TV Series Trivia

The characters of Peter and Brian are very similar to Larry and Steve from the shorts The Life of Larry (1995) and Larry & Steve (1996), which feature a moronic man who adopts a talking dog and puts the dog through hell, and were both written and directed by Seth MacFarlane

Before Seth MacFarlane created the idea of a regular half-hour series, he conceived of the Griffin family appearing as characters in animated shorts to appear on "MADtv" (1995). Many of the regular voice actors (including Alex Borstein, Phil LaMarr, Debra Wilson and Nicole Sullivan) are Mad TV alumni. Alex Borstein was the first cast on this show and is the only "official" cast member as the voice of Lois Griffin.

"Quahog," the name of the Griffin's hometown, is also the name of an edible clam. The bar the characters frequently visit, "The Drunken Clam", is a reference to this.

Brian's voice is simply Seth MacFarlane speaking normally.

Seth MacFarlane based the voice of Peter Griffin on a security guard he knew while going to college.

Stewie's voice is based on Rex Harrison.

The original idea for titles of episodes were supposed to be based on 1940s Mystery Radio shows. This is why the first few episodes have some sort of reference to death in them. Eventually the writers of the show had to start describing the episodes to one another (rather than simply using the titles), so that idea was dropped.

Lois was originally drawn as a blonde. After much debate, the creators decided to make her hair red.

Believing the series to be cancelled after season 2, many of the writers took on other jobs for different shows. The show was renewed for a third season at the last minute; many new writers were used for the new series.

The first part of the opening credits, where Lois plays the piano and sings with Peter, is a spoof of Edith playing the piano and singing with Archie during the opening credits of "All in the Family" (1971)

By 2 May 2003, there was an online petition with over 111,000 names on it, to save the show.

When the series was first pitched to Fox, William H. Macy had auditioned for the role of Brian.

Bonnie Swanson would seemingly be pregnant throughout the entire series. Peter even mentions in Season 4, Episode 3, "Bonnie, you've been pregnant for like six years, alright? Either have the baby or don't." She finally gave birth to a girl, Susie, in Season 7, Episode 7.

Seth Green reveals in the commentary for Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005) (V) that the voice of Chris is based on Ted Levine's performance as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

The character of Neil Goldman, the boy who perennially chases Meg, is named after one of the show's writers.

Meg goes to James Woods Memorial High School, and Chris goes to Buddy Cianci Junior High in fictional Quahog, RI. James Woods is from Warwick, RI, and Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, Jr. is the former mayor of Providence, RI.

Ranked #12 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Top Cult Shows Ever!" (30 May 2004 issue).

Brought back an unprecedented second time after its amazing DVD sales (record for best selling TV show on DVD), and its popularity on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, which a few times had a higher Nielsen rating than broadcast television at that time slot.

Was voted No. 5 in a British TV poll to find the "100 Greatest Cartoons".

According to the British TV programme The 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV), Seth MacFarlane's favorite Family Guy moment is the scene from "Family Guy: Da Boom (#2.3)" (1999) where Peter is feeding Tom Selleck.

The show has been canceled twice, once following the second season, which caused the show to not air a new episode for a year, and the second (and longest) being between the third and fourth seasons, from 2002 to 2005.

This series is banned in Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Iran, South Korea, South Africa, and Malaysia.

In the early seasons in the opening credits, the pictures on the wall of Chris, Meg and Stewie, in the background, have blurred faces. Later on however, their faces appear normally.

Glen Quagmire's facial features are modeled after Bob Hope.

Peter's drink of choice is Pawtucket Patriot Ale.

All of the high-end hotels seen on the show have Barrington in their name. Series creator Seth MacFarlane has stated they are named after the city of Barrington, Rhode Island, a very upscale community.

Brian drives a Toyota Prius.

The big chicken that always fights Peter is named Ernie.

Every episode includes at least one instance of one character saying "What the hell..." to another.

Seth MacFarlane has admitted that the family's constant abuse of Meg is a result of "a bunch of male writers not knowing how to write for a teenage girl".

George Lucas occasionally gives the producers clearance to do "Star Wars" gags because he's a fan of the show.

The running gag with Mr. Herbert is that his name rhymes with "pervert" which pertains to his creepy demeanor regarding young boys.

Stewie's full name is Stewart Gilligan Griffin.