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146-585: Family Guy is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company . The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII , with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. The show centers around the Griffins , a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois , their children, Meg , Chris , and Stewie , and their anthropomorphic pet dog , Brian . Set in

292-520: A Laguna Beach clip for the episode " Prick Up Your Ears " (season 5, 2006). She has watched Family Guy for years and considers Stewie her favorite character. 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 . Johnson befriended MacFarlane after he had a minor role in Johnson's 2010 film Tooth Fairy . R&B singer Rihanna has admitted to being

438-515: A "few cult hits and flops in the '90s", with almost nothing in the 2000s and more in the 2010s. Some critics called Duckman , based on a comic of the same, a "Simpsons-inspired sitcom" which had a pilot in 1991 and premiered in 1994 on the USA Network as part of the "network's Saturday night programming." The show features humans, animals, and hybrids of both intermingling, with "every design intentionally exaggerated and distorted", looking like

584-411: A "force for adult animation." In 1999, Family Guy debuted on Fox . The series was cancelled twice in the first three years, but became one of the network's longest-running series. It would later be praised for its humor, "cynical commentary, and sci-fi adventures" while having a sincere but tragic and real relationship between Brian and Pearl Burton. Beavis and Butt-Head , which began airing in

730-535: A Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation , argued that culture and events of 1990s "can all be understood through a Simpsons prism." Some critics argued that The Simpsons was responsible for "popularizing adult animation" while influencing "satirical cartoons" like South Park and Family Guy . Others even said that The Simpsons opened the "door for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim" and praised it for being "extremely unique and ... constantly evolving." Andrew J. Crow of Time magazine noted

876-560: A bully and a self-centered character, even towards her own family members. She is also revealed to be a genius in The Cleveland Show Season 3 episode "B.M.O.C.", when she went on a college tour to Cleveland's alma mater , State. Neither Roberta nor her brother Rallo are initially pleased with the arrival of Cleveland and Cleveland Brown Jr., though both appear to accept their mother marrying Cleveland without much issue. In fact, Roberta and Cleveland seem to fall into

1022-527: 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; the government showed

1168-475: A clip which featured Brian and Stewie singing the praises of marijuana as a demonstration of how the United States supports cannabis use. 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

1314-458: A collection of three episodes parodying the original Star Wars trilogy . A spin-off series, The Cleveland Show , featuring Cleveland Brown , aired from September 27, 2009, to May 19, 2013. On January 26, 2023, Fox announced that the series had been renewed for seasons 22 and 23, taking the show through the 2024–25 television season. Season 22 premiered on October 1, 2023. Family Guy moved to Wednesday nights beginning March 6, 2024, marking

1460-447: A family, but it gives a "new take on the typical American family." Some described The Boondocks as profound, comedic, smart, silly, has social commentary on class relations, racism, and with a unique animation style. Some said that Apple TV+ 's Central Park was one of the best shows of 2020 and described it as the network's "first foray into adult animation." Certain comedians have created their own animated sitcoms. This includes

1606-528: A fan of Family Guy , as has pop singer Britney Spears ; she tries to imitate Stewie's English accent. 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. Family Guy and its cast have been nominated for 27 Emmy Awards , with 8 wins. MacFarlane won

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1752-535: A massive hit among American audiences. In response, ABC , CBS and NBC each developed animated series to air in prime time, but none of the shows were successful. One series, Capitol Critters , focused on subjects such as gun control, interracial violence and political corruption. In his review of the series, Variety critic Brian Lowry wrote that he felt that the series' approach was "muddled", and that "the bland central character and cartoonish elements ... will likely be off-putting to many adults, who won't find

1898-452: A normal love/hate relationship with Roberta, who at times seems to neglect him, yet at other times speaks to him as an intellectual equal. In The Cleveland Show Season 3 episode "American Prankster", Cleveland asks Donna why his name is Rallo. Donna replies to that question by stating it was from "that guy from Sanford and Son . " (referring to Rollo Lawson ). One of the main characters of The Cleveland Show , as of " He's Bla-ack! ", he

2044-507: A parody of The Real World , which follows the misadventures of the housemates in the fictional show of the same name and uses a sitcom format with a reality TV show setting, was followed by a direct-to-video film and series finale titled The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! . Another antimated sitcom was Brickleberry which aired on Comedy Central from 2012 to 2015. It was created by Waco O'Guin and Roger Black , executive produced by O'Guin, Black, and comedian Daniel Tosh . It

2190-439: A popular streaming hub. Critics praised Tuca & Bertie and Solar Opposites for their take on humor and comedy . Shaurya Thapa of Screen Rant argued that Tuca & Bertie offered "a fresh and realistic take on the sitcom formula" while Rafael Motomoyer of Collider argued that Solar Opposites not only mixes "crude humor and knack for violence ... with a long-standing tradition of animated sitcoms" centered on

2336-409: A rather stereotypical stepfather/stepdaughter relationship, with Roberta being embarrassed by her stepfather's behavior when he attends social functions at her school. Eventually she accepts Cleveland as her father. While one of the main characters of The Cleveland Show , as of " He's Bla-ack! ", she is now occasionally referred to and less frequently seen on Family Guy . She's also the only member of

2482-565: 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 the funniest are included in the episode. MacFarlane has explained that it normally takes 10 months to produce an episode because the show uses hand-drawn animation. The show rarely comments on current events for this reason. The show's initial writers had never written for an animated show, and most came from live-action sitcoms. MacFarlane explained that he

