Family Guy has had an interesting road to reach 17 seasons. Fox actually canceled the series until DVD sales made them realize that there were a lot of fans wanting to see more of Peter Griffin and his family. They brought it back, and it has since partnered with The Simpsons to give Fox a wildly successful animation block on Sunday nights for 17 years now.
Through the years, Family Guy has both entertained and polarized fans with its unique style of humor, relying on pop culture references over all else. However, when the show hits, it delivers some of the best adult animated comedy of any show on television. Here is a look at the best episode of every season of Family Guy, ranked.
HE’S BLA-ACK! (SEASON 12)
Season 12 was one of the most negatively accepted shows in Family Guy history as this was the season that Brian died and fans rebelled for weeks, even after he returned from the dead. When looking at the best episode that season, it takes it to the end with the penultimate episode of season 12, “He’s Bla-ack!”
This episode showed the return of Cleveland Brown and his family after his spin-off series was canceled. The episode was full of self-deprecating jabs at The Cleveland Show, and it was great to see Cleveland back.
SATURATED FAT GUY (SEASON 15)
The best episode in Family Guy season 15 was another that took place late in the season as the 16th episode “Saturated Fat Guy.” The entire episode relied on absurdist humor as Lois tries to get Peter to eat more healthy food and Peter rebels.
When Peter sneaks out for junk food, he eats it in his car, and then men from all over the neighborhood show up because their wives are also making them eat healthily. Peter realizes he can make a lot of money with a food truck, but since he eats the food as well, he eventually gets so fat he can’t get out of the truck anymore.
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE QUAHOG (SEASON 17)
Season 17 of Family Guy had one of the show’s lowest-rated episodes in “Trump Guy,” but it also had an episode that was one of the show’s best. The fourth episode of the season was “Big Trouble in Little Quahog” and brought the show back to science fiction territory.
Stewie builds a shrink ray and shrinks down Brian. However, before he can bring him back, a rat drags off Brian and Stewie has to shrink himself down to save him. They then meet some water bears (led by Kyrie Irving’s Vernon) and have to fight for their lives when dust mites attack.
DEATH HAS A SHADOW (SEASON 1)
There has been a lot of changes over the years when it comes to Family Guy and watching the first season is almost like watching a completely different television series. The uneven first season saw its best episode straight out of the gate with the premiere “Death Has a Shadow.”
Peter gets drunk at a party and then falls asleep the next day at work, so his boss fires him. He files for welfare so Lois won’t find out and then gets a lot of money by accident and starts to spend it wildly. When he feels terrible about it, he “gives it back to taxpayers” by dropping it from a blimp over the Super Bowl, which gets him arrested for welfare fraud.
A LOT GOING ON UPSTAIRS (SEASON 14)
There were two stories told in the season 14 Family Guy episode “A Lot Going On Upstairs,” and both tied into the title. One story had Peter decide to sleep upstairs in the attic and discovered it was a great hangout where he invites his friends up there to Lois’ annoyance.
However, what makes this episode great was the Stewie and Brian story. Stewie is having nightmares and can’t sleep, so he finally decides to shrink Brian down and send him into his subconscious to see what is bothering him. After a meeting with Glenn Close in Stewie’s mind, Brian learns that the fears tie him and Stewie together even closer.
EMMY-WINNING EPISODE (SEASON 16)
Ths season premiere in Season 16 is one of the more meta episodes in Family Guy history. It opens with Peter being displeased that the show has never won an Emmy in the previous 15 seasons it was on the air. They even mention how creating a Simpsons crossover didn’t even get them the Emmy.
The episode then has them trying too hard to win an Emmy and failing every time. This episode even had a ton of cameos, including Louis C.K., Sophie Vergara, Bill Maher, and Ty Burrell in a rare live-action scene.
THREE KINGS (SEASON 7)
The seventh season of Family Guy featured a love letter to fans of the Master of Horror, Stephen King. The episode titled “Three Kings” homaged three Stephen King stories. – Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, and Misery. The great thing is that they went to King first to ask permission.
Stand By Me featured young versions of Peter, Quagmire, Cleveland and Joe. In Misery, Brian is the author who is held captive by the obsessed Stewie. Finally, in Shawshank, Peter is sent to prison where he meets Cleveland (Red) before finally escaping.
TO LIVE AND DIE IN DIXIE (SEASON 3)
The season 3 episode of Family Guy, “To Live and Die in Dixie” features the last appearance of Waylon Jennings on the show, as he passed away three months after the episode aired. This episode had Chris take on a paper route, where he then witnesses a robbery.
