Family Guy

Family Guy
GenreAnimated sitcom
Created bySeth MacFarlane
Developed by
Showrunners
Voices of
Theme music composerWalter Murphy
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons24
No. of episodes455 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Seth MacFarlane
  • David Zuckerman (1999–2002)
  • 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
ReleaseJanuary 31, 1999 (1999-01-31) –
February 14, 2002 (2002-02-14)
ReleaseMay 1, 2005 (2005-05-01) –
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 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 fifteen-minute pilot to Fox in May 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.

Family Guy received generally positive reviews during its first seven seasons. Since then, the series has received criticism for a perceived decline in quality. 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. The series has drawn significant criticism for its storylines, humor, and character portrayals, including allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia, and reliance on offensive stereotypes and graphic violence.

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 April 2, 2025, it was announced that Family Guy would be renewed for four more seasons in what is considered a "mega deal" with parent company Disney. This renewal will take the show through the 2028–29 television season. The twenty-fourth season premiered in October 2025, and regular episodes premiered on February 15, 2026.

In March 2026, it was announced that a second spin-off series, Stewie, was given a two-season order for Fox. Stewie is set to premiere during the 2027–28 season.