2628-456: A seven-minute pilot to Fox in December 1998, and the show was greenlit and began production. Family Guy 's cancellation was announced shortly after the third season had aired in 2002, with one unaired episode eventually premiering on Adult Swim in 2003, finishing the series' original run. Favorable DVD sales and high ratings from syndicated reruns since then convinced Fox to revive

2774-494: A significant increase in viewership following its availability on various streaming platforms, with a particularly notable rise in popularity on Hulu . In 2018, it ranked among the most-watched TV series on the streaming service Sling TV . In 2020, Hulu announced that Family Guy was one of the top five most-watched non-sports and non-news related live shows on the streaming service. Nielsen Media Research , which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, estimated that

2920-517: A sneak peek on Cartoon Network on December 30, 2000, the series officially premiered on Adult Swim on September 2, 2001, the night the block launched. It ended on July 22, 2007, with a total of 39 episodes , over the course of four seasons. Later, in October 2018, a special , entitled Harvey Birdman: Attorney General , premiered, and a spin-off, Birdgirl , was ordered in May 2019. Some described

3066-507: A third season. 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 ). 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,

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3212-529: A unique laugh. He was one of Peter Griffin 's best friends in Family Guy and also owned and ran a deli. In the " Pilot " of The Cleveland Show , he moves to the town of Stoolbend, Virginia to show his son where he grew up, unintentionally meeting up with his old friend Donna, whom he was in love with despite her being unaware. Eventually re-sparking his relationship with her, they get married and he and his son move in with her and her two children. Cleveland

3358-555: A unique style, and centered around "therapist discussions with real celebrities". In March 2000, the first few episodes of God, the Devil and Bob aired on NBC , with nine episodes unaired. The series didn't return until 2011, when the nine remaining episodes aired, from January to March 2011, on Adult Swim . Some said this was because Christian groups, like the American Family Association , had boycotted

3504-430: A wide variety. Various flashbacks give conflicting histories of his speech patterns. He is shown as a more sexual, obnoxious, unintelligent, selfish, and violent character in his new form than he was originally. After the show wasn't renewed for a fifth season, Cleveland would move back to Quahog (and Family Guy ) in the twelfth season , now working as a mailman. Loretta Marie Callender Brown (voiced by Alex Borstein )

3650-401: Is Cleveland's late ex-wife and the mother of Cleveland Brown Jr. in Family Guy . In early episodes, Loretta had a minimal quantity of lines, the bulk of which were "Mm-hmm!". She treated Cleveland harshly, and eventually cheated on him with Glenn Quagmire, leading them to divorce. She had a liking for cricket and the television program Friends . In The Cleveland Show episode "Gone With

3796-720: Is Quahog ( / ˈ k ( w ) oʊ h ɒ ɡ / 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 the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and the show contains distinct Rhode Island landmarks similar to real-world locations. MacFarlane often borrows the names of Rhode Island locations and icons such as Pawtucket and Buddy Cianci for use in

3942-455: Is a "veteran of adult animation" as he worked on Family Guy in the past. In June 2011, two scholars analyzed queer characters and themes in animated sitcoms, arguing that they create "space for queer resistance," analyzing themes, and text, in the animated series Family Guy . They also argued that analyzing the show using postmodern thematic analysis , it creates " deconstructionist instances" that, in their view, "expose and subvert

4088-429: 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. For the first few months of production, the writers shared one office, lent to them by

4234-423: Is an American animated comedy multimedia franchise originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company , primarily based on the animated series Family Guy (1999–present), its spin-off series The Cleveland Show (2009–2013), and the film Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005), based on his 1995–1997 thesis films The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve . Set in

4380-419: Is becoming one of the best animated shows; she commented on its ribaldry and popularity. The show has become a hit on Hulu ; it is the second-highest viewed show after Saturday Night Live . 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 . Empire praised

4526-404: Is changing, saying that it can be something that is "sophisticated, dramatic, beautiful and nuanced" rather than "crass and cruel." In January 2020, TZGZ , Syfy 's new adult animation block, ordered six 15-minute episodes of the series, which would later become Magical Girl Friendship Squad . At the same time, the short form version, Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins , began airing on

Family Guy - Misplaced Pages Continue

4672-485: Is constantly ridiculed or ignored by the family; Chris , their awkward teenage son, who is overweight, unintelligent, unathletic, and in many respects 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 pet dog Brian , although he

4818-602: Is introduced to Meg, he exclaims " D'oh! ", to which Lois replies, "No, Peter, that's not your catchphrase." 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". 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. Family Guy experienced

4964-471: Is not the only model for such animation, due to new shows coming to TV and streaming platforms like BoJack Horseman , Big Mouth , Rick and Morty and Undone , which some call a boom at the time that "high-quality adult animation shows" are being produced in France, Japan, and in other parts of the world, a new group of creators is pushing existing boundaries. Even so, fans of The Simpsons turned Hulu into

5110-743: Is said that Jeremy is actually heterosexual but left his wife and children for Richard, who offered him an easy, no-maintenance life as his trophy husband. The following year, from January to December 2012, Unsupervised , an adult animated sitcom ran on FX . Although it was cancelled in November 2012 after one season, it was praised by critics as a coming-of-age story, with two clueless and ridiculous protagonists, while having "realistic looking backgrounds," contrasting with show's look in general. Jeff & Some Aliens , an animated sitcom aired on Comedy Central from January to March 2017. The plot surrounds three aliens who travel to Earth to find