Chris identifies the thief to the police, but when Peter accidentally tells the thief that Chris is there testifying against him, the entire family goes into witness protection in the deep South.
YUG YLIMAF (SEASON 11)
If you can’t tell by the title, “Yug Ylimaf” is Family Guy spelled backward, and that is the basic plot of this season 11 episode. Brian decides he wants to use Stewie’s time machine to impress potential girlfriends, but he messes up and time starts running backward.
Brian and Stewie head into town to see what is happening, seeing things from past episodes running in reverse. However, when they see that soon Stewie will be unborn, they realize they have to find a way to stop the time from rushing backward before the entire world is undone.
STEWIE KILLS LOIS / LOIS KILLS STEWIE (SEASON 6)
In Family Guy season 6, there is a two-part episode that plays off each other and works perfectly. The first episode was “Stewie Kills Lois” where Stewie finally accomplishes his lifetime goal – he shoots and apparently kills Lois, framing Peter for the murder.
The next episode was titled “Lois Kills Stewie,” and just as Peter is about to go to prison, Lois returns alive and tells everyone Stewie did it. Stewie, realizing his true nature was unveiled, takes over the world, and Lois realizes the only way to stop him is to kill him.
DEATH IS A BITCH (SEASON 2)
One of the best characters in the early days of Family Guy was Death, voiced by the brilliant Norm Macdonald. In the episode “Death is a Bitch” in season 2, Peter declares himself deceased to get out of paying a hospital bill, so Death shows up to take him to the other side.
However, Peter tries to get away, and Death falls and hurts his ankle while giving chase. Unable to do his job, Death forces Peter to take on his role after Peter convinced the world they were invulnerable (while Death is out of action).
MEET THE QUAGMIRES (SEASON 5)
The season 5 finale is the best episode from that season as Peter convinces Death to allow him to go back in time to try to live the single life again. The problem is that he screws up and Quagmire married Lois instead, and the kids are his instead of Peter’s.
Peter then convinces Death to let him go back in time to make things right when he sees how terrible this alternate timeline is. That timeline involves flying cars, Peter married to Molly Ringwald, and Al Gore as president.
THE SIMPSONS GUY (SEASON 13)
The premiere of Family Guy season 13 is the crossover that the world was waiting for. As the title suggests, “The Simpsons Guy” is a crossover episode where Family Guy meets The Simpsons. The Griffins car is stolen outside of Springfield and they end up staying with the Simpsons until they get their car back.
When the world discovers that Pawtucket Patriot beer is a copy of Duff Beer, Peter has to go to court to represent his company. The court case had yet another cameo, as Fred Flintstone was the judge.
AND THEN THERE WERE FEWER (SEASON 9)
Season 9 had a Family Guy premiere that was the high point of the season as it was an homage to Agatha Christie’s mystery novel And Then There Were None. The episode even picked up some critical acclaim with several positive reviews and an Emmy nomination for the music.
James Woods invites everyone to his manor, and then a series of murders take place. Everyone is a suspect as they don’t trust each other and want to escape, so they aren’t the next ones killed.
PTV (SEASON 4)
Season 4 was a rough season for Family Guy, but it hit a major high with the episode “PTV.” The plot sees the FCC censor all shows after a wardrobe malfunction at the Emmys. As a result, Peter decides to start his own network (Peter TV) where everything is unedited and uncut.
When Stewie and Brian join Peter on this venture, Lois gets worried and calls the FCC. They show up and not only shut down the entire network but start censoring everyone in Quahog in their everyday lives. The episode picked up an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program.
BACK TO THE PILOT (SEASON 10)
Released in season 10, “Back to the Pilot” Stewie and Brian use their time machine once again. This time, they use the machine to travel back in time to the very first Family Guy episode, “Death Has a Shadow.”
However, Brian wants to save lives, so he tells his past self about the 9-11 attacks, and when he stops the disaster, Stewie and Brian return to see the world has drastically changed and a second Civil War broke out. When they decide to go back in time to stop themselves from going back in time, everything gets even more confusing.
ROAD TO THE MULTIVERSE (SEASON 8)
The best episode in Family Guy history came in season 8 with the premiere episode “Road to the Multiverse.” Stewie and Brian use a new machine, this one helping them travel through various parallel universes. When they end up in a world where dogs rule, Brian doesn’t want to go back home.
This episode stretched the boundaries of previous seasons. The animation styles changed as the two went through different universes. The pop culture references were spot on based on what the new world looked like. The episode even won an Emmy for Individual Achievement in Animation.
Next: 5 Things Family Guy Does Better Than The Simpsons (& Vice Versa)
