10 TV Shows That Went Too Far (In Completely Unexpected Ways)
5. That Inexplicable Dramatic Domestic Violence Episode - Family Guy
Much like South Park, Seth MacFarlane’s most famous animated offering isn’t known for pulling its punches. Particularly since its renewal, Family Guy has been infamous for combining the family sitcom structure of The Simpsons with South Park’s more risqué and irreverent elements.
The show doesn’t shy away from controversial topics both in its jokes and plots, with one episode even being banned by American networks for making light of abortion despite the writer’s best attempts to treat the subject matter with sensitivity. However it’s not actually a tasteless joke that earned Family Guy a place on this list, but rather the odd, misjudged episode Screams of Silence: The Brenda Q Story.
Ostensibly parodying the format of melodramatic Lifetime movies of the week, judging by that title at least, the episode proper is a nearly humourless depiction of a battered wife struggling with her abusive partner until—spoilers, we guess?—the show’s heroes kill him.
To say it’s a divergence from Family Guy’s typical fare is putting it lightly, but unfortunately the writer’s room didn’t have the requisite dramatic chops to make the premise work, meaning viewers tuning in expecting animated antics instead got a cut-rate, needlessly explicit made-for-TV melodrama.