Top 20 Times Family Guy Predicted the Future

And I'm Joyce Kinney

In the early years, Ellen DeGeneres had a reputation as one of the nicest and most relatable comedians in the business. However, as time went on, we noticed a few cracks in her mask of positivity. To us, the first sign was during a Family Guy cutaway where Ellen kept talking over her guests, barely letting them get a word in edgewise. Only later on would the allegations of her harassing and intimidating her staff reach the public. Was the cutaway a coincidence or a warning? Either way, not long after the controversies broke out, Family Guy naturally couldnt resist riffing on it when given the chance.

North by North Quahog

While on their second honeymoon, Peter and Lois discover the film reel for a sequel to Mel Gibsons The Passion of the Christ. This sequel has the Messiah teaming up with Chris Tucker in an intense homage to the Rush Hour series. Peter made sure that no one ever saw this film. However, after being teased for years, Gibson officially announced The Resurrection of the Christ. Despite Peters best efforts, Gibson succeeded in getting a sequel just not the one he originally planned. Its a shame this version wont have the tagline, Let he who is without sin kick the first ass.

The Peanut Butter Kid

Stewie has fallen into the pratfalls of being a child star, and Brian tries to rescue him. He pulls out a chart of infamous child stars who either died, ended up in the adult video industry, or both. Notice how close the RIP and XXX are together. Some associated the XXX with controversial rap star XXXTentacion, who was tragically murdered in 2018. The episode with the chart debuted two years before the rappers murder, leading many to believe that Seth MacFarlane somehow predicted his death. Is it a stretch? Possibly. But is it eerie to look back on with what we know now? Definitely.

420

Brian went through a lot of trouble to get Cannabis substances legalized in Quahog. He even did a whole song-and-dance routine with Stewie. In 2022, several years after the episodes debut, the real world finally reflected Brians efforts. Rhode Island, the state where the show takes place, legalized Cannabis for recreational use. It took longer than a simple musical number to make it happen, but it allowed citizens of Rhode Island to buy and sell the substance legally and safely. Brian undid all his hard work to publish his novel, and we all know how well THAT went. Hopefully, things wont end the same way there.

"Spies Reminiscent of Us"

While on a mission to stop a Russian sleeper agent, Brian and Stewie end up face-to-face with the Prime Minister himself, Vladimir Putin. He intimidates them with various weapons, only to psyche them out and offer help. Years later, when Putin became president of Russia, many fans claimed this scene was a prediction of his strategy for the Ukrainian situation. He raised tensions at the border while promising peace between the European countries. While the contexts are different, its easy to see how the two moments parallel each other, and neither gives us hope of things ending as peacefully as he promises.

North by North Quahog

While relaxing in a fancy hotel, Peter puts on some high-class British adult films. This classy piece of cinema has a British couple consider getting intimate, but then decide not to. When they DO get in bed together, theres absolutely no movement, no passion, and everything is covered up. Little did British viewers know that several years later, in 2017, the UKs government would pass a law placing their adult movie websites behind an age verification wall. Many worried this would allow them to censor more of the internet. This Family Guy clip was a sign of things to come for their privacy.

"Hell Comes to Quahog"

In one particular cutaway, Peter recalls Iceman sneaking into a gay bar behind his wifes back. Another classic tongue-in-cheek cutaway... or is it? The original episode with the gag aired in 2006. However, in 2015, the X-Men comics vocally confirmed that Bobby Drake is, in fact, gay. He kept it hidden from the world out of fear of being persecuted even further. He was having a hard enough time being a mutant in an anti-mutant world. Did seeing the Family Guy cutaway inspire Marvel to finally reveal this side of Iceman to the world? Probably not, but it was a nice stepping stone to allowing him to accept himself.

The Peanut Butter Kid

The Griffins are having financial struggles again, and Lois wishes there were a better way to save money. Peter offhandedly mentions Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency, but no one gives it much thought. However, no one expected that in the early 2020s, Peters offhand mention would cause the Bitcoin market to skyrocket. Prices rose to the thousands and continued growing. Major companies capitalized on the coin. Even PayPal added Bitcoin support. Its one thing for Peter to inspire comedians, but he caused an economic rise for cryptocurrency without really trying. Were not sure if he ever really invested in Bitcoin, but if he did, lets hope he does better than Cryptocurrency Carl.

Stuck Together, Torn Apart

The incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars became one of the most infamous pop culture moments of the decade. In the aftermath, many noticed a similarity between the slap and a Family Guy cutaway 20 years prior. To set the scene, Brian recalls the time Peter and Lois went to a concert. The charming singer on stage dedicates his next number to all the ladies in the audience. In a jealous rage, Peter storms the stage and punches the singers lights out. While they have different contexts, its hard not to notice the similarities between the incidents. Rock should be thankful that Smith only slapped him instead of following Peters example and decking him.

The Candidate

Stewie has been fighting tooth and nail against Doug to be crowned the class Snack Captain. However, his efforts to get attention are constantly blocked by two grim news articles involving Gaza and the Middle East. The episode aired almost a year before the Middle Eastern crisis in 2023, and the horrific attack on the Gaza Strip, yet these seemingly random articles mentioned both events vividly. Did Seth somehow know these tragedies would come to pass and try to warn us? In any case, it makes it much more uncomfortable to rewatch this episode knowing what would happen next. No offense, Stewie, but these are more important than your debate with Doug.

