Is violence in movies and sex on TV
But where are those good old-fashioned values
On which we used to rely?
Lucky there's a Family Guy!
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry!
He's... a... Faaam-ily... Guuuuuuy!"
Family Guy is an Animated Sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane about a Dysfunctional Family from Rhode Island, the Griffins — slow-witted blue-collar jerk Peter, who is basically a crueler, more imbecilic, and often more cheerful Al Bundy; smart and efficient (but neglectful and wild) House Wife Lois; insecure daughter Meg; moronic son Chris; martini-sipping intellectual and incredibly pretentious dog Brian; and laser-toting megalomaniac baby Stewie.
Premiering in 1999 on Fox, the show made history for American network television for being uncanceled — twice. Fox announced the show's cancellation after its second season in 2000 when it was beaten in ratings by shows like Frasier on NBC and especially ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, but the show was given a last-minute reprieve and Fox ordered another 13 episodes. However, its ratings suffered as its time slot changed constantly and it competed against the ratings-behemoths of Survivor on CBS and Friends on NBC. After the third season in 2002, Fox cancelled the show "for good," but in 2005, the show was resurrected yet again due to popular demand, impressive ratings for its reruns on Adult Swim, and unusually successful DVD-set sales.
Family Guy has since become one of the network's most successful franchises, promoted by its suits with the same fervor given to The Simpsons as well as American Idol and 24 in their heydays. This made Seth MacFarlane the highest-paid Hollywood writer for a few years after its second revamp, and allowed him to produce the Spin-Off series American Dad! (which was actually made to replace Family Guy) and The Cleveland Show, both under the same studio, along with the Star Wars spoof Family Guy Presents: Laugh It Up, Fuzzball.
Further media ventures in the wake of the show's pop culture phenomenon status include:
- Seven ovo188 — Family Guy Video Game! in 2006; a Licensed Pinball Table released by Stern Pinball in 2007 (click here for details); Family Guy Online, a browser-based MMORPG which ran from 2012-2013; Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse in 2012; Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, a mobile village simulator akin to The Simpsons: Tapped Out and My Little Pony in 2014; and Family Guy: Another Freakin' Mobile Game, a Match-Three Game akin to Candy Crush in 2017. And this is in addition to Warped Kart Racers, a Mascot Racer exclusive to Apple Arcade which features characters and stages based on the show. In addition, it's also a crossover game with other 20th Century Studios cartoons such as American Dad, King of the Hill, and Solar Opposites.
- Six books ranging from stories written in select characters' POVs to recaps of episodes to essays exploring the connection between the show and historical philosophers. A coffee table book titled Inside Family Guy: An Illustrated History was released in 2019 to commemorate the show's
20th anniversary. - A film, first announced informally in 2007 and most recently confirmed to still be in development in 2019.
Additional pages:
- Has its own wiki
- Episode Guides and the tropes associated are here.
- The "Just For Fun" Drinking Game.
