The brainchild of Seth MacFarlane, the Family Guy franchise survived two cancellations to spawn a multi-billion dollar franchise with a television series, merchandise, and even a videogame.
Here are a few things you might not know about a man who positively can do all the things that make us laugh and cry: Family Guy!
Family Guy Facts
42. Clamming Up
Quahog, the name of the Griffin’s hometown, is also the name of an edible clam. Clams are often referenced throughout the show. The bar the characters frequent is “The Drunken Clam” and the strip club the guys visit is “The Fuzzy Clam.”
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
41. You Heard it Here First
In 2009, Brian and Stewie made a joke about “Bruce Jenner’s vagina.” This was six years before Caitlyn’s actual gender reassignment.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
40. The Secret Life of Chris Griffin
Occasionally, the show will poke fun at Robot Chicken and Chris will get mad. This is because Seth Green, the voice of Chris Griffin, is the producer, lead voice actor, and co-creator of that series.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
39. They’ve Fallen and they Can’t Get Up
Anytime someone is dead or unconscious, they are always lying on their front with one hand on his back and the other on the ground. The animators apparently have a favorite position.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
38. Those Damn Writer Room Bullies
Neil Goldman, the school nerd complete with acne and glasses, is named after one of the writers. Unsurprisingly, it was not the real Neil Goldman who named the character after himself, but the work of the other writers, who apparently have a strong opinion about the real Neil.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
37. The Life of Brian
Seth MacFarlane does Brian’s voice by just speaking normally. In addition, many of Brian’s personal beliefs close hew to MacFarlane’s, including his generally liberal political views and atheism.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
36. He Wears His Pants Backwards Too
Peter Griffin was raised a devout Catholic and, as a result, Chris Griffin’s middle name is “Cross.” That’s right. His full name is Chris Cross Griffin. And he’ll make you wanna jump, jump.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
35. Someone Call Security!
The voice of Peter Griffin was based on the voice of a security guard that MacFarlane knew when he went to college.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
34. The Force is With Them
Because George Lucas is such a fan of the show, he gave MarFarlane permission to do “Star Wars” gags. That’s really nice. Usually, instead of permission, you get a lawsuit.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
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33. It Puts the Lotion On
According to Seth Green, Chris Griffin’s voice is based on Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
32. BFFs
The characters of Peter and Brian originated from MacFarlane’s 1997 Cartoon Network short Larry & Steve another man and dog duo.
Cartoon Network, Larry & Steve (1995)
31. Make Theme Songs Great Again
The Family Guy theme song is a tribute to the theme song from All in the Family with the husband and wife from each show kicking off the song at a piano.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
30. The Respect of Their Peers
When South Park ran an episode making fun of Family Guy, they received flowers from the fine folks at The Simpsons with a message saying they were doing God's work.
Comedy Central, South Park (1997–present)
29. The Show That Just Won’t Die
After it was canceled for a second time, over a 100,000 fans signed a petition to bring it back.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
28. Where’s My Money?!
The main cast makes upwards of $225,000 each per episode.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
27. How Did Scooby Lose This One?!
Brian was named “Stoner of the Year” by High Times in 2009. Makes perfect sense that a magazine about marijuana would crown a cartoon dog with their highest honor.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
26. Death is a Bitch
Obsessed with death, MarFarlane began naming each episode with an ominous title borrowed from an old radio suspense drama from the 40s that had nothing to do with the show. Titles included, “Death Has a Shadow” and “Mind Over Murder.” After four episodes, it stopped being funny and they switched back to more traditional titles. If we know Family Guy and they kept going, it would have eventually become funny again.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
25. His Final Destination Moment
MacFarlane was supposed to be on American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center during the attacks on September 11th, 2001. Fortunately, he was late and he missed it. He was flying back from giving a speech at his alma mater. He still has the ticket.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