5256-894: Is still considered a pet in many ways. Recurring characters appear alongside the Griffin family. These include the family's neighbors: sex-crazed airline pilot bachelor Glenn Quagmire ; deli owner/mail carrier Cleveland Brown and his wife Loretta (later Donna ); paraplegic police officer Joe Swanson , his wife Bonnie , their son Kevin and their baby daughter Susie ; neurotic Jewish pharmacist Mort Goldman , 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. The primary setting of Family Guy

5402-613: Is the 15-year-old biological daughter of Donna and her ex-husband, Robert, Rallo's sister, Cleveland's stepdaughter and Cleveland Jr.'s stepsister. She looks up to Tyra Banks , hoping to one day become her co-hostess. A relatively popular girl in school, Roberta is often seen socializing with her friends, both in person, and using phones/social networking websites. She has been dating a less-than-respectable boy named Gabriel "Federline Jones" Friedman. Donna doesn’t approve of Federline, though Cleveland has since managed to bully him into submission. As with many popular students, Roberta often acts as

5548-504: Is the Griffins' 1-year-old child, but often behaves in adult ways such as speaking in an exaggerated upper-class English accent. Brian Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is the family's 10-year-old (70 in dog years) anthropomorphic talking white Labrador Retriever and the best friend of both Stewie and his father, Peter. The characters listed below are the extended family of the Griffin family that come from either Peter's side of

5694-399: Is the case with Disenchantment , Final Space , Solar Opposites , Central Park , the short-lived series, Hoops , and Q-Force . This positioned Netflix as a leader of adult animation content. The creator of Bojack Horseman , Raphael Bob-Waksberg , said that the show is about "ourselves looking outwards" and argued that the voice actor for Bojack, Will Arnett , can find

5840-423: Is the matriarch of the Griffin household, Peter's wife, and the mother of Meg, Chris, and Stewie. She is 45-years-old, and is of German and Jewish descent. Megan " Meg " Griffin (voiced by Lacey Chabert in seasons 1 & 2, Mila Kunis from season 2 onwards) is the Griffins' 18-year-old daughter. She is a self-conscious, insecure, and sensitive teenager who is more often than not ridiculed and ignored by

5986-633: Is the obese 14-year-old biological son of Cleveland Brown and his late ex-wife Loretta. He debuted in the second-season episode " Love Thy Trophy " on the animated TV show Family Guy . During his time in Family Guy before The Cleveland Show he was shown to be skinny, hyperactive, and athletic. He was presumably taken into Loretta's custody after she and Cleveland divorced in " The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire " and has since become severely obese. He suffers from mild seizure-like episodes which he refers to as "brainstorms" and takes medication to control them. It

Family Guy - Misplaced Pages Continue

6132-438: Is the second and current wife of Cleveland Brown. She is 42 years old and works as the principal's secretary at Stoolbend High School. She has two biological children from her previous marriage with Robert Unknown (His last name is literally "Unknown", which is a joke later in the series), Roberta and Rallo, and she has kept her maiden name (seen in "Pilot", Cleveland says, "Back in high school, I would have given anything to spend

6278-478: Is usually depicted as exceedingly gentle and patient, and it is only on rare occasions that he has been known to lose his temper and resort to violence. However, Cleveland gets visibly annoyed with racist behavior. He often acts as the voice of caution when other characters hatch harebrained schemes. Cleveland's speech is slow and almost elongated in Family Guy , but in The Cleveland Show his voice has

6424-644: The King of the Hill production crew. 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. Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman left

6570-788: The Outstanding Voice-Over Performance award for his performance as Stewie; 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 "; Steven Fonti won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for his storyboard work in the episode " No Chris Left Behind "; and Greg Colton won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation award for his storyboard work in

6716-493: The hegemony of heteronormativity ." Allen Gregory had a short run in 2011 and was cancelled after the first season. This series featured Richard and Jeremy De Longpre, the fathers of the title character, Allen. Jeremy is a former social worker who had a loving wife and family, although this changed after Richard became one of his clients. Richard was attracted to Jeremy to the point where he started stalking him and his family until Jeremy finally agreed to be his husband. It

6862-701: 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 . Henry met MacFarlane at the Rhode Island School of Design and kept in touch with him after they graduated. A few years later, MacFarlane contacted him about being part of

7008-420: 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 . Series regular Greg Colton then took over Povenmire's role as director of

7154-727: The "Road to" episodes. 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. Family Guy uses the film-making technique of cutaways , which occur in the majority of Family Guy episodes. 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

7300-498: The "Show of the Week" on April 21, 2009, hailing it a "pop culture-heavy masterpiece". 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". The New Yorker ' s Nancy Franklin said that Family Guy

7446-455: The "foxhole humor" in Bob's Burgers has kept it going, and even argue that the humor in the children's animation, Animaniacs was "far more adult" than the original series in the 1990s . Later in 2020, the reboot of Animaniacs , an all-ages animation had an episode pulled which included a real sex hotline number, with the series no stranger to adult humor as the showrunner, Wellesley Wild,

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7592-419: The "most watched cable television series." In 2019, it was announced that a writer for Disenchantment , Shion Takeuchi, would be heading her own upcoming Netflix show titled Inside Job , with Alex Hirsch as an executive producer, With a woman named Alma as the protagonist, Takeuchi said she hoped it would "push the boundaries" of adult animation. Hirsch was also quoted as noting that adult animation

7738-459: The 45th-best American show in 2009. IGN ranked Family Guy number seven in the "Top 100 Animated Series" and number six in the "Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time". Empire named it the twelfth-greatest TV show of all time in 2008. In 2005, viewers of the UK television channel Channel 4 voted Family Guy number 5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Cartoons. Brian was awarded the 2009 Stoner of

