collection and disposal, recycling, construction, maintenance, shipping, driving, trucking, and many other types of physical work. Blue-collar work often involves something being physically built or maintained.

Mad scientist

Mad scientist

The mad scientist is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly ambitious, taboo or hubristic nature of their experiments. As a motif in fiction, the mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign, or neutral; may be insane, eccentric, or clumsy; and often works with fictional technology or fails to recognise or value common human objections to attempting to play God. Some may have benevolent intentions, even if their actions are dangerous or questionable, which can make them accidental antagonists.

Archenemy

Archenemy

In literature, an archenemy is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero's, most prominent and most-known enemy.

Martini (cocktail)

Martini (cocktail)

The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. A popular variation, the vodka martini, uses vodka instead of gin for the cocktail's base.

MacFarlane conceived Family Guy in 1995 while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).^[12] During college, he created his thesis film entitled The Life of Larry,^[12] which was submitted by his professor at RISD to Hanna-Barbera. MacFarlane was hired by the company.^[13] In 1996 MacFarlane created a sequel to The Life of Larry entitled Larry and Steve, which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve; the short was broadcast in 1997 as one of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons.^[12]

Executives at Fox saw the Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series, entitled Family Guy, based on the characters.^[10] Fox proposed MacFarlane complete a 15-minute short, and gave him a budget of $50,000.^[14] Several aspects of Family Guy were inspired by the Larry shorts.^[15] While he worked on the series, the characters of Larry and his dog Steve slowly evolved into Peter and Brian.^[10][16] MacFarlane stated that the difference between The Life of Larry and Family Guy was that "Life of Larry was shown primarily in my dorm room and Family Guy was shown after the Super Bowl."^[15] After the pilot aired, the series was given the green light. MacFarlane drew inspiration from several sitcoms such as The Simpsons and All in the Family.^[17] Premises were drawn from several 1980s Saturday-morning cartoons he watched as a child, such as The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang and Rubik, the Amazing Cube.^[18]

The Griffin family first appeared on the demo that MacFarlane pitched to Fox on May 15, 1998.^[19] Family Guy was originally planned to start out as short movies for the sketch show Mad TV, but the plan changed because MADtv's budget was not large enough to support animation production. MacFarlane noted that he then wanted to pitch it to Fox, as he thought that it was the place to create a prime-time animation show.^[17] Family Guy was originally pitched to Fox in the same year as King of the Hill, but the show was not bought until years later, when King of the Hill became successful.^[17] Fox ordered 13 episodes of Family Guy to air in midseason after MacFarlane impressed executives with a 14-minute pilot.^[20][21]

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Rhode Island School of Design

Rhode Island School of Design

The Rhode Island School of Design is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the accessibility of design education to women. Today, RISD offers bachelor's and master's degree programs across 19 majors and enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. The Rhode Island School of Design Museum—which houses the school's art and design collections—is one of the largest college art museums in the United States.

Hanna-Barbera

Hanna-Barbera

Hanna-Barbera was an American animation studio and production company that was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to close its in-house cartoon studio, headquartered on Cahuenga Boulevard from 1960 until 1998 and then at the Sherman Oaks Galleria in Sherman Oaks, both in Los Angeles, California, until going defunct.

Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Cartoonito, Adult Swim, and Toonami under its purview. The channel is headquartered at 1050 Techwood Drive NW in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company

The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations and additional offices at the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and the Fox Media Center in Tempe. Launched as a competitor to the Big Three television networks on October 9, 1986, Fox went on to become the most successful attempt at a fourth television network. It was the highest-rated free-to-air network in the 18–49 demographic from 2004 to 2012 and again in 2020, and was the most-watched American television network in total viewership during the 2007–08 season.

Super Bowl XXXIII

Super Bowl XXXIII

Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Atlanta Falcons to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1998 season. The Broncos defeated the Falcons by the score of 34–19, winning their second consecutive Super Bowl. The game was played on January 31, 1999, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida.

The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture and society, television, and the human condition.

All in the Family

All in the Family

All in the Family is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was produced as the continuation series Archie Bunker's Place, which picked up where All in the Family had ended and ran for four more seasons through 1983.

Saturday-morning cartoon

Saturday-morning cartoon

"Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a broad peak from the mid-1960s through the mid-2000s; over time it declined, in the face of changing cultural norms, increased competition from formats available at all times, and heavier regulations. In the last two decades of the genre's existence, Saturday-morning and Sunday-morning cartoons were primarily created and aired to meet regulations on children's television programming in the United States, or E/I. Minor television networks, in addition to the non-commercial PBS in some markets, continue to air animated programming on Saturday and Sunday while partially meeting those mandates.

The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang

The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang

The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang is an American animated science fiction comedy series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Paramount Television and originally broadcast during the Saturday morning schedule on ABC from November 8, 1980, until November 28, 1981. It is a spin-off of the live-action sitcom Happy Days.

Rubik, the Amazing Cube

Rubik, the Amazing Cube

Rubik, the Amazing Cube is a 1983 half-hour Saturday morning animated series based on the puzzle created by Ernő Rubik, produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises and broadcast as part of The Pac-Man/Rubik, the Amazing Cube Hour block on ABC from September 10 to December 10, 1983 and continued in reruns until September 1, 1984. The Rubik half hour was broadcast in reruns as a standalone series on ABC from May 4 to August 31, 1985.

Mad TV

Mad TV

Mad TV is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. It premiered on October 14, 1995, on Fox, where it ran for 14 seasons, with its final, 326th episode airing on May 16, 2009. Loosely based on the humor magazine Mad, Mad TV's pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily based around pop culture–featuring parodies of films, TV series, music videos, celebrities, and occasionally politics–and original characters, many of which were recurring.

King of the Hill

King of the Hill

King of the Hill is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series initially aired from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, and centers on the Hills, an American family in the fictional city of Arlen, Texas, as well as their neighbors, co-workers, relatives, classmates, friends, and acquaintances. Series protagonist, patriarch, and everyman Hank Hill works as assistant manager at Strickland Propane. He lives in a ranch-style house with his wife Peggy, his son Bobby, his niece Luanne, and his pet bloodhound Lady Bird. Hank's neighbors are his longtime friends Bill Dauterive, a divorced, bald, overweight military barber and former high school football star; Dale Gribble, a paranoid, pro-gun, anti-government pest exterminator; and Jeff Boomhauer, a charismatic, soft-spoken, often unintelligible bachelor. The show's realistic approach seeks humor in the conventional and mundane aspects of everyday life, such as blue-collar workers, substitute teachers, the trials of puberty, and political correctness.