24. Outstanding!
Family Guy was the first animated program since The Flintstones to be nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys. You can be sure nobody from The Simpsons or South Park voted for them.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
23. Just Keep Holden On
The guy who calls Peter a “big fat phony” is credited as Holden Caufield, the main character from The Catcher in the Rye. In the book, Caufield calls most everyone a “phony,” which to him means anyone who doesn’t acknowledge the meaningless of life and instead puts effort into mundane tasks, like drawing a fat stupid man and his family over and over and over.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
22. A Hive of Scum and Villainy
In the Star Wars themed episode titled “It’s a Trap!” several characters from MacFarlane’s other works made cameos, including: American Dad’s Roger, Home Movies’ Coach John McGuirk, and Futurama’s Bender.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
21. Only 44 Times?
The Parents Television Council named Family Guy as the “Worst TV Show of the Week” 44 times. Again, The Simpsons and South Park would agree.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
20. Seeing Red
In the pilot, Lois has blonde hair instead of her now-signature red.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
19. Looks Good for His Age
According to his driver’s license, Quagmire was born in 1948, which, as of 2017) makes him 69. Heh. Heh. 69. Giggity.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
18. Old School Cool
Quagmire voice was based on radio announcers from the 40s and 50s and his appearance was based on Bob Hope.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
17. Baby Einstein
Stewie is exactly 1 ¾ years old and he’s widely considered to be rather intelligent for his age.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
16. Baby Talk
The writers will pick and choose when Stewie can be heard and understood by his family. There’s no rhyme or reason to it other than “Whatever’s funny at the time.”
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
15. So Fetch!
The original voice of Meg was Lacey Chabert of Party of Five and Mean Girls fame. After her contract expired after the first year, they replaced her with Mila Kunis. There was no drama. Lacey wanted to go. So boring. Just like Meg.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
14. A History of Violence
The big chicken who shows up from time time to have long drawn-out fights with Peter is named Ernie. Just in case you’ve forgotten, the entire fight began over an expired coupon.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
13. WTH
Every single episode includes at least one utterance of the phrase, “What the hell.” It’s their version of “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” But far more succinct.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
12. Janie IS a Gun
Because of Peter, Meg’s full name is no longer Megan, but Megatron. This may be the most interesting thing about her.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
11. The Seven Year Itch
Next door neighbor Bonnie was pregnant for seven years. She finally gave birth to Susie, who was voiced by Patrick Stewart. That’s what happens when you hold them in for seven years.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
10. Screwed the Pooch
William H. Macy auditioned for the role of Brian. MacFarlane might have made a bad call.
9. Multi-Taskers
From beginning to end, a full episode takes a year to make it to the small screen. Of course, they make multiple episodes at once.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
8. You Down With FCC?
Every episode has two versions. One for DVD and the other for TV. Obviously, the DVD version is the definitive version where they can really let loose with all the humor the censors won’t allow on TV.
Family Guy: Volume One - Seasons 1 & 2 DVD Overview, MrAcrizzy
7. The Doogie Howser of Executive Production
When the show first aired, it made MacFarlane the youngest executive producer in all of television at the tender age of 24.
Gage Skidmore (User:Gage), Wikimedia Commons
6. The Best of West
According to MacFarlane, Mayor Adam West is the single most demanded character in Quahog. Former Batman actor Adam West, who provides his own voice, actually loves the show.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
5. The Voice of an Angela
Peter’s creepy boss Angela was voiced by the late, great Carrie Fisher.
Riccardo Ghilardi photographer, Wikimedia Commons
4. Past, Present, and Future
There are numerous references to The Jetsons and The Flintstones. This is because MacFarlane was a writer for Hanna-Barbera before creating Family Guy and has a deep affection and familiarity with those characters.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
3. Same But Different
A lot of the characters are voiced by the same actors. Seth MacFarlane does Stewie, Brain, Peter, and many others. However, he typically changes his voice for each character. Not so with Carter Pewterschmidt and Dr. Hartman. They both have the exact same voice, which was referenced in an extended joke in the episode “Believe It or Not, Joe’s Walking on Air.”
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
2. That Mother-Son Bond
In early episodes of Family Guy, Stewie’s character revolved around his hatred of Lois. So much so, that his first words on screen and in his life were, “Damn you, vile woman!” Ain’t that sweet.
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
1. Write What You Know
MacFarlane admitted that the reason Meg gets so much abuse is the result of “a bunch of male writers not knowing how to write for a teenage girl.”
Fox, Family Guy (1999–present)
For factaholics who want more Family Guy facts, check out Family Guy in Numbers:
