About Family Guy

Family Guy is an American animated television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and their pet dog Brian. The show uses frequent cutaway gags, often in the form of tangential vignettes which parody American culture.

Family Guy was conceived by MacFarlane after developing two predecessor animated films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. MacFarlane changed the design of the protagonist Larry and renamed him Peter; he also changed the design of Larry’s dog Steve, and developed him into Brian. Shortly after the third season of Family Guy aired in 2003, the series was canceled. However, because of favorable DVD sales and high ratings on syndicated reruns, the network renewed the show in 2004. The setting for the stories is a partially fictional town in Rhode Island, based on MacFarlane’s upbringing and education.

Family Guy has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, of which it won three. The show has also been nominated for eleven Annie Awards, and won three times. It has garnered three Golden Reel Award nominations, winning once. In 2009, it was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, the first time an animated series was nominated for the award since The Flintstones in 1961. Family Guy has also been challenged with negative criticism, including three notable lawsuits and low reviews for its similarities to the animated series The Simpsons.