Family Guy
An animated sitcom about a dysfunctional Rhode Island family.
Family Guy is an American animated sitcom that Seth MacFarlane created for Fox. It first aired on January 31, 1999, right after Super Bowl XXXIII, and the rest of its debut season continued from April 11, 1999. The story follows the Griffin family—a dysfunctional bunch made up of parents Peter and Lois, their kids Meg, Chris, and Stewie, plus their talking dog Brian. They live in the made-up town of Quahog, Rhode Island. The show leans heavily on cutaway gags to poke fun at American culture.
MacFarlane came up with the family after making two animated shorts, *The Life of Larry* and *Larry & Steve*. He took the main character, Larry, and his dog, Steve, gave them new names—Peter and Brian—and reworked them. In May 1998, he pitched a 15-minute pilot to Fox, which gave the green light and started production. After the third season ended in 2002, the show was canceled; one unaired episode later ran on Adult Swim in 2003, wrapping up the original run. But strong DVD sales and high ratings from reruns convinced Fox to bring it back in 2004. Season four kicked off on May 1, 2005, and the series has been on the air ever since.
The first seven seasons got mostly positive reviews, but later seasons faced criticism for a drop in quality. In 2009, it earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series—the first animated show to get that nod since *The Flintstones* in 1961. *TV Guide* ranked it the ninth-greatest TV cartoon in 2013. The series has also drawn heavy criticism for its plots, humor, and character portrayals, with accusations of racism, sexism, homophobia, and overusing offensive stereotypes, shock humor, and graphic violence.
Various tie-in media have come out, including *Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story*, a straight-to-DVD special from 2005; *Family Guy: Live in Vegas*, a 2005 soundtrack-DVD combo with music from the show and work by MacFarlane and Walter Murphy; a video game in 2006 and a pinball machine in 2007; six books from Harper Adult starting in 2005; and *Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy* (2010), three episodes parodying the original *Star Wars* trilogy. A spin-off, *The Cleveland Show*, featuring Cleveland Brown, aired from September 27, 2009, to May 19, 2013.
On April 2, 2025, it was announced that *Family Guy* would get four more seasons as part of a "mega deal" with parent company Disney, keeping it on through the
- creator
- Seth MacFarlane
- premiere_date
- January 31, 1999
- network
- Fox Broadcasting Company
- genre
- Animated sitcom
- setting
- Quahog, Rhode Island
- notable_award
- Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series (2009)
Lore & Background
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, premiering on May 1, 2005; the show has remained on the air ever since.
Reader's Guide
Family Guy received generally positive reviews during its first seven seasons. Since then, the series has received criticism for a perceived decline in quality. 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 drawn significant criticism for its storylines, humor, and character portrayals, including allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia, and reliance on offensive stereotypes, shock humor, and graphic violence. Many tie-in media have been released, including a straight-to-DVD special, a soundtrack-DVD combo, a video game, a pinball machine, six books, and a trilogy of episodes parodying the original Star Wars trilogy. A spin-off series, The Cleveland Show, aired from 2009 to 2013. On April 2, 2025, it was announced that Family Guy would be renewed for four more seasons through the 2028–29 television season. In March 2026, a second spin-off series, Stewie, was given a two-season order for Fox, set to premiere during the 2027–28 season.
Did You Know?
- The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII.
- Family Guy was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2009, the first animated series nominated since The Flintstones in 1961.
- The show was cancelled after its third season in 2002 but revived in 2004 due to favorable DVD sales and high syndication ratings.
- A second spin-off series, Stewie, was announced in March 2026 for a two-season order on Fox.
More in Television Series 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record