Family Guy: 10 Major Flaws Of The Show That Fans Chose To Ignore

The animated sitcom Family Guy introduced classic gags, iconic jokes, and unforgettable moments into pop culture history. It’s one of the most influential shows on the air. However, the series also creates a great deal of controversy. The series angered critics with its crude sense of humor and offensive content.

Regardless, loyal fans love when the series crosses the line. Fans often overlook glaring plot holes, objectionable content, and weak storylines. Nonetheless, fans stick with the series no matter how low the show gets. Of course, the series often rewards loyal fans with classic episodes.

10 No End In Sight

Family Guy first hit the airwaves in 1999. The series is now in its 19th season, but there’s no end in sight. The show garnered quite a reputation over the years. The series is both brilliant and controversial. Of course, there has been a decline in the quality after several seasons. The longevity of the show has hurt it at times. The series may have overstayed its welcome. Regardless, Fox renewed Family Guy for seasons 20 and 21 already.

9 Understanding Stewie

It’s safe to assume that Family Guy wouldn’t be the same without Stewie Griffin. Indeed, he’s one of the breakout stars on the show. However, the show can’t decide if the other characters can understand the baby of the family. At times, it appears Stewie’s parents and siblings can’t understand him. Other times, Stewie can communicate with pretty much anyone. Of course, Brian has always been able to comprehend Stewie. Oddly, everyone can understand the family pet but not the baby of the family.

8 Forgetting The Past

As noted, Family Guy made its debut in the late 90s. However, Fox canceled the series due to low ratings and controversial content after the third season. Regardless, the series remained popular, and Fox eventually brought it back. In 2005, the show returned to the air to rave reviews.

However, the show dropped several storylines from the initial run. Therefore, fans didn’t get closure on a few different storylines, such as Brian in therapy. Of course, most fans seemed not to care about those storylines having no conclusion.

7 Crossing The Line

Critics and fans often praise Family Guy for its writing and cast. Indeed, the series has even won a few Emmy Awards. Of course, the series is also one of the most controversial. Fans criticize the show for its crude sense of humor and offensive content. At times, the series relies too heavily on stereotypes and lewd humor. Indeed, the early seasons tackle sensitive topics such as race and gender equality in an outdated manner. Over the years, they’ve attempted to stay away from specific issues but can’t seem to help themselves.

6 Peter Should Lose His Job

Peter Griffin is lazy, doesn’t care about his job, and isn’t reliable. Yet, he manages to hold on to his career and even find more work. Peter initially works at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory but soon lands his dream job at Pawtucket Patriot Brewery. Of course, Peter’s a terrible employee and isn’t qualified for his position. He also doesn’t show up for work for days, weeks, and even months. Regardless, Peter never gets fired from his job; he even has other careers sometimes lasting only one episode or a single-cutaway gag. However, he wasn’t fired from the toy company and somehow still works at the brewery.

5 Lack Of Diversity In The Writer’s Room

Family Guy receives universal praise for its brilliant writing, innovative storytelling, and groundbreaking approach to animation. At the same time, critics accuse the series of being misogynistic and crossing a line. Of course, the writer’s room features a majority of men. A few women contribute to the show, in particular, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Alex Borstein.

The series would benefit from a broader range of writers. It’ll help the show with its longevity as they’ll bring in a different perspective. Regardless, Family Guy isn’t the only series to suffer from a similar problem.

4 Life Of Brian

Brian Griffin is one of the essential characters in Family Guy. Indeed, fans were unhappy when the show decided to make a significant change. In the season 12 episode, “Life of Brian,” Brian shockingly dies after getting hit by a car. The Griffins even got a new dog; which fans were furious so furious about there were even a few online petitions to have the character return. A few episodes later, Brian made his triumphant return. However, the series already planned to bring him back before the backlash. Creator Seth MacFarlane was shocked that fans believed they’d kill off Brian permanently.

3 Storylines That Don’t Matter

Family Guy often features excellent storytelling and character development. Of course, the show also features non-sensical storylines and controversial moments. For instance, the series makes significant changes only to switch back with the use of time travel. They also make substantial changes but ignore them later. It can be frustrating for viewers to become invested in a storyline that doesn’t matter. The characters also have very little character development. They might go through some growth during the episode but always return to be their old self. For instance, one episode features Meg confronting the family. Everyone comes to realize they treat Meg terribly, but in the end, everyone reverts to mocking Meg.

2 Re-Using Jokes And Running Gags

The series is a master at running gags and callbacks to previous classic jokes. Indeed, they even reference jokes and running gags of earlier seasons. However, the show’s been on the air so long that some bits have been overdone. They return to the overworked one too many times.

The series reuses the same jokes so much that they lose their impact. For instance, Meg Griffin is often the butt of the joke; they pick on her pretty much every single episode to the point that it comes across as meanspirited.

1 Limited Voice Cast

Seth MacFarlane is more than just the creator and writer for Family Guy. Indeed, MacFarlane voices most of the characters, including Peter, Brian, Stewie, and many more; MacFarlane’s not the only one that voices multiple characters in the cast. Nevertheless, that means a lot of the characters sound similar like Brian, Carter Pewterschmidt, and Dr. Hartman. The characters’ voices are not distinctive enough from the rest, therefore, everyone in Quahog ends up sounding the same.