Executive producers

MacFarlane has served as an executive producer throughout the show's entire history. The first executive producers were David Zuckerman,^[41] Lolee Aries, David Pritchard, and Mike Wolf.^[42] Family Guy has had many executive producers in its history, including Daniel Palladino, Kara Vallow, and Danny Smith. David A. Goodman joined the show as a co-executive producer in season three and eventually became an executive producer.^[43]

Writing

Matt Weitzman (left) is a former staff writer, and Mike Barker is a former producer and writer of the show. Both left the series to create the ongoing adult animated sitcom American Dad! with Seth MacFarlane. Barker would leave American Dad! as well, following production of the show's 10th season.

The first team of writers assembled for the show consisted of Chris Sheridan,^[44] Danny Smith, Gary Janetti, Ricky Blitt, Neil Goldman, Garrett Donovan, Matt Weitzman, and Mike Barker.^[45] The writing process of Family Guy typically starts with 14 writers that take turns writing the scripts; when a script is finished it is given to the rest of the writers to read.

These scripts generally include cutaway gags. Various gags are pitched to MacFarlane and the rest of the staff, and those deemed funniest are included in the episode. MacFarlane has explained that normally it takes 10 months to produce an episode because the show uses hand-drawn animation. The show rarely comments on current events for this reason.^[46] The show's initial writers had never written for an animated show; and most came from live-action sitcoms.^[17]

MacFarlane explained that he is a fan of 1930s and 1940s radio programs, particularly the radio thriller anthology Suspense, which led him to give early episodes ominous titles like "Death Has a Shadow" and "Mind Over Murder." MacFarlane said that the team dropped the naming convention after individual episodes became hard to identify, and the novelty wore off.^[47] For the first few months of production, the writers shared one office, lent to them by the King of the Hill production crew.^[47]

Credited with 19 episodes, Steve Callaghan is the most prolific writer on the Family Guy staff. Many of the writers that have left the show have gone on to create or produce other successful series. Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan co-wrote 13 episodes for the NBC sitcom Scrubs during their eight-year run on the show, while also serving as co-producers and working their way up to executive producers.^[48] Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman left the show and went on to create the long-running and still ongoing adult animated series American Dad! MacFarlane is also a co-creator of American Dad!^[49][50] On November 4, 2013, it was announced that Barker had departed American Dad! during its run as well, after 10 seasons of serving as producer and co-showrunner over the series.^[51]

During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, official production of the show halted for most of December 2007 and for various periods afterward. Fox continued producing episodes without MacFarlane's final approval, which he termed "a colossal dick move" in an interview with Variety. Though MacFarlane refused to work on the show, his contract under Fox required him to contribute to any episodes it would subsequently produce.^[52] Production officially resumed after the end of the strike, with regularly airing episodes recommencing on February 17, 2008.^[53] According to MacFarlane, in 2009, it cost about $2 million to make an episode of Family Guy.^[54]

During his September 2017 AMA on Reddit, MacFarlane revealed that he hadn't written for the show since 2010, choosing instead to focus on production and voice acting.^[55]

Early history and cancellation

Family Guy officially premiered after Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999, with "Death Has a Shadow". The show debuted to 22 million viewers, and immediately generated controversy regarding its adult content.^[56] The show returned on April 11, 1999, with "I Never Met the Dead Man". Family Guy garnered decent ratings in Fox's 8:30 pm slot on Sunday, scheduled between The Simpsons and The X-Files.^[57] At the end of its first season the show ranked at No. 33 in the Nielsen ratings, with 12.8 million households tuning in.^[58] The show launched its second season in a new time slot, Thursday at 9 pm, on September 23, 1999. Family Guy was pitted against NBC's Frasier, and the series' ratings declined sharply.^[57] Subsequently, Fox removed Family Guy from its schedule, and began airing episodes irregularly. The show returned on March 7, 2000, at 8:30 pm on Tuesdays, where it was constantly beaten in the ratings by ABC's then-new breakout hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, coming in at No. 114 in the Nielsen ratings with 6.32 million households tuning in. Fox announced that the show had been canceled in May 2000, at the end of the second season.^[59] However, following a last-minute reprieve, on July 24, 2000, Fox ordered 13 additional episodes of Family Guy to form a third season.^[56]

The show returned on November 8, 2001, once again in a tough time slot: Thursday nights at 8:00 pm. This slot brought it into competition with Survivor and Friends (a situation that was later referenced in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story).^[60] During its second and third seasons, Fox frequently moved the show around to different days and time slots with little or no notice and, consequently, the show's ratings suffered.^[61] Upon Fox's annual unveiling of its 2002 fall line-up on May 15, 2002, Family Guy was absent.^[57] Fox announced that the show had been officially canceled shortly thereafter.^[62]

Cult success and revival

Fox attempted to sell the rights for reruns of the show, but finding networks that were interested was difficult; Cartoon Network eventually bought the rights, "[...] basically for free", according to the president of 20th Century Fox Television.^[63] Family Guy premiered in reruns on Adult Swim on April 20, 2003, and immediately became the block's top-rated program, dominating late-night viewing in its time period versus cable and broadcast competition and boosting viewership by 239%.^[57][64] The complete first and second seasons were released on DVD the same week the show premiered on Adult Swim, and the show became a cult phenomenon, selling 400,000 copies within one month.^[57] Sales of the DVD set reached 2.2 million copies,^[65] becoming the best-selling television DVD of 2003^[66] and the second-highest-selling television DVD ever, behind the first season of Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show.^[67] The third-season DVD release also sold more than a million copies.^[64] The show's popularity in DVD sales and reruns rekindled Fox's interest,^[68] and, on May 20, 2004, Fox ordered 35 new episodes of Family Guy, marking the first revival of a television show based on DVD sales.^[67][56]

"North by North Quahog", which premiered May 1, 2005, was the first episode to be broadcast after the show's hiatus. It was written by MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin.^[69] MacFarlane believed the show's three-year hiatus was beneficial because animated shows do not normally have hiatuses, and towards the end of their seasons, "... you see a lot more sex jokes and bodily function jokes and signs of a fatigued staff that their brains are just fried".^[70] With "North by North Quahog", the writing staff tried to keep the show "[...] exactly as it was" before its cancellation, and "None of us had any desire to make it look any slicker".^[70] The episode was watched by 11.85 million viewers,^[71] the show's highest ratings since the airing of the first season episode "Brian: Portrait of a Dog".^[72]

Lawsuits

In March 2007, comedian Carol Burnett filed a $6 million lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming that her charwoman cartoon character had been portrayed on the show without her permission. She stated it was a trademark infringement, and that Fox violated her publicity rights.^[73][74][75] On June 4, 2007, United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson rejected the lawsuit, stating that the parody was protected under the First Amendment, citing Hustler Magazine v. Falwell as a precedent.^[76]

On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show of infringing its copyright on the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", through a parody song entitled "I Need a Jew" appearing in the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of its music with antisemitic lyrics. Named in the suit were 20th Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co., Cartoon Network, MacFarlane and Murphy; the suit sought to stop the program's distribution and asked for unspecified damages.^[77] Bourne argued that "I Need a Jew" uses the copyrighted melody of "When You Wish Upon a Star" without commenting on that song, and that it was therefore not a First Amendment-protected parody per the ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.^[78][79] On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed the song for comical use in an episode.^[80]

