How Family Guy Could End

Along with “The Simpsons” and “South Park,” “Family Guy” helped pave the way for cartoons with adult-oriented humor. But unlike an interminable gag where Peter hurts his knee, this show has to end sometime. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’ll be discussing How Family Guy Could End. For the record, we’re not saying we want “Family Guy” to end. We’re just exploring the ways the show could end and the circumstances leading to it. A pop culture focused show with irreverent takes on religion, politics, and other social issues, “Family Guy” looked like it was going to be a short-lived cult classic. However, thanks to exposure on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and successful DVD sales in the early 2000s, the show has become a popular part of FOX’s Sunday lineup. It’s been 20 years since the show debuted, and it’s still going strong, even receiving an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2009. While “Family Guy” has its share of fans who still watch the show, many have given up, believing it’s become stale. Some say this drop off in quality came in episodes past Season 3. In recognition that some of their older material doesn’t hold up today, “Family Guy” creators say they’re phasing out gay jokes to keep in step with the current social climate. In a 2016 interview with Splitsider, head writer Alec Sulkin admitted to a “burnout factor” in trying to keep “Family Guy” “fresh.” There’s only so many stories you can write about the same characters before it all starts to get repetitive. Even MacFarlane has thought about walking away. He told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2011 interview that part of him wished that Family Guy had ended before Season 10 because he believed seven years was the appropriate length for a TV show. However, when he floated that idea of ending the show to fans, most of them weren’t ready. MacFarlane told The Hollywood Reporter in a separate interview that, as of 2012, he is no longer involved in the show’s writing. If MacFarlane were to decide he needed more time for other projects like “The Orville” or to make the “Ted” franchise a trilogy, he would be irreplaceable. No offense meant to the other cast members, but "Family Guy" would not be able to go on without Seth MacFarlane. Seth Green, Mila Kunis, and Alex Borstein only voice one main Griffin each, but Seth does the voice of Peter, Stewie, and Brian, the most important characters. Not to mention supporting characters such as Glenn Quagmire, Carter Pewterschmidt, and Dr. Hartman. He practically is the show. Besides Seth MacFarlane’s hypothetical departure, there are plenty of reasons the show could end. Other actors from the show could leave. Some beloved actors who have played recurring characters have died, including Phyllis Diller, Carrie Fisher, and Adam West. Ever since the show’s revival in 2005, its ratings have been declining. There’s also the merger deal between Disney and 21st Century Fox, which makes “Family Guy” one of the properties now owned by The Mouse House. For viewers who couldn't imagine a world without "Family Guy" being on the air, "Family Guy" has been cancelled twice. Its first cancellation was in 2000 when the show was closing its second season, but that didn’t last long, as the show was renewed for a third season a couple of months later. Then in 2002, it was cancelled again, and the show wouldn't be brought back on the air until 2005. The last episode from Family Guy to air on FOX before it was cancelled in 2002 was called “Family Guy Viewer Mail #1.” The episode was an anthology of stories which supposedly came from viewer submitted pitches. The last scene shows an alternate reality where Peter and Quagmire swear off women and become successful business men because they weren’t distracted by the opposite sex. The last lines of the show were about Peter having sex with a bagel. So, obviously, the series originally ended on an unceremonious note. Ever since it’s been brought back in 2005, “Family Guy” hasn’t faced any serious threat of cancellation. In February 2019, it was announced that “Family Guy” would be renewed for an 18th season, taking it to the 2019-2020 season. Perhaps the best clue for a “Family Guy” finale can be found in Seth MacFarlane’s other popular animated sitcom, “American Dad!” When "American Dad!" was pulled from Fox, its final episode on the network revealed that the entire show up to that point was contained within a book Stan Smith had been reading aloud to his family in the living room. When Stan was finished reading, he placed the book on a shelf next to such literary masterpieces as “Moby Dick” and “War and Peace.” "Family Guy" could do something as random as that for its final episode, like their own version of the Tommy Westphall snow globe reveal from “St. Elsewhere’s” finale. As far as finales go, there isn't the same kind of pressure for "Family Guy" to end on the right note as there is with "The Simpsons." "The Simpsons" is expected to end in a clever or poignant way, while "Family Guy" is not burdened with such expectations. This gives “Family Guy” the freedom to do whatever random crazy thing the show wants to do for its final episode. In ending the series, “Family Guy” could tie up loose threads. There could be callbacks to previous episodes or old storylines. Like one final fight between Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken. Stewie could finally kill Lois (and not have it be some stupid simulation), or Meg could end up getting the respect she deserves. Writers could focus on the Griffins, or they could work in as many supporting characters as possible since it will be their last chance to do something with them. Most likely, the show will end with a cheap anticlimactic gag that is a middle finger to the viewers who stuck with "Family Guy" over the years. Or something deliberately anti-sentimental to mock TV shows that are overly sentimental during their final episode. Or Conway Twitty could play the show out one last time.