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.

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.

[7][8] The show centers around the adventures and activities of the dysfunctional Griffin family, consisting of father Peter Griffin, a bumbling and clumsy yet well-intentioned blue-collar worker; his wife Lois, a stay-at-home mother and piano teacher (in early episodes) who is a member of the affluent Pewterschmidt family; Meg, their often bullied teenage daughter who is constantly ridiculed or ignored by the family; Chris, their awkward teenage son, who is overweight, unintelligent, unathletic, and in many respects a younger version of his father; and Stewie, their diabolical infant son of ambiguous sexual orientation who is an adult-mannered evil genius and uses stereotypical archvillain phrases.

TV news anchors Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons, Asian reporter Tricia Takanawa, and Blaccu-Weather meteorologist Ollie Williams also make frequent appearances.

[citation needed] The primary setting of Family Guy is Quahog (/ˈk(w)oʊhɒɡ/ K(W)OH-hog), a fictional city in Rhode Island that was founded by Peter's ancestor, Griffin Peterson.

[44] The first team of writers assembled for the show consisted of Chris Sheridan,[45] Danny Smith, Gary Janetti, Ricky Blitt, Neil Goldman, Garrett Donovan, Matt Weitzman, and Mike Barker.

Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan co-wrote 13 episodes for the NBC sitcom Scrubs during their eight-year run on the show, while also serving as co-producers and working their way up to executive producers.

[56] On May 12, 2023, it was announced that the showrunners of Family Guy, including Seth MacFarlane, would temporarily leave the show as a result of the 2023 Writers Guild of America Strike.

[40] MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time-only characters, most prominently those of the Griffins' neighbor Glenn Quagmire, news anchor Tom Tucker, and Lois' father, Carter Pewterschmidt.

[73][74] Other recurring cast members include Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson, Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson,[75] John G. Brennan as Mort Goldman and Horace the bartender, Carlos Alazraqui as Jonathan Weed,[76][77] Adam Carolla and Norm Macdonald as Death,[78] Lori Alan as Diane Simmons,[79] Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams and Judge Dignified Q. Blackman,[80] and Kevin Michael Richardson as Jerome.

[83] Episodes often feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, athletes, authors, bands, musicians, and scientists.

The show returned on March 7, 2000, at 8:30 pm on Tuesdays, where it was constantly beaten in the ratings by ABC's then-new breakout hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, coming in at No.

[95] Family Guy premiered in reruns on Adult Swim on April 20, 2003, and immediately became the block's top-rated program, dominating late-night viewing in its time period versus cable and broadcast competition and boosting viewership by 239%.

[104] In March 2007, comedian Carol Burnett filed a $6 million lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming that her charwoman cartoon character had been portrayed on the show without her permission.

Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of its music with antisemitic lyrics.

[114] In July 2009, a federal district court judge rejected Fox's motion to dismiss, saying that the first three fair use factors involved – "purpose and character of the use", "nature of the infringed work" and "amount and substantiality of the taking" – counted in Metrano's favor, while the fourth – "economic impact" – had to await more fact-finding.

For example, in "North by North Quahog", the first episode that aired after the show's revival, included Peter telling the family that they had been canceled because Fox had to make room in their schedule for shows like Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That '80s Show, Wonderfalls, Fastlane, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Skin, Girls Club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, FreakyLinks, Wanda at Large, Costello, The Lone Gunmen, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Normal, Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddie, The $treet, The American Embassy, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, The Tick, Luis, and Greg the Bunny.

The episode "Big Man on Hippocampus" mocks catchphrase-based humor: when Peter, who has forgotten everything about his life, is introduced to Meg, he exclaims "D'oh!

[191] Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, estimated that the series was watched for 910 million minutes from July 29 to August 4, 2024.

[204] Caryn James of The New York Times called it a show with an "outrageously satirical family" that "includes plenty of comic possibilities and parodies".

[211] Robin Pierson of The TV Critic praised the series as "a different kind of animated comedy which clearly sets out to do jokes which other cartoons can't do.

[219] Spears, who was mocked for her personal problems in the South Park episode "Britney's New Look" in 2008, offered to appear in a cameo to hit back at the similar animated show, but MacFarlane declined, stating that he did not want to start a feud with the series.

[242] The Parents Television Council (PTC), a conservative non-profit watchdog, has attacked the series since its premiere and has branded various episodes as "Worst TV Show of the Week".

In "420" (season seven, 2009), Brian decides to start a campaign to legalize cannabis in Quahog; the Venezuelan government reacted negatively to the episode and banned Family Guy from airing on their local networks, which generally syndicate American programming.

Sarah Palin, the mother of a child with Down syndrome, criticized the episode in an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor, calling those who made the show "cruel, cold-hearted people".

[260] The show's departure from Adult Swim on September 18, 2021, was commemorated with a remembrance bumper created by the network, which played after the final airing (the episode "Stewie is Enceinte").

[citation needed] Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One was written by executive story editor Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and actress Alex Borstein.

[288] The book is a biographical monologue by Lois Griffin covering a portion of her life, spanning from her memories of growing up to her attempted run for mayor in the town of Quahog.