In December 2007, Family Guy was again accused of copyright infringement when actor Art Metrano filed a lawsuit regarding a scene in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, in which Jesus performs Metrano's signature "magic" act involving absurd "faux" magical hand gestures while humming the distinctive tune "Fine and Dandy".^[81] 20th Century Fox, MacFarlane, Callaghan and Borstein were all named in the suit.^[82] In July 2009, a federal district court judge rejected Fox's motion to dismiss, saying that the first three fair use factors involved – "purpose and character of the use", "nature of the infringed work" and "amount and substantiality of the taking" – counted in Metrano's favor, while the fourth – "economic impact" – had to await more fact-finding. In denying the dismissal, the court held that the reference in the scene made light of Jesus and his followers – not Metrano or his act.^[83][84] The case was settled out of court in 2010 with undisclosed terms.^[85]

Voice cast

• Main cast
• 

  Seth MacFarlane

• 

  Alex Borstein

• 

  Seth Green

• 

  Mila Kunis

• 

  Mike Henry

• 

  Patrick Warburton

Seth MacFarlane voices three of the show's main characters: Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, and Stewie Griffin.^[86] Since MacFarlane had a strong vision for these characters, he chose to voice them himself, believing it would be easier than for someone else to attempt it.^[18] MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from a security guard he overheard talking while attending the Rhode Island School of Design.^[87] Stewie's voice was based on the voice of English actor Rex Harrison,^[88] especially his performance in the 1964 musical drama film My Fair Lady.^[89] MacFarlane uses his regular speaking voice when playing Brian.^[18] MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time-only characters, most prominently those of the Griffins' neighbor Glenn Quagmire, news anchor Tom Tucker, and Lois' father, Carter Pewterschmidt.^[90]

Alex Borstein voices Peter's wife Lois Griffin, Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown, and Lois' mother, Babs Pewterschmidt.^[91] Borstein was asked to provide a voice for the pilot while she was working on MADtv. She had not met MacFarlane or seen any of his artwork, and said it was "really sight unseen".^[92] At the time, Borstein was performing in a stage show in Los Angeles. She played a redheaded mother whose voice she had based on one of her cousins.^[91][92]

Seth Green primarily voices Chris Griffin and Neil Goldman.^[90][93] Green stated that he did an impression of the character Buffalo Bill from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition.^[94][95]

Mila Kunis and Lacey Chabert have both voiced Meg Griffin.^[90] Chabert left the series after the first season because of time conflicts with schoolwork (at the time) and her role on Party of Five. When Kunis auditioned for the role, she was called back by MacFarlane, who instructed her to speak slower. He then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her.^[96] Archival recordings of Lacey Chabert's voice that she provided as Meg Griffin are used in the tenth season episode "Back to the Pilot" in which Brian and Stewie go back in time to the events of "Death Has a Shadow."

Mike Henry voices Herbert, Bruce the Performance Artist, Consuela, the Greased-up Deaf Guy, and until 2021, Cleveland Brown.^[97] Henry met MacFarlane at the Rhode Island School of Design, and kept in touch with him after they graduated.^[98] A few years later, MacFarlane contacted him about being part of the show; he agreed and came on as a writer and voice actor.^[98] During the show's first four seasons, he was credited as a guest star, but beginning with season five's "Prick Up Your Ears", he has been credited as a main cast member.^[98] On June 26, 2020, after twenty years of voicing the character, Mike Henry announced on Twitter that he was stepping down from voicing Cleveland, stating "persons of color should play characters of color."^[99][100] On September 25, 2020, it was announced that Arif Zahir would take over as the voice of Cleveland.^[101][102]

Other recurring cast members include Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson; Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson;^[103] John G. Brennan as Mort Goldman and Horace the bartender; Carlos Alazraqui as Jonathan Weed;^[104][105] Adam Carolla and Norm Macdonald as Death;^[106] Lori Alan as Diane Simmons;^[107] Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams and Judge Dignified Q. Blackman,^[108] and Kevin Michael Richardson as Jerome. Fellow cartoonist Butch Hartman has made guest voice appearances in episodes as various characters.^[109] Also, writer Danny Smith voices various recurring characters, such as Ernie the Giant Chicken.^[110] Alexandra Breckenridge also appears as many various characters. Adam West appeared as the eponymous Mayor Adam West, until his death in 2017.^[111]

Episodes often feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, athletes, authors, bands, musicians, and scientists. Many guest voices star as themselves. Leslie Uggams was the first to appear as herself, in the fourth episode of the first season, "Mind Over Murder".^[112] The episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" guest starred the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, including Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, Marina Sirtis, and even Denise Crosby (season 1 as Tasha Yar), playing themselves; this is the episode with the most guest stars of the seventh season.^[113][114]

Discover more about Production related topics

David Zuckerman (TV producer)

David Zuckerman (TV producer)

David J. Zuckerman is an American television producer and writer and is best known as the original showrunner and executive producer of the animated comedy series Family Guy, as well as the creator of the American adaptation of the Australian television series of the same name, Wilfred.

Lolee Aries

Lolee Aries

Lolee Aries was a television producer specializing in animated series. Aries has been an executive producer of Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, King of the Hill, CatDog, Family Guy, Dora the Explorer, Invader Zim, The Fairly OddParents, Oswald, and ChalkZone, and among other shows like The Simpsons, The Angry Beavers, SpongeBob SquarePants, and The Oblongs. Aries also worked for Film Roman Inc. also as an animation executive producer.

Daniel Palladino

Daniel Palladino

Daniel Palladino is an American television executive producer, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for his work on the television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–present), which earned him a WGA Award, two PGA Awards, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

Kara Vallow

Kara Vallow

Kara Vallow is an American television animation producer who works with Seth MacFarlane on the four television series produced by Fuzzy Door Productions for Fox, Family Guy, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show, and Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

Danny Smith (writer)

Danny Smith (writer)

Danny Smith is an American producer, writer and voice actor on the American animated television series Family Guy. He has been with the show since its inception and throughout the years has contributed many episodes, such as "Holy Crap", "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz", "Chitty Chitty Death Bang" and the Christmas themed episodes, "Road to the North Pole" and "A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas". Smith also voices the Evil Monkey and the Giant Chicken, otherwise known as Ernie. He is the only Family Guy writer who hails from the state of Rhode Island, where the show is set. Smith graduated from Smithfield High School in 1977 and from Rhode Island College in 1981.

David A. Goodman

David A. Goodman

David A. Goodman is an American writer, producer, and president of the Writers Guild of America West. He has been a writer for several television series, such as The Golden Girls, his first job; Futurama, where he was also a co-executive producer and wrote the notable Star Trek parody episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"; and Star Trek: Enterprise. Goodman produced Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, and is the writer of Fred: The Movie, a 2010 film based on the Fred Figglehorn YouTube series, as well as the sequel, Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred. Most recently, he wrote the critically-acclaimed film Honor Society, which premiered on July 29th, 2022 on Paramount+.

