[8] Executives at Fox saw the Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series based on the characters entitled Family Guy.

[9] Seth MacFarlane conceived the idea for Family Guy in 1995 while studying animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

[7] Executives at Fox saw the Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series based on the characters entitled Family Guy.

The season had a number of secondary characters including Lori Alan as Diane Simmons, a local news anchor;[17] Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown, a neighbor and friend of the Griffins; Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson, a handicapped neighbor;[18] and Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson, Joe's pregnant wife.

[19] Other recurring characters included Carlos Alazraqui as Peter's boss Jonathan Weed,[20] and Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams.

A majority of the writers had to agree on an episode idea before sending it to MacFarlane for approval; the concepts ultimately had to receive endorsement from Fox before production could begin.

[32] Another IGN editor, Jeremy Conrad, stated: "There aren't many shows on TV that are this sharp, or brave enough to offend everyone on the face of the planet.

"[33] David Williams from the DVD Movie Guide gave Volume One of the Family Guy a positive review, saying that the first season did well in introducing the characters of the series; he ended his review as "If you’re a fan of shows like The Simpsons, South Park, Futurama, or Married... with Children and enjoy your humor topical, dry, and with tongue firmly planted in cheek, then Family Guy is right up your alley".

[34] Aaron Beierle of DVD Talk said at the end of his review, "Often brilliant, extremely witty and darkly hilarious, Family Guy was unfortunately cancelled after Fox bumped it around six or seven different time slots.

[40] The ending joke of "The Son Also Draws" (which consisted of Peter stating that "Canada sucks"), caused controversy with Canadian viewers.

He also hoped that smart people would use the Family Guy half hour to turn off the television set and start a debate over the air strikes in Kosovo.

[1] The first and second seasons were released under the title Family Guy Volume One; this standard four-disc DVD box set debuted in Region 1 on April 15, 2003.

[43] Distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, it included several DVD extras such as episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, and online promo spots.