Family Guy
| Family Guy | |
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| Genre | Animated sitcom[1] |
| Created by | Seth MacFarlane |
| Developed by |
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| Theme music composer | Walter Murphy |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 23 |
| No. of episodes | 444 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Fox[c] |
| Release | January 31, 1999 – February 14, 2002[2][d] |
| Release | May 1, 2005[2] – present |
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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 the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, the show exhibits much of its humor in the form of 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 a fifteen-minute pilot to Fox in May 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 the show in 2004; a fourth season began airing the following year, on May 1, 2005. On April 2, 2025, the show was renewed for four additional seasons on Fox.[3]
Family Guy received generally positive reviews during its first seven seasons. Since then, the series has received criticism for a perceived decline in quality.[4][5][6][7] 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.[8] The series has drawn significant criticism for its storylines, humor, and character portrayals, including allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia, and reliance on offensive stereotypes and graphic violence.
Many tie-in media based on 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), 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.
Family Guy moved to Wednesday nights beginning March 6, 2024, marking the show's first weeknight airings since 2002.[9] On December 27, 2024, it was announced that the series would be moving back to Sundays and would air at the 8:00 p.m. timeslot. This would mark the first time Family Guy airs at the 8:00 p.m. timeslot since the episode "Brian's Got a Brand New Bag" aired on November 8, 2009. Following the two Hulu specials in late 2024, the remainder of season 23 premiered on February 16, 2025.[10][11] On April 24, 2025, it was announced that Family Guy would air as part of Fox's summer programming lineup, and would move to Thursdays. The summer premiere began on May 29 at 9 pm ET,[12] and concluded on July 17, 2025.[13]
On May 16, 2025, it was announced that season 24 would premiere in spring 2026.[14]
- ^ Erickson, Hal. "Family Guy (1999)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ a b Barker, Stephen; Fox, Joshua (February 5, 2023). "Why Family Guy Was Canceled After Season 3 (& Why It Came Back)". ScreenRant.
- ^ Otterton, Joe (April 2, 2025). "'The Simpsons,' 'Family Guy,' 'Bob's Burgers' Renewed for Four More Seasons, 'American Dad' Officially Returning to Fox". Variety. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^ Alexander, Harry (January 10, 2022). "How Family Guy Lost Its Way". Cultured Vultures. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
- ^ Hoffman, Claire (June 11, 2012). "No. 1 Offender". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
- ^ Sherlock, Ben (May 14, 2019). "10 Ways Family Guy Has Changed Since Season 1". ScreenRant. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
- ^ Land, Ashley (November 29, 2022). "10 Signs Family Guy Is A Dying Show". CBR. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
- ^ "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Greatest Cartoons of All Time". TV Guide. September 24, 2013. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
- ^ White, Peter; Petski, Denise (November 21, 2023). "Fox Midseason Premiere Dates: 'The Cleaning Lady', 'Alert' & 'Animal Control' Set March Return As 'Family Guy' Moves To Midweek Slot". Deadline. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ "2024 FOX Winter Prime Preview". FOX 11 Los Angeles. December 27, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- ^ Petski, Denise (January 21, 2025). "'Family Guy', 'The Simpsons', More Get Winter Premiere Dates At Fox". Deadline. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
- ^ Petski, Denise (April 24, 2025). "Fox Summer Premiere Dates: 'Gordon Ramsay's Secret Service', 'MasterChef', Thursday Animation Block With 'Bob's Burgers', 'Family Guy' & More". Deadline. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
- ^ "Transplant Ends, Strange New Worlds Returns, Family Guy Finale and More". TV Line. July 17, 2025. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
- ^ Porter, Rick (May 12, 2025). "How an "Opportunistic" Fox Reclaimed 'American Dad!' After 10 Seasons on TBS". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
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