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 two months later beginning 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 developing 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 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 would begin airing the following year on May 1, 2005.
Since its premiere, Family Guy has been widely acclaimed. The series has been nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy Awards and 11 Annie Awards, and has won three of each. In 2009, it was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, the first time an animated series was nominated for the award since The Flintstones in 1961. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Guy the ninth Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time. Although highly satirical in nature, the series has also garnered considerable amounts of criticism and controversy, for everything from storylines and character stereotypes, to allegations of racism, homophobia and sexism.
Many tie-in media 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 original 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.
Cast and characters[]
- Seth MacFarlane - Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, Glenn Quagmire, Tom Tucker, Carter Pewterschmidt
- Alex Borstein - Lois Griffin, Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown, Babs Pewterschmidt
- Seth Green - Chris Griffin, Neil Goldman
- Lacey Chabert - Meg Griffin (season 1)
- Mila Kunis - Meg Griffin (seasons 2-present)
- Mike Henry - Herbert, Bruce the Performance Artist, Consuela, the Greased-Up Deaf Guy, Cleveland Brown (seasons 1-18)
- Arif Zahir - Cleveland Brown (season 19-present)
- Patrick Warburton - Joe Swanson
- Jennifer Tilly - Bonnie Swanson
- John G. Brennan - Mort Goldman, Horace the bartender
- Carlos Alazraqui - Jonathan Weed
- Adam Carolla and Norm Macdonald - Death
- Lori Alan - Diane Simmons
- Phil LaMarr - Ollie Williams, Judge Dignified Q. Blackman
- Kevin Michael Richardson - Jerome
- Adam West - Mayor Adam West
International broadcast[]
| Country | Network(s) | Local title |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Fox, Adult Swim, TBS, FXX, Freeform, The CW,FX | Family Guy |
| International | Disney+ (Star), AFN Spectrum, AFN Prime | |
| Asia | Fox | |
| Africa | Fox | |
| Australia | Seven Network, Fox8, 7mate | |
| Austria | ProSieben, ProSieben Maxx, ProSieben Fun, Sat.1 Comedy, Puls 4 | |
| Canada (English) | Global, Teletoon, Citytv, TVtropolis, DTour, Adult Swim, FXX, Omni Television | |
| Denmark | DR3, Paramount Network | |
| Germany | ProSieben, ProSieben Maxx, ProSieben Fun, Sat.1 Comedy, MTV, Comedy Central, VIVA | |
| Greece | Makedonia TV | |
| Hungary | Comedy Central, TV2 Comedy | |
| Iceland | SkjárEinn | |
| India | Star World Premiere, Disney+ Hotstar | |
| Indonesia | Disney+ Hotstar | |
| Ireland | 3e | |
| Indonesia | Disney+ Hotstar | |
| Malaysia | Disney+ Hotstar | |
| Netherlands | Comedy Central | |
| New Zealand | Four | |
| Philippines | Jack TV | |
| Portugal | RTP2, SIC Radical, Fox, Fox Comedy | |
| Switzerland | ProSieben, ProSieben Maxx, ProSieben Fun, Sat.1 Comedy, SRF zwei, Puls 8 | |
| Thailand | Disney+ Hotstar | |
| Turkey | CNBC-e, e2, FX | |
| United Kingdom | Channel 4, Sky One, Fox, BBC Two, BBC Three, ITV2 | |
| Belgium (French) | La Deux | Les Griffin |
| Canada (French) | Télétoon, Radio-Canada | |
| France | Canal+, Paris Première, NT1, AB1, MCM | |
| Morocco | 2M | |
| Tunisia | Hannibal TV | |
| Latin America | Star Channel, FX, Star+ | Padre de familia |
| Argentina | Telefe | |
| Bolivia | Unitel | |
| Chile | Canal 13, Mega, Chilevisión | |
| Colombia | Canal 1, Citytv Bogotá, RCN Televisión | |
| Costa Rica | Repretel 11 | |
| Dominican Republic | Telesistema | |
| Ecuador | Teleamazonas | |
| El Salvador | Canal 6 | |
| Guatemala | Televisiete | |
| Honduras | Canal 11 | |
| Mexico | Canal 5 | |
| Nicaragua | TN8 | |
| Panama | RPC-TV, Oye TV, TVMax | |
| Paraguay | SNT | |
| Peru | ATV, América Televisión, Global Televisión | |
| Spain | Fox, LaSexta, Neox, Comedy Central | |
| Uruguay | Canal 4 | |
| Venezuela | Venevisión | |
| Armenia (Russian) | ATV Filmzon | Гриффины |
| Russia | REN TV, 2x2 | |
| Arab World | MBC 1, Fox Series | الأسرة غي |
| Brazil | Rede Globo, Rede Bandeirantes, RecordTV, FX, Star Channel, Star+ | Uma Família da Pesada |
| Bulgaria | Fox | Семейният тип |
| Croatia | Fox, RTL Kockica | Obiteljski čovjek |
| Czech Republic | Prima Cool, Prima Comedy Central | Griffinovi |
| Israel | yes+, yes Comedy HD | איש משפחה |
| Italy | Italia 1, Fox, Fox Animation | I Griffin |
| Japan | WOWOW, Gyao, Fox | ファミリー・ガイ |
| Latvia | TV6 | Mana trakā ģimene |
| Lithuania | TV6 | Šeimos bičas |
| Mongolia | MovieBox, D1 | Гэрсэг залуу |
| Poland | TV4, Comedy Central, Fox Comedy | Głowa rodziny |
| Romania | Pro TV, TVR2, Comedy Central | Familia mea dementă |
| South Korea | Tooniverse | 패밀리 가이 |
| Taiwan | Fox | 蓋酷家庭 |
| Ukraine | QTV | Гріфіни |
| NLO TV | Сім'янин |