Meet the Quagmires

Family Guy likes its what ifs, and one of them sees Peter in a world where Quagmire married Lois instead of him. When Peter is given an opportunity by Death to change it back, Brian objects when Death tells them that Dick Cheney killed several political figures, including supreme court justice Antonin Scalia. Fast forward nine real-world years, and Antonin Scalia died in his sleep, likely from heart-related causes. However, it was the day after hed gone on a hunting trip, so while Family Guy didnt get the cause right, its still odd that hunting was involved.

Leggo My Meg-O

In 2017, director and producer Brett Ratner was accused by half a dozen women of sexual harassment and assault. While Ratners legal battle over one incident ended without a public resolution, hes effectively been out of work in Hollywood for years, though he has been attempting to make a comeback of late. Family Guy, it turns out, knew the writing was on the wall years earlier in 2012. An episode parodying the movie Taken sees Stewie go undercover as an underage girl being bid on by various wealthy men. One of these is announced as being Brett Ratner. Hes certainly lucky Liam Neeson wasnt involved.

Back to the Woods

Barry Manilow is loved by millions of fans, and some of his biggest fans are in Quahog, with Peter, Joe, Cleveland, and Quagmire all loving his work even if theyre reluctant to admit it. The foursome attends his concert and Quagmire is lucky enough to be serenaded by Manilow himself, to the tune of Mandy. Although Manilow singing a love song to a man may have been played for a gag in the episode, it wasnt far off from reality, as Manilow later came out as gay in 2017, although rumors had long persisted about his orientation.

The New Adventures of Old Tom

When Peter inadvertently ruins the career of local newsman Tom Tucker, he compares the anchors fall from grace to Charlie Rose. A cutaway implies that Rose is doing the news after drinking heavily the night before. But, little did the Family Guy writers know that Rose would fall much further than reading the news hungover. In 2017, a year after the episode aired, Rose was fired from both CBS and PBS after multiple allegations of sexual harassment going back decades. The show got the fall from grace right, even if how Rose fell differed from their version.

Life of Brian

Much like his character Brian OConner from the Fast & Furious films, actor Paul Walker was an avid car enthusiast. However, Walker was tragically killed in a high-speed car accident on November 30, 2013. In an eerie coincidence, earlier that week, Brian Griffin also died in a vehicular-related accident. Both Brians meeting their fate in the same week struck several Family Guy fans as rather spooky. And while Brian Griffin ultimately came back because of time travel, all that could be done for Walker were some fitting and emotional tributes - both in Furious 7, and on Family Guy.

Dont Make Me Over

In 2017, in yet another scandal that erupted from the #MeToo movement, actor Anthony Rapp came forward with the allegation that fellow actor Kevin Spacey made a sexual advance on him when Rapp was underage. This sparked several others to come forward with more accusations of similar misconduct. However, back in 2005, Family Guy featured Stewie Griffin accepting money from Brian to go streaking through the mall yelling that hed escaped from Spaceys basement. Clearly, the Family Guy staff had the inside scoop on all of Hollywoods unsavory secrets years before the press got a hold of them.

We Love You, Conrad

In 2015, Caitlyn Jenner came out as a trans woman. Her transition helped spread awareness to non-trans people about trans identities, even if her views are considered odd, compared to most in the community. But once again, Family Guy was years ahead with their predictions. A 2009 episode saw Stewie express his disbelief that Brody Jenner was born to a woman like Caitlyn. This may have been another open secret in the industry that the showrunners knew about beforehand - or maybe Seth MacFarlane is MAGIC! We know which possibility we prefer.

Family Guy Viewer Mail #2

Comedian and actor Robin Williams was a beloved icon for decades. Tragically, Williams took his own life in 2014 after experiencing worsening health problems. In a bizarre twist of fate, Family Guy once did an episode where everything Peter touches becomes Robin Williams. While Peter enjoys it at first, Williamss presence everywhere begins to take a toll on his mental health, and he tries to make it stop - permanently. Its a dark pseudo-prediction on its own, but in an eerie coincidence, this same episode aired in the UK the same day Williams died.

Turban Cowboy

On April 15th, 2013, the Boston Marathon suffered a terrorist attack by two brothers, whose homemade explosives killed three and injured hundreds. It was a horrific event thats still shocking years later. However, its made even more shocking by the fact that Family Guy seemed to foreshadow the event in a cutaway. Peter mentions winning a marathon, and a flashback shows him driving through the runners to win the Boston Marathon. Its already a dark joke, but with hindsight and the fact that the other parts of the episode see Peter unwittingly become a terrorist, the sight of him causing mass death at that specific citys marathon is downright grim.

Hot Shots

In 2016, Family Guy did an episode focused on the anti-vaccination movement. Lois and Peter persuade the town to forgo vaccination and, predictably, all of Quahog is put in quarantine until they can be vaccinated. While the anti-vaxxer crowd certainly predates COVID-19, its still wild to see that the show predicted this several years before the pandemic began. The episode essentially boiled down the cycle of quarantines and vaccination refusals that have extended the pandemic across large swaths of the world. Given how frequently theyve predicted future events, we wonder if the Family Guy writers have been given a shot of something special themselves

Any other Quahog predictions we should be worried about? Let us know in the comments.