Family Guy

For the franchise, see Family Guy (franchise). For the recent season, see Family Guy season 23.
Family Guy
GenreAnimated sitcom[1]
Created bySeth MacFarlane
Developed by
Showrunners
Voices of
Theme music composerWalter Murphy
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons23
No. of episodes425 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Seth MacFarlane
  • David Zuckerman (1999–2003)
  • Daniel Palladino (2001–02)
  • David A. Goodman (2005–12)
  • Chris Sheridan (2005–12)
  • Danny Smith (2008–present)
  • Mark Hentemann (2009–present)
  • Steve Callaghan (2009–present)
  • Alec Sulkin (2011–present)
  • Wellesley Wild (2011–15)
  • Cherry Chevapravatdumrong (2012–19)
  • Kara Vallow (2012–present)
  • Richard Appel (2012–present)
  • Patrick Meighan (2018–present)
  • Tom Devanney (2018–present)
  • Alex Carter (2023–present)
Producers
Running time
  • 20–27 minutes
  • 33–88 minutes (select episodes)
Production companies
Original release
NetworkFox[N 1]
ReleaseJanuary 31, 1999 (1999-01-31) –
February 14, 2002 (2002-02-14)[2][d]
ReleaseMay 1, 2005 (2005-05-01)[2] –
present
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

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 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 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 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.[3] 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 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.

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.[4] Season 22 premiered on October 1, 2023.[5] Family Guy moved to Wednesday nights beginning March 6, 2024, marking the show's first weeknight airings since 2002.[6]

  1. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Family Guy (1999)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Barker, Stephen; Fox, Joshua (February 5, 2023). "Why Family Guy Was Canceled After Season 3 (& Why It Came Back)". ScreenRant.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Petski, Denise; Andreeva, Nellie (January 26, 2023). "The Simpsons, Family Guy & Bob's Burgers Renewed For Two Additional Seasons Through 2024–25". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "Breaking News – FOX to Debut Animated Comedy "Krapopolis" on Sunday, Sept. 24 | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  6. ^ 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.


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