7884-818: 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. 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!" 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,

8030-468: The Giant Chicken . Alexandra Breckenridge also appears as many various characters. Adam West appeared as the eponymous Mayor Adam West , until his death in 2017. 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

8176-457: The Griffin family waving goodbye towards the end. On August 14, 2024, it was announced that Family Guy would begin airing on Comedy Central as part of a licensing deal between Paramount (parent company of Comedy Central) and Disney (which retains some ownership of Fox and also holds streaming rights to the show). This deal would be effective on September 2, 2024. New episodes continue to air on Fox, and reruns continue to air on FX Networks as

8322-410: The Griffins' neighbor Glenn Quagmire , news anchor Tom Tucker , and Lois' father, Carter Pewterschmidt . Alex Borstein voices Peter's wife Lois Griffin , Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa , Loretta Brown , and Lois' mother, Babs Pewterschmidt . 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

8468-482: The PTC have both accused the show of portraying religion negatively, and of being racist. Because of the PTC, some advertisers have canceled their contracts after reviewing the content of the episodes, claiming it to be unsuitable. Critics have compared the show's humor and characters with those of The Simpsons . Various episodes of the show have generated controversy. In " 420 " ( season seven , 2009), Brian decides to start

8614-506: The Paramount-Disney deal is non-exclusive. Animated sitcom The Flintstones , which debuted in 1960, is considered the first example of the animated sitcom genre. A similar cartoon, The Jetsons , which took place in the future rather than the past, followed in 1962. Marc Blake argued it started the " science fiction sitcom sub genre". Animated sitcoms have been more controversial than traditional cartoons from

8760-629: The Tubbs family that has yet to speak in Family Guy (the video game Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff is not considered a speaking role). Montclair " Rallo " Tubbs (voiced by Mike Henry ) is the 5-year-old biological son of Donna and her ex-husband, Robert, Roberta's brother, Cleveland's stepson and Cleveland Jr.'s stepbrother. Despite his age, and the fact his father has been mostly absent most of his life, Rallo acts much like Robert, behaving at times very articulate, yet hormonally charged. He seems to get along fairly well with his mother, Donna and has

8906-476: The United Kingdom, regularly obtaining between 700,000 and 1 million viewers for re-runs on BBC Three . 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. Lauren Conrad met MacFarlane while recording

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9052-480: The Week". 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. The PTC has placed the show on their annual lists of "Worst Prime-Time Shows for Family Viewing" in 2000, 2005, and 2006. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received multiple petitions requesting that the show be blocked from broadcasting on indecency grounds. Tucker and

9198-623: The Wind", she dies in a freak accident back in Quahog when in her 40s because Peter accidentally swings a Brontosaurus skeleton found by Brian from a mobile crane into her house, destroying it and causing her to fall from the second floor in her bathtub (in a similar manner to Cleveland in a running gag on Family Guy ), only for her neck to snap. She was buried in Stoolbend, and left her fortune to Cleveland Jr. in her will. Donna Lou Retten Tubbs-Brown (née Tubbs) (voiced by Sanaa Lathan ),

9344-459: The Year award by High Times for the episode " 420 ", marking the first time an animated character received the honor. In 2004 and 2007, TV Guide ranked Family Guy number 12 and number 15 in their list of top cult shows ever. Family Guy has garnered six Golden Reel Awards nominations, winning three times. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Guy the ninth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time. One of

9490-467: The actions of the characters, as well as removing all references to fire from the episodes. As Beavis and Butt-Head began entered its last season in 1997, a new adult animation began airing on MTV which was titled Daria . It would praised for its "progressive characters", sense of humor, and ability to capture absurdity of teen life in suburbs. Beginning around the same time was South Park . It became an "icon for anti-censorship and free speech" and

9636-489: The block's top-rated program, dominating late-night viewing in its time period versus cable and broadcast competition and boosting viewership by 239%. 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. Sales of the DVD set reached 2.2 million copies, becoming the best-selling television DVD of 2003 and

9782-451: The characters. Fox proposed that MacFarlane complete a 15-minute short and gave him a budget of $ 50,000. Several aspects of Family Guy were inspired by the Larry shorts. While MacFarlane worked on the series, the characters of Larry and his dog Steve slowly evolved into Peter and Brian. MacFarlane stated that the difference between The Life of Larry and Family Guy was that " Life of Larry

9928-422: The comedy in anything. Nasdaq argued that shows like Disenchantment were "original content" which had helped Netflix "dominate the online video streaming market," and said that demand for original content will allow Netflix to expand its base of subscribers. This allowed Netflix to gain allegiance of smaller, but more fervent, fanbases, which garnered a wide viewership. Some critics noted that The Simpsons

10074-473: The content but that ABC, and their corporate owner Disney Company , reneged on their promises, and called the show "dead" even though there were six episodes that had not aired. Six episodes of the show, based on Kevin Smith 's 1994 comedy of the same title , were produced, but only two episodes aired before the show was cancelled by ABC. While the pilot of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law first aired as

10220-404: The demo that MacFarlane pitched to Fox on May 15, 1998. 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. Family Guy

10366-449: The early 1990s, another sitcom, was also controversial. This was due to its portrayal of brief nudity, profanity and violence. Although the series was intended for adult audiences, it was shown in the afternoons, and multiple parents claimed that their children had imitated the show's characters. After an incident, MTV responded by moving the series to a later airtime and adding disclaimers to future episodes stating explicitly not to imitate