List of Family Guy writers

List of Family Guy writers

The following is a list of writers who have worked on the Fox animated television series Family Guy in the order of first credited episode. As of 7 December 2014, 60 people have been credited with writing or co-writing at least one episode of Family Guy. Not to be confused with the south park joke in "cartoon wars part 2" episode.

Matt Weitzman

Matt Weitzman

Matt Weitzman is an American producer and writer. He was one of the creators of American Dad! along with Seth MacFarlane and Mike Barker. Barker and Weitzman were originally writers for Family Guy.

American Dad!

American Dad!

American Dad! is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. American Dad! is the first television series made to premiere on Fox's Animation Domination block. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the rest of the first season airing three months later beginning May 1, 2005. American Dad! is a joint production between Underdog Productions, Fuzzy Door Productions and 20th Television Animation and syndicated by 20th Television.

Chris Sheridan (writer)

Chris Sheridan (writer)

Christopher Sheridan is an American television writer, producer, and occasional voice actor. Born in the Philippines, Sheridan grew up in New Hampshire. He attended Gilford High School, where he decided that he wanted to become a writer. After graduating from Union College, he moved back to his home, where he worked at several short-term jobs before relocating to California to start his career. His first job came in 1992 when he was hired as a writers' assistant for the Fox sitcom Shaky Ground. Following that, he was hired as an assistant on Living Single, a Fox sitcom, where he was eventually promoted to writer. He stayed with the show until its cancellation in 1998.

Gary Janetti

Gary Janetti

Gary V. Janetti is an American television writer, producer, and actor.

Death Has a Shadow

Death Has a Shadow

"Death Has a Shadow" is the pilot episode of the American animated television series Family Guy. Written by series creator Seth MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin, a rough-cut version of this episode originally aired on December 20, 1998, on the Fox network in the United States; a final version was later aired as a sneak peek of the show on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII. In the episode, Peter loses his job after drinking too much at a stag party, causing him to fall asleep at work. He signs up for welfare to keep his wife Lois from finding out but gets much more money than he expected. After spending his money foolishly, Lois finds out and Peter decides to dump it from a blimp at the Super Bowl. He is arrested for welfare fraud and must await his family's rescue, as well as various performers who would later serve as frequent recurring and guest voices on the series.

"Road to" episodes

The "Road to" episodes are a series of hallmark travel episodes.^{[115][116][117]} They are a parody of the seven Road to... comedy films starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.^[116] These episodes have always involved Stewie and Brian in some foreign, supernatural or science-fiction location, unrelated to the show's normal location in Quahog. The first, entitled "Road to Rhode Island", aired on May 30, 2000, during the second season. The episodes are known for featuring elaborate musical numbers, similar to the Road films.^[118] The episodes contain several trademarks, including a special version of the opening sequence, custom musical cues and musical numbers, and parodies of science fiction and fantasy films.^[119]

The original idea for the "Road to" episodes came from MacFarlane, as he is a fan of the films of Crosby, Hope and Dorothy Lamour. The first episode was directed by Dan Povenmire, who would direct the rest of the "Road to" episodes until the episode "Road to Rupert", at which point he had left the show to create Phineas and Ferb with Jeff "Swampy" Marsh.^[120][121] Series regular Greg Colton then took over Povenmire's role as director of the "Road to" episodes.^[122]

The "Road to" episodes are generally considered by critics and fans to be some of the greatest in the series, thanks to the developing relationship between Stewie and Brian and the strong plotlines of the episodes themselves.^[117]

Humor

Family Guy uses the film-making technique of cutaways, which occur in the majority of Family Guy episodes.^[123] Emphasis is often placed on gags which make reference to social phenomena and/or modern cultural icons.

Early episodes based much of their comedy on Stewie's "super villain" antics, such as his constant plans for total world domination, his evil experiments, plans and inventions to get rid of things he dislikes, and his constant attempts at matricide. As the series progressed, the writers and MacFarlane agreed that his personality and the jokes were starting to feel dated, so they began writing him with a different personality.^[124] Family Guy often includes self-referential humor. The most common form is jokes about Fox Broadcasting, and occasions where the characters break the fourth wall by addressing the audience. For example, in "North by North Quahog", the first episode that aired after the show's revival, included Peter telling the family that they had been canceled because Fox had to make room in their schedule for shows like Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That '80s Show, Wonderfalls, Fastlane, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Skin, Girls Club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, FreakyLinks, Wanda at Large, Costello, The Lone Gunmen, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Normal, Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddie, The $treet, The American Embassy, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, The Tick, Luis and Greg the Bunny. Lois asks whether there is any hope, to which Peter replies that if all these shows are canceled they might have a chance; the shows were indeed canceled during Family Guy's hiatus.^{[125][126][127]}

The show uses catchphrases, and most of the primary and secondary characters have them. Notable expressions include Quagmire's "Giggity giggity goo", Peter's "Freakin' sweet", Cleveland's "Oh, that's nasty", and Joe's "Bring it on!"^[124] The use of many of these catchphrases declined in later seasons. The episode "Big Man on Hippocampus" mocks catchphrase-based humor: when Peter, who has forgotten everything about his life, is introduced to Meg, he exclaims "D'oh!", to which Lois replies, "No, Peter, that's not your catchphrase."

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Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. was an American singer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He was one of the first global cultural icons. He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs.

Bob Hope

Bob Hope

Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope KBE, KC*SG, KSS was a British-born American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films—54 in which he starred. These included a series of seven Road to ... musical comedy films with Bing Crosby as Hope's top-billed partner.

Brian Griffin

Brian Griffin

H. Brian Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated television series Family Guy. An anthropomorphic white Labrador retriever voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is one of the show's main characters as a member of the Griffin family. He primarily works in the series as a slightly smug and less-than-adept writer struggling to find himself, attempting essays, novels, screenplays, and newspaper articles.

Family Guy (season 2)

Family Guy (season 2)

The second season of Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in 21 episodes from September 23, 1999, to August 1, 2000. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog. The show features the voices of series creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Lacey Chabert and later Mila Kunis in the roles of the Griffin family. The executive producers for the second production season were David Zuckerman and MacFarlane; the aired season also contained eight episodes which were holdovers from season one.

Dorothy Lamour

Dorothy Lamour

Dorothy Lamour was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

Dan Povenmire

Dan Povenmire

Daniel Kingsley Povenmire is an American animator, voice actor, writer, director, and producer. With Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, Povenmire co-created the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law, in both of which he voiced the character Heinz Doofenshmirtz. In October 2020, Povenmire announced a new series for Disney Channel titled Hamster & Gretel, which premiered in 2022.

