20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn’t Know About Family Guy

13. The First Is The Most Viewed Episode...

Fox

There's always a sense of prestige given to the most viewed episode of a show, although in the case of Family Guy any measure of success is pretty much warranted. In what should have been a sign of the massive success to come, the pilot episode, Death Has A Shadow, brought in 22.01 million views on first broadcast.

By comparison The Simpsons' first episode, Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire, only managed (the still incredible) 13.1 million. Quite why the numbers were so high is basically down to the programming; the episode aired on 31st December 1999, just after the Superbowl, an absolutely prime slot. The ratings continued in an impressive fashion for the first season, but thanks to scheduling hell they soon dipped, leading to the first cancellation. After the first season, the biggest peak was North By North Quahog with 11.85 million, which is the highest viewed episode since the revival.

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Film Editor (2014-2016). Loves The Usual Suspects. Hates Transformers 2. Everything else lies somewhere in the middle. Once met the Chuckle Brothers.