10512-531: The end of its first season, the show ranked No. 33 in the Nielsen ratings , with 12.8 million households tuning in. 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. 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

10658-482: The end of the strike, with regularly airing episodes recommencing on February 17, 2008. According to MacFarlane, in 2009, it cost about $ 2 million to make an episode of Family Guy . During his September 2017 AMA on Reddit , MacFarlane revealed that he had not written for the show since 2010, choosing instead to focus on production and voice acting. On May 12, 2023, it was announced that the showrunners of Family Guy , including Seth MacFarlane, would temporarily leave

10804-501: The episode " Road to the Multiverse ". The show was nominated for eleven Annie Awards , and won three times, twice in 2006 and once in 2008. 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. The Simpsons was almost nominated in 1993, but voters were hesitant to pit cartoons against live action programs. The show

10950-428: The family, Lois' side of the family, and the occasional members of Brian's family: Throughout the series, mainly during the first seasons, Peter often mentions various ancestors of the Griffin family, which are shown in cutaway gags . Cleveland Orenthal Brown Sr. (voiced by Mike Henry from 1999-2021, Arif Zahir from 2021–present ) is a portly 42-year-old African-American man who is very polite to everyone and has

11096-435: The fictional city of Quahog , Rhode Island , the show exhibits much of its humor in the form of metafictional cutaway gags that often lampoon American culture . The family was conceived by MacFarlane after he developed two animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve . MacFarlane redesigned the films' protagonist, Larry, and his dog, Steve, and renamed them Peter and Brian, respectively. MacFarlane pitched

11242-432: The fictional towns of Quahog , Rhode Island , and Stoolbend , Virginia , the show exhibits much of its humor in the form of metafictional cutaway gags often lampooning American culture . The following is an abridged list of characters consisting of the starring families ( Griffin ; Brown/Tubbs ) and supporting characters from all three. Characters are only listed once, normally under the first applicable subsection in

11388-684: 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

11534-484: The first part of season 2 of Disenchantment was released on Netflix . In February 2021, it was announced that Tyler, the Creator had teamed up with Lionel Boyce and Davon 'Jasper' Wilson to develop an animated comedy named Shell Beach . In March 2021 it was reported that King of the Hill would be revived, with characters aging 15 years from the end of the series. Pewterschmidt family Family Guy

11680-415: The fourth episode of the first season, " Mind Over Murder ". 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

11826-417: The growing relationship between Fry and Leela and an "alien relationship" (Kif and Amy). John Evershed, formerly showrunner on Happy Tree Friends and current founder of Mondo Media , argued that the "enduring popularity" of this genre is a result of The Simpsons , a massive "animation franchise," and said this proves "the time-tested formula" of the genre works, even though it was "controversial" when it

11972-404: The history of television," in terms of shows like Family Guy and South Park . These shows, and their subsequent franchises, were said to be part of a shift in the early 2010s toward adult animation , with darker and "more intricate animated comedies" such as Bojack Horseman and Rick and Morty released, with the latter reaching nine million viewers after the first season. Drawn Together ,

12118-704: The influence of The Simpsons on adult animation, with Family Guy , King of the Hill , and Bob's Burgers , among others, featuring some version of the same structure, while "non-family-based shows" have drawn from "Matt Groening's hyper-referential style, irreverence and slapstick humor." He quoted Alex Hirsch , creator of Gravity Falls , as describing adult animation as an "arms race of different ways to copy The Simpsons ." Two of Hirsch's friends from CalArts, Pendleton Ward (creator of Adventure Time ) and J. G. Quintel (creator of Regular Show ) were also inspired by The Simpsons. In 1989, The Simpsons began airing on Fox Broadcasting Company in prime time, becoming

12264-403: 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". 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

12410-492: The list; very minor characters are listed with a more regular character with whom they are associated. Peter Löwenbräu Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane ) is the patriarch of the Griffin household, a 46-year-old Irish-American blue-collar worker and the "family guy" of the show's title. For most of the series, Peter is shown as an obese, unintelligent, lazy, outspoken, childish, and eccentric alcoholic . Lois Patrice Griffin (née Pewterschmidt ) (voiced by Alex Borstein )

12556-494: The most average person to test and understand humans. Most episodes revolve around Jeff having a problem that the aliens can fix with a strange device. In December 2017, the series was canceled after one season. It was described as being "a witty and fun stoner alien romp" which is a comedy akin to Rick and Morty . Other animated sitcoms include Paradise PD , Tuca & Bertie , The Boondocks , and Momma Named Me Sheriff . Some series are on streaming platforms, as

12702-540: The most guest stars of the seventh season. 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. 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 . At

12848-629: The most popular animated sitcoms in each U.S. state . They found that South Park is popular in Colorado , The Simpsons is popular in Oregon and Massachusetts , Family Guy popular in Connecticut , and King of the Hill popular in Kentucky and Tennessee. The report also stated The Simpsons and South Park are the two most popular animated sitcoms, while Rick and Morty is among

12994-633: The network, and 17 NBC-affiliated stations agreed, leading to the show being stopped only after four episodes had aired. Even so, some religious leaders in the United Kingdom supported the show, and critics like Caryn James called it "a little risky" but "relatively benign" when compared to South Park , The Sopranos , and Sex and the City which aired at the time. In June 2000, Kevin Smith criticized ABC over its animated sitcom, Clerks: The Animated Series , telling EW that they delivered