Jeff "Swampy" Marsh

Jeff "Swampy" Marsh

Jeffrey Kent "Swampy" Marsh is an American animator, writer, producer, director, and voice actor. He is known for several animated television series, most notably as an executive producer and the voice of Major Monogram for Disney's animated series Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law, both of which he co-created with Dan Povenmire. Marsh was born in Santa Monica, California, where he grew up with a heavily blended family dynamic. Marsh has been and continues to be a driving force behind several animation projects, working for over six seasons on the animated television series The Simpsons. Marsh continued to work on other animated television series, including King of the Hill and Rocko's Modern Life, before moving to England in 1996.

Cutaway (filmmaking)

Cutaway (filmmaking)

In film and video, a cutaway is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually followed by a cut back to the first shot. A cutaway scene is the interruption of a scene with the insertion of another scene, generally unrelated or only peripherally related to the original scene. The interruption is usually quick, and is usually, although not always, ended by a return to the original scene. The effect is of commentary to the original scene, frequently comic in nature.

Matricide

Matricide

Matricide is the act of killing one's own mother.

Meta-reference

Meta-reference

Meta-reference is a special type of self-reference that can occur in all media or media artifacts, for instance literature, film, painting, TV series, comic strips, or video games. It includes all references to, or comments on, a specific medium, medial artifact, or the media in general. These references and comments originate from a logically higher level within any given artifact, and draw attention to—or invite reflection about—media-related issues of said artifact, specific other artifacts, or to parts, or the entirety, of the medial system. It is, therefore, the recipient's awareness of an artifact's medial quality that distinguishes meta-reference from more general forms of self-reference. Thus, meta-reference triggers media-awareness within the recipient, who, in turn "becomes conscious of both the medial status of the work" as well as "the fact that media-related phenomena are at issue, rather than (hetero-)references to the world outside the media." Although certain devices, such as mise-en-abîme, may be conducive to meta-reference, they are not necessarily metareferential themselves. Similarly, innately metareferential devices, such as metalepsis, are to be seen as special cases of meta-reference. The terms meta-reference and metalepsis can, therefore, not be used synonymously.

Fourth wall

Fourth wall

The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th century onward, the rise of illusionism in staging practices, which culminated in the realism and naturalism of the theatre of the 19th century, led to the development of the fourth wall concept.

North by North Quahog

North by North Quahog

"North by North Quahog" is the fourth season premiere of the animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 1, 2005, though it had premiered three days earlier at a special screening at the University of Vermont, Burlington. In the episode, Peter and Lois go on a second honeymoon to rekindle their marriage, but are chased by Mel Gibson after Peter steals the sequel to The Passion of the Christ from Gibson's private hotel room. Meanwhile, Brian and Stewie take care of Chris and Meg at home.

In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that like other satirical comedies, Family Guy "is most popular in cities. The show's popularity was more correlated with support for Hillary Clinton than any other show".^[128] As of 2008, the franchise has generated $1 billion in total revenue, including $400 million from TV syndication, $400 million from DVD sales, and $200 million from merchandise sales.^[88]

Ratings

Critical reception

Family Guy has received generally positive reviews particularly for its pop culture references, blue humor, satire, and non-sequitur storytelling.^{[172][173][174][175]} Catherine Seipp of National Review Online described it as a "nasty but extremely funny" cartoon.^[176] Caryn James of The New York Times called it a show with an "outrageously satirical family" that "includes plenty of comic possibilities and parodies".^[177] The Sydney Morning Herald named Family Guy the "Show of the Week" on April 21, 2009, hailing it a "pop culture-heavy masterpiece".^[178] Frazier Moore from The Seattle Times called it an "endless craving for humor about bodily emissions". He thought it was "breathtakingly smart" and said a "blend of the ingenious with the raw helps account for its much broader appeal". He summarized it as "rude, crude and deliciously wrong".^[179] The New Yorker's Nancy Franklin said that Family Guy is becoming one of the best animated shows; she commented on its ribaldry and popularity.^[180] The show has become a hit on Hulu; it is the second-highest viewed show after Saturday Night Live.^[181] IGN called Family Guy a great show, and commented that it has gotten better since its revival. They stated that they cannot imagine another half-hour sitcom that provides as many laughs as Family Guy.^[182] Empire praised the show and its writers for creating really hilarious moments with unlikely material. They commented that one of the reasons they love the show is because nothing is sacred—it makes jokes and gags of almost everything.^[183] Robin Pierson of The TV Critic praised the series as "a different kind of animated comedy which clearly sets out to do jokes which other cartoons can't do."^[184] Family Guy has proven popular in the United Kingdom, regularly obtaining between 700,000 and 1 million viewers for re-runs on BBC Three.^[185]

The series has attracted many celebrities. Robert Downey Jr. telephoned the show production staff and asked if he could produce or assist in an episode's creation, as his son is a fan of the show; the producers subsequently created a character for Downey.^[186] Lauren Conrad met MacFarlane while recording a Laguna Beach clip for the episode "Prick Up Your Ears" (season 5, 2006).^[187][188] She has watched Family Guy for years and considers Stewie her favorite character.^[187] Commenting on his appearance in the episode "Big Man on Hippocampus" (season 8, 2010), actor Dwayne Johnson stated that he was a "big fan" of Family Guy.^[189] Johnson befriended MacFarlane after he had a minor role in Johnson's 2010 film Tooth Fairy.^[189] R&B singer Rihanna has admitted to being a fan of Family Guy,^[190] as has pop singer Britney Spears; she tries to imitate Stewie's English accent.^[191] Spears, who was mocked for her personal problems in the South Park episode "Britney's New Look" in 2008, offered to appear in a cameo to hit back at the similar animated show, but MacFarlane declined, stating that he did not want to start a feud with the series.^[192]

Awards

Family Guy and its cast have been nominated for 27 Emmy Awards, with 8 wins. MacFarlane won the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance award for his performance as Stewie;^[193] Murphy and MacFarlane won the Outstanding Music and Lyrics award for the song "You Got a Lot to See" from the episode "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows";^[193] Steven Fonti won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for his storyboard work in the episode "No Chris Left Behind";^[194] and Greg Colton won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for his storyboard work in the episode "Road to the Multiverse".^[195] The show was nominated for eleven Annie Awards, and won three times, twice in 2006 and once in 2008.^{[196][197][198]} In 2009, it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, becoming the first animated program to be nominated in this category since The Flintstones in 1961.^[199] The Simpsons was almost nominated in 1993, but voters were hesitant to pit cartoons against live action programs.^[200][201] The show was nominated for a Grammy in 2011.^[202] Family Guy has been nominated and has won various other awards, including the Teen Choice Awards and the People's Choice Awards.^{[203][204][205]} In the 1,000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Brian Griffin was selected as the dog for "The Perfect TV Family".^[206] Wizard Magazine rated Stewie the 95th-greatest villain of all time.^[207] British newspaper The Times rated Family Guy as the 45th-best American show in 2009.^[208] IGN ranked Family Guy at number seven in the "Top 100 Animated Series" and number six in the "Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time".^[182][209] Empire named it the twelfth-greatest TV show of all time in 2008.^[183] In 2005 viewers of the UK television channel Channel 4 voted Family Guy at number 5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Cartoons.^[210] Brian was awarded the 2009 Stoner of the Year award by High Times for the episode "420", marking the first time an animated character received the honor.^[211] In 2004 and 2007, TV Guide ranked Family Guy number 12 and number 15 in their list of top cult shows ever.^[212][213] Family Guy has garnered six Golden Reel Awards nominations, winning three times.^[214] In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Guy the ninth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.^[2]

