Family Guy: Every Season Ranked Worst To Best (So Far)
Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy has had some real ups and downs over the years.
It is phenomenal and utterly surreal that Family Guy has lasted as long as it has considering it's been cancelled, not once, but twice. Despite the fact Seth MacFarlane's series felt like it was destined not to last, the nine-time Emmy-award winning cartoon is about to celebrate its 20th season.
How did Family Guy survive getting canned time and time again? Simple. It was so unmistakable that fans couldn't get enough of the zany dialogue, catchy songs, quirky characters, and on-point satire, the studio kept bringing it back.
However, just because Family Guy has run for two decades doesn't mean it's perfect. After nearly 400 episodes and a constantly rotating writing team, the show's quality has dipped and peaked like a rollercoaster. Sometimes, you'll get an episode that is comedy gold, followed by an absolute dud. Occasionally, an entire season will be filled from start to finish with consistently, well-written stories, while the next season could be so dull, you wonder how Family Guy is going to recover.
So, which season shined the brightest and which seasons would we prefer to forget?
19. Season 12
Considering Season 12 has Family Guy's most reviled episode, The Life of Brian, it's no surprise why this period is perceived so poorly. In this storyline, Brian Griffin was suddenly killed off and replaced with another character. Since Seth MacFarlane always intended to bring Brian back, this pointless fake-out felt gimmicky and tasteless.
Being the devil's advocate, you could forgive the rest of the season if the other stories were solid. After all, the best seasons of most shows usually have a stinker or two.
But with the benefit of hindsight, it's obvious Season 12 was the beginning of Family Guy's stagnation. Not only is there not a single great episode to be seen, this season is hampered by some of the worst episodes ever. Even though the show is known for testing boundaries, the jokes about incest and herpes aren't funny or creative - they're just offensive.
Sadly, there's not enough here to be desired by even the biggest Family Guy aficionado.