13140-638: The night at Donna Tubbs' house."). While one of the main characters of The Cleveland Show , as of " He's Bla-ack! ", she has now taken on the former role of the late Loretta as a recurring character of Family Guy . Cleveland Orenthal Brown Jr. , (also referred to as Cleveland Raj Rerun Dwayne Brown ) better known simply as Junior , (voiced by Mike Henry in early appearances in Family Guy , and Kevin Michael Richardson in The Cleveland Show and later appearances in Family Guy ),

13286-461: The ongoing series, Duncanville , is airing on FOX , co-created by Amy Poehler , Mike Scully , and Julie Thacker . Poehler said the series is inspired by The Simpsons . Another animated sitcom on Fox, Bless the Harts , starred Kristen Wiig , and was created by former Saturday Night Live staff writer, Emily Spivey . A September 2018 report by AT&T , using Google Trends , identified

13432-488: The onset. The Flintstones was originally oriented at parents, as an animated version of The Honeymooners , though it was primarily popular with children. David Bennett argued that when it was originally released, it was aimed at an adult audience, and called it the "direct ancestors" of current adult animation, because it covered adult subjects. Bennett stated that it specifically influenced The Simpsons , along with animations on Adult Swim and Netflix . His argument

13578-412: The original comics, with theme music from Frank Zappa and set its sights on "1990s incarnations of political correctness and censorship", making it, a critic argued, a precursor to Family Guy and BoJack Horseman . As for King of the Hill , some noted it had the a great example of "young, adolescent love" within adult animation, specifically between Bobby and Connie. The show was also described as

13724-419: The people around her. Christopher Cross " Chris " Griffin (voiced by Seth Green ) is the Griffins' 15-year-old son. He is a friendly, laid-back, and slow-witted adult who is a younger version of Peter physically, but intellectually, he often shows more potential, as demonstrated from moments of coherence and articulation within his speech. Stewart Gilligan " Stewie " Griffin (voiced by Seth MacFarlane)

13870-567: The political satire biting enough to merit their continued attention. Similarly, kids probably won't be as smitten with the cartoon aspects or look". The series was cancelled after one month. The Critic was somewhat more successful, but achieved low ratings because of ABC's sporadic scheduling, and was cancelled by the network. Fox picked up the series, but cancelled it four months later. While Fox allowed The Simpsons to portray animated depictions of human buttocks, ABC would not allow similar scenes to appear on The Critic . Others stated that it

14016-451: The reference in the scene made light of Jesus and his followers – not Metrano or his act. The case was settled out of court in 2010 with undisclosed terms. The "Road to" episodes are a series of hallmark travel episodes. They are a parody of the seven Road to ... comedy films starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope . These episodes have always involved Stewie and Brian in some foreign, supernatural or science-fiction location, unrelated to

14162-424: The same late-night programming block. In February 2020, Fox released an animated sitcom produced by Seungyong Ji and Jordan Grief titled Duncanville , focusing on the story of a kid who "daydreams of making it big without having to wear a suit and tie to do so." In September 2020, Magical Girl Friendship Squad began airing on SYFY. In interviews the same month, series creator Kelsey Stephanides hoped that

14308-446: The second-highest-selling television DVD ever, behind the first season of Comedy Central 's Chappelle's Show . The third-season DVD release also sold more than a million copies. The show's popularity in DVD sales and reruns rekindled Fox's interest, 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. " North by North Quahog ", which premiered May 1, 2005,

14454-454: 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. Archival recordings of Lacey Chabert's voice that she provided as Meg Griffin are used in

14600-532: The series as funny, entertaining, zany, and amusing. From August to October 2002, the final few episodes of The Oblongs , another adult animation, would air on Adult Swim after The WB did not air the last five episodes of the series. The latter, which some called a "stray gem in the early 2000s," was noted for the romance between a married couple, Bob and Pickles Oblong, who had a healthy relationship where both would "constantly support each other." In 2008, Usha M. Rodrigues and Belinda Smaill argued that bro'Town

14746-413: 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. Family Guy often includes self-referential humor. The most common form is jokes about the Fox network, and occasions where the characters break the fourth wall by addressing the audience. For example, in " North by North Quahog ",

14892-514: The series was watched for 910 million minutes from July 29 to August 4, 2024. The following week, it garnered 881 million minutes of viewing time from August 5 to August 11, 2024, making it the sixth most-streamed television show overall. From August 12 to August 18, 2024, Family Guy generated 834 million minutes of viewership, ranking it as the eighth most-streamed television show overall. From August 26 to September 1, 2024, it amassed more than 1 billion minutes of viewing time, securing its position as

15038-438: The series would expand the "types of new animated stories" with more variety in adult animation, allowing for "different ways" to do adult animation in the future. In December 2020, Hoops was cancelled by Netflix after its first season received low ratings and negative reviews. Hoops was described as "puerile comedy ... perfect for Trump 's America," not funny, and "crude, rude, and aimless." On January 15, 2021,

15184-468: 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. 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." Family Guy has proven popular in

15330-413: 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! 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. During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike , official production of

15476-405: The show as a co-executive producer in season three and eventually became an executive producer. The first team of writers assembled for the show consisted of Chris Sheridan , Danny Smith, Gary Janetti , Ricky Blitt , Neil Goldman , Garrett Donovan , Matt Weitzman , and Mike Barker . The writing process of Family Guy typically starts with 14 writers that take turns writing the scripts; when