Criticism and controversy

One of the initial critics to give the show negative reviews was Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly; he called it "The Simpsons as conceived by a singularly sophomoric mind that lacks any reference point beyond other TV shows".^[215] The Parents Television Council (PTC), a conservative non-profit watchdog, has attacked the series since its premiere and has branded various episodes as "Worst TV Show of the Week".^{[216][217][218]} In May 2000, the PTC launched a letter-writing campaign to the Fox network in an effort to persuade the network to cancel the show.^[219] The PTC has placed the show on their annual lists of "Worst Prime-Time Shows for Family Viewing" in 2000, 2005, and 2006.^{[220][221][222]} The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received multiple petitions requesting that the show be blocked from broadcasting on indecency grounds.^[223] Tucker and the PTC have both accused the show of portraying religion negatively, and of being racist.^[224][225] Because of the PTC, some advertisers have canceled their contracts after reviewing the content of the episodes, claiming it to be unsuitable.^[226][227] Critics have compared the show's humor and characters with those of The Simpsons.^[215][184]

Various episodes of the show have generated controversy. In "420" (season seven, 2009) Brian decides to start a campaign to legalize cannabis in Quahog; the Venezuelan government reacted negatively to the episode and banned Family Guy from airing on their local networks, which generally syndicate American programming. Venezuelan justice minister Tareck El Aissami, citing the promotion of the use of cannabis, stated that any cable stations that did not stop airing the series would be fined;^[228] the government showed a clip which featured Brian and Stewie singing the praises of marijuana as a demonstration of how the United States supports cannabis use.^[229] In "Extra Large Medium" (season eight, 2010) a character named Ellen (who has Down syndrome) states that her mother is the former Governor of Alaska, which strongly implies that her mother is Sarah Palin, the only woman to have served in the office of governor in the state. Sarah Palin, the mother of a child with Down syndrome, criticized the episode in an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor, calling those who made the show "cruel, cold-hearted people."^[230]

Discover more about Reception and legacy related topics

2016 United States presidential election

2016 United States presidential election

The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state and First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinton and the United States senator from Virginia Tim Kaine, in what was considered a large upset. Trump took office as the 45th president, and Pence as the 48th vice president, on January 20, 2017. It was the fifth and most recent presidential election in which the winning candidate lost the popular vote. It was also the sixth presidential election, and the first since 1944, in which both major party candidates were registered in the same home state.

DVD

DVD

The DVD is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind of digital data and has been widely used for video programs or formerly for storing software and other computer files as well. DVDs offer significantly higher storage capacity than compact discs (CD) while having the same dimensions. A standard DVD can store up to 4.7 GB of storage, while variants can store up to a maximum of 17.08 GB.

Family Guy (season 1)

Family Guy (season 1)

The first season of Family Guy aired on Fox from January 31 to May 16, 1999, and consisted of seven episodes, making it the shortest season to date. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, son Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog. The show features the voices of series creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, and Lacey Chabert in the roles of the Griffin family. The executive producers for the first season were David Zuckerman and MacFarlane. It is also the only full season to feature Chabert, before she was replaced by Mila Kunis for the rest of the series' run, starting with the season two episode "Da Boom".

1998–99 United States network television schedule

1998–99 United States network television schedule

The following is the 1998–99 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1998 through August 1999. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1997–98 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.

Family Guy (season 2)

Family Guy (season 2)

The second season of Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in 21 episodes from September 23, 1999, to August 1, 2000. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog. The show features the voices of series creator Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Lacey Chabert and later Mila Kunis in the roles of the Griffin family. The executive producers for the second production season were David Zuckerman and MacFarlane; the aired season also contained eight episodes which were holdovers from season one.

1999–2000 United States network television schedule

1999–2000 United States network television schedule

The 1999–2000 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1999 through August 2000. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1998–99 season.

Family Guy (season 3)

Family Guy (season 3)

The third season of Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in 22 episodes from July 11, 2001, to November 9, 2003, before being released as a DVD box set and in syndication. It premiered with the episode "The Thin White Line" and finished with "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1". An episode that was not part of the season's original broadcast run, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", was included on the DVD release and later shown on both Adult Swim and Fox. The third season of Family Guy continues the adventures of the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and Brian, the family dog, who reside in their hometown of Quahog.

2001–02 United States network television schedule

2001–02 United States network television schedule

The following is the 2001–02 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 2001 through August 2002. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 2000–01 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.

2005–06 United States network television schedule

2005–06 United States network television schedule

The 2005–06 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 2005 through August 2006. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 2004–05 season.

2006–07 United States network television schedule

2006–07 United States network television schedule

The 2006–07 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers prime time hours from September 2006 through August 2007. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 2005–06 season.

2007–08 United States network television schedule

2007–08 United States network television schedule

The 2007–08 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers prime time hours from September 2007 through August 2008. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series canceled after the 2006–07 season. The schedule was affected by the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. After that, the next disruption to the networks' primetime schedules would not occur until the 2020–21 season, whose network schedules were affected by the suspension of film and television productions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2008–09 United States network television schedule

2008–09 United States network television schedule

The 2008–09 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers prime time hours from September 2008 through August 2009. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 2007–08 season. The schedule omits the Public Broadcasting Service.

In the United States, the show currently airs on FX, FXX, Freeform, and The CW in some regions. The show was syndicated to Adult Swim and TBS from 2003 to 2021, sharing the rights to the first fifteen seasons. In April 2019, FX Networks began airing reruns of season 16 on FXX, with season 17 debuting that October, and shared off-network rights to both seasons with sister channel Freeform. After Adult Swim and TBS' rights expired on September 18, 2021, FXX and Freeform began airing the first fifteen seasons. The show also joined FX's lineup that month. These deals did not affect the syndication rights held by local broadcast stations.^[231] The series is available for streaming exclusively on Hulu.

The show's departure from Adult Swim on September 18, 2021, was commemorated with a remembrance bumper created by the network, which played after the final airing (the episode "Stewie is Enceinte"). The bumper showed animations of several Adult Swim characters bidding farewell to Family Guy, including shots of Peter crying at the beginning and the Griffin family waving goodbye towards the end.^[232]

Internationally Family Guy is available to stream on Star on Disney+,^[233] except in Latin America, where the series is exclusively available on the standalone service Star+.^[234]

Family Guy premiered in Australia on April 9, 1999, on the Seven Network, in 2000 on Fox8, and on 7mate on September 27, 2010.^[235] Initially, only 2 seasons were available to stream on Disney+ Star due to pre existing contracts. The other 17 seasons were added on December 1, 2021, after the contract expired.

In Canada, the series premiered January 31, 1999 on Global^[236] and September 1, 2003, on Teletoon at Night. Beginning in the 2015–2016 season, the show moved to Citytv.^[237] Starting in November 2021, the series moved to Disney+.^[238] In addition to Teletoon at Night, the show has been syndicated to TVtropolis (now DTour), Adult Swim Canada, and FX Canada.

The show airs in India on Star World Premiere,^[239] in Ireland on 3e,^[240] and in New Zealand on Four.^[241]

In the United Kingdom, Family Guy premiered in September 1999, originally on Channel 4 and Sky One. In January 2005, Fox UK (then known as FX) began broadcasting the show.^[242] From October 2005, BBC Two^[243] started screening Family Guy before the show moved to BBC Three in September 2006.^[244] Beginning with season 14, the show moved to ITV2, premiering on February 29, 2016,^[245][246] while the BBC would continue to hold the rights for past seasons until 2017.^[247][248]

In South Korea, the show premiered January 11, 2008 on Tooniverse.^[249]

Discover more about Broadcast and streaming related topics

FX (TV channel)

FX (TV channel)

FX is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment unit of The Walt Disney Company. It is based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, California. FX was originally launched by News Corporation on June 1, 1994, and later became one of the properties that was included in the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in 2019. The network's original programming aspires to the standards of premium cable channels in regard to mature themes and content, high-quality writing, directing and acting. Sister channels FXM and FXX were launched in 1994 and 2013, respectively. FX also carries reruns of theatrical films and terrestrial-network sitcoms. Advertising-free content was available through the FX+ premium subscription service until it was shut down on August 21, 2019.

FXX

FXX

FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Disney Entertainment unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and feature films for a primary demographic of men aged 18–34.

Freeform (TV channel)

Freeform (TV channel)

Freeform is an American basic cable channel owned and operated by ABC Family Worldwide, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. Freeform primarily broadcasts programming geared toward teenagers and young adults – with some skewing toward young women – in the 14–34 age range, a target demographic designated by the channel as "becomers". Its programming includes contemporary off-network syndicated reruns and original series, feature films, and made-for-TV original movies.

Adult Swim

Adult Swim

Adult Swim is a prime time and late night programming block broadcast by the American basic cable channel Cartoon Network. The block features stylistically varied animated and live-action series targeting a young adult audience, including original programming, syndicated series, and short films with generally minimal or no editing for content. Adult Swim is programmed by Williams Street, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television Studios that also produces much of the block's original programming.

FX Networks

FX Networks

FX Networks, LLC, is a company consisting of a network of cable channels plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of The Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of 21st Century Fox, the company was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019. Consequently, FX Networks was integrated into the newly renamed Walt Disney Television unit.

Fox8

Fox8

Fox8 is an Australian pay television channel available on Foxtel, and Optus Television's subscription platforms. It is the most watched subscription television channel in Australia and broadcasts the highest rating non-sporting related program or event on subscription television in Australia, Australia's Next Top Model in 2009. A high definition version of the channel, Fox8HD, was launched on the Foxtel and Austar platforms on 15 November 2009.

7mate

7mate

7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a combination of new shows, American network shows and other shows previously aired on its sister channels Seven, 7two and 7flix.

Global Television Network

Global Television Network

The Global Television Network is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after CTV, and has fifteen owned-and-operated stations throughout the country. Global is owned by Corus Entertainment — the media holdings of JR Shaw and other members of his family.

Citytv

Citytv

Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consists of six owned-and-operated (O&O) television stations located in the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, a cable-only service that serves the province of Saskatchewan, and three independently owned affiliates serving smaller cities in Alberta and British Columbia.

Disney+

Disney+

Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Disney Entertainment division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced by The Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Television, with dedicated content hubs for the brands Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic, as well as Star in some regions. Original films and television series are also distributed on Disney+.

DTour

DTour

DTour is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment.

Adult Swim (Canadian TV channel)

Adult Swim (Canadian TV channel)

Adult Swim is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Showcase Television, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily airs animated- and live-action comedies targeting a teenage and young adult audience.

Books

Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One was written by executive story editor Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and actress Alex Borstein. The book was first published on May 8, 2007.^[250] The book is a biographical monologue by Lois Griffin covering a portion of her life spanning from her memories of growing up to her attempted run for mayor in the town of Quahog. Though the book primarily consists of a loose narrative monologue by Lois, it is also interspersed with sections from other characters such as Peter Griffin. The book covers events featured in the Family Guy episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One", with which it shares a title. It was published in the United Kingdom in 2007 by Orion Books.^[251]

A comic book based on the Family Guy universe was produced. Published by Titan Comics, edited by Steve White, and illustrated by Anthony Williams and S. L. Gallant, the writing and the illustrations was supervised by the show's producers.^[252] The first comic book was released on July 27, 2011.^[252]

Live performances

As promotion for the show and as Newman described "[to] expand interest in the show beyond its diehard fans",^[253] Fox organized four Family Guy Live! performances, which featured cast members reading old episodes aloud. The cast also performed musical numbers from the Family Guy: Live in Vegas comedy album.^[253] The stage shows were an extension of a performance by the cast during the 2004 Montreal Comedy Festival.^[253] The Family Guy Live! performances, which took place in Los Angeles and New York, sold out and were attended by around 1,200 people each.^[254]

At the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2007, MacFarlane performed (as the digitally inserted Stewie and Brian) the ceremony's opening number. He performed a song insulting modern television to the tune of the song "The Fellas at the Freakin' F.C.C." performed in the episode "PTV". The song insulted TV shows such as Two and a Half Men, Desperate Housewives, and Scrubs, as well as the final scene of The Sopranos.

In 2009, a special televised performance show aired entitled Family Guy Presents Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, in which voice actors Alex Borstein and MacFarlane performed songs from the show, as well as a parody of Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face" in the voice of Marlee Matlin, who appeared on stage as a guest during the performance. Some new animated gags also appeared in the show.^[255]

Film

In a July 22, 2007 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MacFarlane announced that he may start working on a feature film, although "nothing's official."^[256] In TV Week on July 18, 2008, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released Family Guy feature film sometime "within the next year."^[257] He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on the show, which [to him] is the only reason to do a movie." He later went on to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to The Sound of Music, saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel."^[88] On October 13, 2011, MacFarlane confirmed that a deal for a Family Guy film had been made, and that it would be written by himself and series co-producer Ricky Blitt.^[258]

On November 30, 2012, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a Family Guy film.^[259] The project was put on hold while MacFarlane worked on Ted 2.^[260]

On August 10, 2018, Fox announced that a live-action/animated film based on the series is in development.^[261]

In July 2019, MacFarlane confirmed that there will be a Family Guy movie.^[262]

Spin-off

MacFarlane co-created—alongside Mike Henry and Richard Appel—the Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show, which premiered September 27, 2009. They began discussing the project in 2007.^[263][264]

Video games

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The Family Guy Video Game! is a 2006 action game released by 2K Games and developed by High Voltage Software.

