10 Hidden Family Guy Jokes Everybody Missed

7. Seth MacFarlane'€™s Failed Pitch To Fox Made It Into Family Guy

Fox

Getting a show on air is hard and it is pretty certain that before MacFarlane created Family Guy, he probably pitched a dozen of failed ideas to Fox before they decided on the Griffin family. It is also well-known MacFarlane likes to incorporate anecdotes, stories, and jokes about his own life and career into the show.

All this resulted in a really meta gag and a subtle dig at Fox from MacFarlane. In the episode 'If I'm Dyin', I'm Lyin'', Peter becomes a sort of phony faith healer that everyone believes in and he develops some sort of God complex. Using his new-found power, Peter demands to bring back Gumbel 2 Gumbel, a fictional crime drama that was cancelled.

As it turns out, Gumbel 2 Gumbel isn't just some idea that was made purely for a Family Guy gag. Gumbel 2 Gumbel is actually the first show that MacFarlane pitched to Fox, only to be given a resounding no. After giving Fox one of their biggest cash cows, what better way to get back at them than to resurrect a show (even if it is a show within a show) they said no to as a subtle 'screw you'.

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Contributor
Contributor

My life story is nothing special. I haven't cured ebola, I'm nowhere near stopping terrorism, and I'm still working on that climate change problem. Instead, all I've done so far is put a few hundred words together in an attempt to make people laugh. You can follow me at @Fry_ying_pan but don't be offended if I don't tweet back. It's usually because I've spent too long trying to think up a witty response that the reply window has closed.