15622-464: The show as a result of the 2023 Writers Guild of America Strike . They returned to the show on September 27, 2023, once the strike was declared to be over. Seth MacFarlane voices three of the show's main characters: Peter Griffin , Brian Griffin , and Stewie Griffin . 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. MacFarlane drew inspiration for

15768-399: 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. Production officially resumed after

15914-528: The show have been released, including Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story , a straight-to-DVD special released in 2005; Family Guy: Live in Vegas , a soundtrack-DVD combo released in 2005, featuring music from the show as well as music created by MacFarlane and Walter Murphy ; a video game and pinball machine , released in 2006 and 2007, respectively; since 2005, six books published by Harper Adult ; and Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy (2010),

16060-640: The show in 2004; a fourth season began airing the following year, on May 1, 2005. Since its premiere, Family Guy has received generally positive reviews. In 2009, it was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series , the first time an animated series had been nominated for the award since The Flintstones in 1961. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Guy as the ninth-greatest TV cartoon. The series has also garnered considerable amounts of criticism and controversy , ranging from storylines and character stereotypes, to allegations of racism, homophobia, and misogyny. Many tie-in media based on

16206-463: The show of infringing its copyright on the song " When You Wish Upon a Star ", through a parody song titled "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 ;

16352-914: The show utilized "subversive qualities of animation." From 1972 to 1974, Hanna-Barbera produced Wait Till Your Father Gets Home , an adult-oriented sitcom in the style of All in the Family . The series dealt with subjects such as feminism and the generation gap . In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a number of animated television programs appeared which challenged the Standards & Practices guidelines, including The Simpsons , Beavis and Butt-Head , The Critic , The Brothers Grunt , The Ren & Stimpy Show , Rocko's Modern Life , Cow and Chicken , I Am Weasel , SpongeBob SquarePants , Duckman , and All Grown Up! . In 1987, The Simpsons shorts debuted on Fox 's The Tracey Ullman Show . This show aired in prime time, meaning it

16498-470: The show without her permission. She stated it was a trademark infringement and that Fox violated her publicity rights. 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. On October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing

16644-425: The show's first weeknight airings since 2002. 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 ; his wife 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

16790-489: The show's normal location in Quahog. The first, titled " 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. 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. The original idea for

16936-535: The show's ratings suffered. Upon Fox's annual unveiling of its 2002 fall line-up on May 15, 2002, Family Guy was absent. Fox announced that the show had been officially canceled shortly thereafter. 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 . Family Guy premiered in reruns on Adult Swim on April 20, 2003, and immediately became

17082-402: The show. MacFarlane, in an interview with Providence's Fox affiliate WNAC-TV , stated that the town is modeled after Cranston, Rhode Island . MacFarlane conceived Family Guy in 1995 while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design . During college, he created his thesis film titled The Life of Larry , which was submitted by his professor at RISD to Hanna-Barbera . MacFarlane

17228-465: The show; he agreed and came on as a writer and voice actor. 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. 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." On September 25, 2020, it

17374-538: The sole English-language mainstream adult-oriented animated sitcom until the 1990s, which saw the debuts of Beavis and Butt-Head , King of the Hill , South Park , Daria , Family Guy and Futurama . Some scholars argued that Matt Groening emulated the sci-fi genre shown in The Jetsons . Futurama would be complimented for its "intelligent, scientifically accurate, and humanized" approach to adventures, romances, and parodies of sci-fi. This included

17520-444: The song for comical use in an episode. 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 ". 20th Century Fox, MacFarlane, Callaghan and Borstein were all named in

17666-416: 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". In the United States, the show currently airs on Comedy Central , Freeform , FX , and FXX . The show was syndicated to Adult Swim and TBS from 2003 to 2021, sharing the rights to the first fifteen seasons. It

17812-533: The suit sought to stop the program's distribution and asked for unspecified damages. 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. On March 16, 2009, United States District Judge Deborah Batts held that Family Guy did not infringe on Bourne's copyright when it transformed

17958-459: The suit. 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

18104-408: The syndication rights held by local broadcast stations. 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

18250-493: The third most-streamed series overall. Family Guy has received generally positive reviews, particularly for its pop culture references, blue humor, satire, and non-sequitur storytelling. Catherine Seipp of National Review Online described it as a "nasty but extremely funny" cartoon. Caryn James of The New York Times called it a show with an "outrageously satirical family" that "includes plenty of comic possibilities and parodies". The Sydney Morning Herald named Family Guy

18396-442: The voice of Peter from a security guard he overheard talking while attending the Rhode Island School of Design. Stewie's voice was based on the voice of English actor Rex Harrison , especially his performance in the 1964 musical drama film My Fair Lady . MacFarlane uses his regular speaking voice when playing Brian. MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time-only characters, most prominently those of

18542-476: 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". The episode was watched by 11.85 million viewers, the show's highest ratings since the airing of the first season episode " Brian: Portrait of a Dog ". 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

18688-578: Was "really sight unseen". 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. Seth Green primarily voices Chris Griffin and Neil Goldman . Green stated that he did an impression of the character Buffalo Bill from the thriller film The Silence of the Lambs during his audition. Mila Kunis and Lacey Chabert have both voiced Meg Griffin . Chabert left

18834-428: Was a "home grown animated sitcom" that is comparable to The Simpsons . Adult animation became more popular, premiering critically acclaimed shows such as Drawn Together , Family Guy , American Dad! , Archer , Bob's Burgers , Rick and Morty , BoJack Horseman , F Is for Family , and Big Mouth . Some argued that animated sitcoms have formed some of the "most enduring and valuable franchises in

18980-662: Was announced that Arif Zahir would take over as the voice of Cleveland. Other recurring cast members include Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson , Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson , John G. Brennan as Mort Goldman and Horace the bartender , Carlos Alazraqui as Jonathan Weed , Adam Carolla and Norm Macdonald as Death , Lori Alan as Diane Simmons , Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams and Judge Dignified Q. Blackman, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Jerome. Fellow cartoonist Butch Hartman has made guest voice appearances in episodes as various characters. Also, writer Danny Smith voices various recurring characters, such as Ernie

19126-699: Was called "one of the most controversial shows on television." In May 1995, another adult animated sitcom began airing on Comedy Central . It was titled Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist , featured the voice talents of Jonathan Katz , Jon Benjamin , and Laura Silverman , won a Peabody Award in 1998. and was animated in a crude, easily recognizable style produced with the software Squigglevision in which all persons and animate objects are colored and have constantly squiggling outlines, while most other inanimate objects are static and usually gray in color. Some critics stated that this series offered "plenty of cleverness and humor for those who looked", with funny lines,

19272-484: Was confirmed by the fact that The Huckleberry Hound Show , created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera , became a "surprise hit with adult audiences." Even though some argued that The Flintstones later influenced The Simpsons , other scholars said that although the show caused a boom in primetime animation and "subverted conventional TV", the result would be driving animation out of primetime "for almost three decades". Despite this, scholar John Libbey argued that

19418-455: 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. However, following a last-minute reprieve, on July 24, 2000, Fox ordered 13 additional episodes of Family Guy to form

19564-408: Was described as a welcome addition to the "Sunday lineup," with passionate relationship between Bob and Linda Belcher while maintaining a large audience. In November 2020, the show was approaching its 200th episode. and that Some reviewers called Drawn Together a "bizarre and highly entertaining series" which has a unique style of humor and "level of self-parody." Some reviewers would point to how

19710-405: Was hired by the company. In 1996, MacFarlane created a sequel to The Life of Larry titled 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 . Executives at Fox saw the Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series, titled Family Guy , based on

19856-481: Was later described as one of the "more vulgar adult-animation offerings" of the 2010s, with Kaitlin Olson only staying "for the first season as the female lead," voicing a "recently transferred Yellowstone ranger named Ethel." It was also said that show had a divided reception from critics but received favorably by audiences, who appreciated the show's "shameless sense of offensive humor and fast-paced writing." Archer

20002-531: Was nominated for a Grammy in 2011. Family Guy has been nominated and has won various other awards, including the Teen Choice Awards and the People's Choice Awards . In the 1,000th issue of Entertainment Weekly , Brian Griffin was selected as the dog for "The Perfect TV Family". Wizard Magazine rated Stewie the 95th-greatest villain of all time. British newspaper The Times rated Family Guy

20148-464: Was not self-censored as much as programs intended to air on Saturday mornings. As such, the show would have brief nudity and mild language, while dealing with mature themes and subjects such as death, gambling addiction, religion, and suicide. The first full-length episode, " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire ", debuted on December 17, 1989. It is the first American animated sitcom not to have a laugh track , unlike other animated sitcoms prior. It remained

20294-409: Was not until the early 1990s that "cartoons specifically for adults" rather than children, did not come to "mainstream prominence" until after the success of The Simpsons , with Fox later airing King of the Hill and Family Guy both of which "generated massive audiences." As animation critic Reuben Baron described it, for a long time, "adult action/drama cartoons" were scarce on television, with only

20440-503: 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. MacFarlane has served as an executive producer throughout the show's entire history. The first executive producers were David Zuckerman , Lolee Aries , David Pritchard, and Mike Wolf. Family Guy has had many executive producers in its history, including Daniel Palladino , Kara Vallow , and Danny Smith . David A. Goodman joined

20586-488: Was released. Evershed also said that the show made clear that animation is "more than just kids content ." Others also argued that the show marked a turning point in U.S. attitudes "toward cartoons written primarily for adult audiences" The Simpsons would later win the Guinness World Records award for "Longest-running animated sitcom (by episode count)." Chris Turner , author of Planet Simpson: How

20732-486: Was revealed in the episode " The Hurricane! " that he "doesn't believe in God", although he claims he is not an atheist either, which he calls "another religion". Junior is one of the main characters of The Cleveland Show and returns to the Family Guy cast as of " He's Bla-ack! " as a recurring minor character. Roberta Coretta Tubbs (sometimes Roberta Benigni Tubbs ) (voiced by Nia Long and later Reagan Gomez-Preston )

20878-478: Was said to be a "standard bearer" for adult animation and an "eclectic comedy" and praised for its "tight, fast-paced, and ever impressively intelligent dialogue," with a "power couple": Sterling Archer and Lana Kane. American Dad! was praised for breaking away from the "cynicism and formulas of its adult animation contemporaries" with the romance between Stan Smith and Francine said to be a wonderful romantic pair akin to Archie and Edith Bunker . Bob's Burgers

21024-641: Was shown primarily in my dorm room and Family Guy was shown after the Super Bowl ." After the pilot aired, the series was given the greenlight . MacFarlane drew inspiration from several sitcoms such as The Simpsons and All in the Family . 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 . The Griffin family first appeared on

21170-441: Was syndicated to various local stations from 2007 to 2024. 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 same month. These deals did not affect

21316-440: Was the first episode to be broadcast after the show's hiatus. It was written by MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin . 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". With "North by North Quahog",

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