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, which is centered around the episode "Road to the Multiverse", was released on November 20, 2012.

Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff launched on iOS and Android on April 10, 2014.

Animation Throwdown: The Quest For Cards, a card game with content and characters from five animated television shows from Fox – Family Guy, Futurama, American Dad!, Bob's Burgers and King of the Hill – was released in 2016 by Kongregate.

Family Guy: Another Freakin' Mobile Game was released on iOS on April 25, 2017.^[265]

Warped Kart Racers is a racing game that was released on Apple Arcade in May 2022. The game features the entire Griffin family, and includes characters from American Dad!, King of the Hill and Solar Opposites.^[266]

Merchandise

As of 2009, six books have been released about the Family Guy universe, all published by HarperCollins since 2005.^[267] The first, Family Guy: Stewie's Guide to World Domination (ISBN 978-0-06-077321-2) by Steve Callahan, was released on April 26, 2005. Written in the style of a graphic novel, the plot follows Stewie's plans to rule the world.^[268] Other books include Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One (ISBN 978-0-7528-7593-4), which covers the events of the episode of the same name;^[269] and Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded (ISBN 978-1-4051-6316-3), a collection of 17 essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers.^[270] A book written from Brian's point of view (written by Andrew Goldberg) was published in 2006, called Brian Griffin's Guide to Booze, Broads and the Lost Art of Being a Man.^[271]

Family Guy has been commercially successful in the home market.^[272] The show was the first to be resurrected because of high DVD sales.^[64] The first volume, covering the show's first two seasons, sold 1.67 million units, topping TV DVD sales in 2003, while the second volume sold another million units.^[64][273] Volumes six and seven debuted at fifth place in United States DVD sales;^[274][275] volume seven was the highest-selling television DVD, selling 171,000 units by June 21, 2009.^[275] Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest, the DVD featuring the Star Wars special "Blue Harvest", was released on January 15, 2008, and premiered at the top of United States DVD sales.^[276] The DVD was the first Family Guy DVD to include a digital copy for download to the iPod.^[276] In 2004, the first series of Family Guy toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz; each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made.^[277] Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures were released, with various forms of Peter.^[278] In 2008, the character Peter appeared in advertisements for Subway Restaurants, promoting the restaurant's massive feast sandwich.^[279][280]

Discover more about Franchise related topics

Family Guy (franchise)

Family Guy (franchise)

Family Guy is an American animated comedy franchise created by Seth MacFarlane and originally developed for Fox. Consisting of two television series: Family Guy (1999–present) and The Cleveland Show (2009–2013), the franchise primarily focuses on the Griffin family and their friends and associates. The franchise also shares a fictional universe with American Dad! (2005–present), another series developed by MacFarlane with the same art style, to which it features numerous crossovers and shared characters.

Cherry Chevapravatdumrong

Cherry Chevapravatdumrong

Cherry T. Chevapravatdumrong, also known as Cherry Cheva, is an American author, screenwriter, comedian, and producer. She serves as an executive producer of Family Guy and a co-executive producer of The Orville and Resident Alien.

Alex Borstein

Alex Borstein

Alexandrea Borstein is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. Borstein voices Lois Griffin on the animated comedy television series Family Guy (1999–present), and won a Primetime Emmy Award for the role. She gained acclaim for starring as Susie Myerson in the comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–present), which has earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards.

It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One

It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One

"It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One" is the 17th episode of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 13, 2007. The episode features Lois as she runs for Mayor of Quahog against incumbent Mayor Adam West, once she notices how polluted the local lake has become. Lois is elected as mayor and successfully cleans the lake, but quickly succumbs when the toxic-dump owner pressures her to let him resume dumping toxins into the lake.

Steve White (comics)

Steve White (comics)

Steve White is a British comic book writer, paleoartist, and occasional colourist who has mainly worked with 2000 AD.

Anthony Williams (comics)

Anthony Williams (comics)

Anthony Williams is a Welsh comic book artist.

Family Guy: Live in Vegas

Family Guy: Live in Vegas

Family Guy: Live in Vegas is a soundtrack album for the American animated television series Family Guy. It was released on April 26, 2005 by Geffen Records. It was composed by Walter Murphy and creator Seth MacFarlane. The album features only one song from the series: the theme song; the rest of the songs were composed exclusively for the album. It features vocals from Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mike Henry, Mila Kunis, Adam West and Lori Alan, as well as Jason Alexander, Patti LuPone and Haylie Duff as guest stars. It includes Rat Pack- and Broadway-inspired songs.

PTV (Family Guy)

PTV (Family Guy)

"PTV" is the fourteenth episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 6, 2005. The episode sees the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) censor the shows on television after a controversial wardrobe malfunction at the Emmy Awards. Peter starts to create his own TV network which he calls PTV, broadcasting classic shows unedited and uncut, as well as original programming. PTV is a big success and Stewie and Brian join him creating shows for the network. Lois calls the FCC to close PTV as she is concerned over the issue of how children will be influenced by Peter's programming. Not only do the FCC close down the network, but they also start censoring the citizens of Quahog, so the Griffin family travels to Washington, D.C. and convince the Congress to have the FCC's rules reversed.

Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives is an American comedy-drama mystery television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a total of 180 episodes. Executive producer Marc Cherry served as showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season included Bob Daily, George W. Perkins, John Pardee, Joey Murphy, David Grossman, and Larry Shaw.

Scrubs (TV series)

Scrubs (TV series)

Scrubs is an American sitcom created by Bill Lawrence that aired from October 2, 2001, to March 17, 2010, on NBC and later ABC. The series follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, which is a teaching hospital. The title is a play on surgical scrubs and a term for a low-ranking person because at the beginning of the series, most of the main characters are medical interns.

Made in America (The Sopranos)

Made in America (The Sopranos)

"Made in America" is the series finale of the HBO drama series The Sopranos. It is the 86th episode of the series, the ninth episode of the second part of the show's sixth season, and the 21st episode of the season overall. Written and directed by series creator, executive producer and showrunner David Chase, it first aired in the United States on June 10, 2007. The final scene that cuts to black has drawn various interpretations regarding the ultimate fate of Tony Soprano; Chase has made varied comments about his intentions for the scene.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenager, singing at open mic nights and acting in school plays. She studied at Collaborative Arts Project 21, through the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, before dropping out to pursue a career in music. After Def Jam Recordings canceled her contract, she worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where she signed a joint deal with Interscope Records and KonLive Distribution, in 2007. Gaga had her breakthrough the following year with her debut studio album, The Fame, and its chart-topping singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album was later reissued to include the extended play The Fame Monster (2009), which yielded the successful singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro".