* AdoredByTheNetwork: After being [[ScrewedByTheNetwork screwed over and canceled]] twice before. Now, it's pretty much like ''TheSimpsons'' in that most people believe FOX loves the show ''too'' much, despite that it hasn't really been worth watching in years.
* AuthorExistenceFailure: Famously averted with Creator/SethMacFarlane missing the flight that would have killed him on September 11th, 2001 (thanks to a hangover and a very lucky mistake on part of his travel agent).
** The trope was temporarily played straight when [=MacFarlane=] decided to join the WGA in the Writers' Guild of America strike from 2007 to early 2008 and not finish any episodes (though he did record voicework for his characters). In what [=MacFarlane=] now refers to as a "colossal dick move," FOX aired three episodes that were only 90% done ("Padre de Familla"[[note]]The episode where Peter discovers that he's an illegal immigrant after his mom gave birth in Mexico[[/note]], "Peter's Daughter"[[note]]The one where Meg nearly dies when the house is flooded and thinks she's pregnant after dating a young doctor[[/note]], and "[=McStroke=]"[[note]]The episode where Peter has a stroke after eating 30 hamburgers out of depression over his lost mustache, while Stewie poses as a high school student to prove to Brian that being a high schooler is easy, like on TV[[/note]]) without [=MacFarlane=]'s expressed permission.
* HeyItsThatVoice: Creator/RobertDowneyJr (whose teenaged son loved the show) as Lois' long-lost, mentally-ill, fat guy-strangling brother.
** Radio/RushLimbaugh has appeared twice in the series: once as himself on the episode "Excellence in Broadcasting"[[note]]The episode where Brian confronts Rush Limbaugh over his conservative views, then becomes conservative himself after Rush tells him to read his new book to get an insight on right-wing politics rather than blindly bash it[[/note]], and again, as a replacement for the Rancor in the [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi "It's A Trap!"]] installment of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuyPresentsLaughItUpFuzzball''.
** When Peter turns gay in the episode "Family Gay" he sounds almost exactly like Roger from ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' (which is actually Creator/SethMacFarlane doing a Paul Lynde impression)
** Meg was [[Film/MeanGirls Gretchen]] [[LaceyChabert Wieners]] for the first season and part of the second season, and now she's [[Series/That70sShow Jackie]] [[MilaKunis Burkhart]] (the latter of which is very ironic, as Jackie Burkhart is considered pretty and popular, while Meg is the kind of girl that most pretty and popular girls on TV shows would make fun of for not being like them).
** Susie Swanson's thoughts are voiced by [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Captain]] [[Creator/PatrickStewart Picard]] (or [[WesternAnimation/AmericanDad Avery Bullock]]).
** Peter's boss is [[CarrieFisher Princess]] [[Franchise/StarWars Leia]].
** Lois' friend, Naomi, on "Partial Terms of Endearment" is former ''SNL'' cast member Julia Sweeney ([[HarsherInHindsight who, sadly, has issues with conceiving children in real life thanks to a hysterectomy she had to get to get rid of a rare form of ovarian cancer]]).
** Tom Tucker's [[spoiler:former]] co-anchor was [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater a legendary soldier in the Cold War era]].
** Spanish holds a partial reunion cast for Disney/TheLittleMermaid:
*** In Spain, Peter Griffin is Sebastian the Crab.
*** In Mexico: Meg's first voice was Ariel. Also, in season four, Brian is Ray-Ray (a member of Sebastian's band in the prequel).
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The uncut version of "Chitty Chitty Death Bang" where Stewie hears Hitler's voice in his head amid sounds of war and destruction when he imagines what he wants for his birthday (before deciding on a roller disco party) hasn't been seen since the first time it aired. Even the DVD version has it edited.
** Also the uncut version of "A Hero Sits Next Door", which had a scene where a kid's JFK Pez dispenser gets shot by a stray police sniper bullet hasn't been seen since FOX first aired the episode, not even on DVD. Adult Swim has aired the uncut version, and the scene is available on a DVD version in Germany.
** The original cut of the episode "Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater" had a [=DeBeers=] diamond ring commercial parody that showed the woman sliding down her man to give him a blowjob. The edited cut shows her sliding down for about a second or two before it cuts to a card that reads, "Diamonds: She'll Pretty Much Have To."
* MarathonRunning: On 2/6/12 TBS ran all three ''Franchise/StarWars'' parodies back-to-back to help promote the theatrical release of the 3D version of ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''.
* MidDevelopmentGenreShift: It flip-flopped with this throughout its development. Its prototype short ''Life With Larry'' was something of a faux-sitcom and had already invented the cutaway setup and heavy pop culture humor. The second prototype, a [[WesternAnimation/WhatACartoonShow What-A-Cartoon]] short ''Larry And Steve'' played out more like a wacky, Saturday morning cartoon (think something Creator/TexAvery would do if he lived to see cartoons revived back to their wacky roots in the 1980s and 1990s) with the satirical humor being much more subtle. In its initial run, ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' played something of a mix of both, utilizing the original cutaway and parody humor, but maintaining heavy use of light-hearted slapstick and keeping most of the BlackComedy to a minimum. During its third season and definitely following its [[UnCanceled revival after three years of being canceled]], the show slowly evolved into a [[BlackComedy shock value]] SadistShow.
* BannedEpisode:
** "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" (banned because FOX censors thought it would meet with protests from Jewish anti-defamation groups because of Peter's line in his "I Need A Jew" song -- "Though by many they're abhorred/Hebrew people I adore/Even though they killed my Lord" -- and in the scene of the Catholic nuns going after Peter for going to a synagogue. The episode finally saw the light of day on Creator/CartoonNetwork around the time that ''Family Guy'' was returning to FOX with new episodes. The "Even though they killed my Lord" line was changed to "I don't think they killed my Lord." The original line can be found on the season three DVD set)
** "Partial Terms of Endearment" from season eight was banned because the storyline focused on [[spoiler:Lois, having become a surrogate mother for her best friend, considers aborting the fetus when said friend dies]]. Unlike "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein," this episode has not aired on FOX and/or Cartoon Network (and, due to the subject matter, which is actually shown in a rather serious light amid all the -- pardon the pun -- [[BlackComedy Dead Baby Comedy]], will never see the light of day on American TV). However, all is not lost. "Partial Terms of Endearment" did air in the UK on [[Creator/TheBBC BBC 3]] and the episode has been released on DVD as a stand-alone DVD release. On ''Family Guy'''s 200th episode special, the episode was a discussion point and some clips were aired.
** "Turban Cowboy": While it wasn't well-liked due to the Muslim stereotypes (though it did [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped make a good point]] about not all Muslims being terrorists), that's not why it was banned after it first aired. Less than three weeks after its premiere, the Boston Marathon was hit by a terrorist attack. Not making things any better is the fact that the episode had a scene that predicted that a lot of people would die or be severely injured during the Boston Marathon (only it was because of Peter driving his car through the marathon path).
* TheOtherDarrin: Meg was originally voiced by an uncredited LaceyChabert until sometime in season two, when MilaKunis replaced her. Since then three jokes were made about this: in "Business Guy," Peter threatens to replace Lois, adding, "Does the name 'Lacey Chabert' mean anything to you?"; "Back to the Pilot" had Stewie state that Meg [as voiced by Chabert on the pilot episode "Death Has a Shadow"] sounds like "...someone who missed out on an opportunity.", and the 200th episode "Yug Ylimaf" had Stewie screaming "You're Lacey Chabert" after Meg spoke, as the reverse flow of time landed him on the day he was born.
* RecycledScript: ''The Life of Larry'' pilot (first one) had many gags that would later be used in ''Family Guy'' -- some of which appeared on the first episode (the one where Peter gets fired from his job at the toy factory, puts the family on welfare, and ends up rich because his first welfare check is for $150,000 instead of $150).
* RetroactiveRecognition: "Don't Make Me Over" features [[AmericanIdol Jimmy Iovine]] years before he became famous.
* TalkingToHimself: Played straight to the point of mild exaggeration: Seth [=MacFarlane=] voices Peter, Brian, Stewie, Quagmire, Carter, Tom Tucker, Jake Tucker[[note]]Tom Tucker's son with the upside-down face[[/note]], Seamus, and Dr Hartman in ''every'' episode.
** Lampshaded in one episode where Dr. Hartman and Carter are put in a conversation together, and notice that they have the same voice.
-->'''Dr. Hartman''': Seems lazy, doesn't it?\\
'''Carter''': Well, there's only so many voices in the world. Some of them are bound to be similar.
* {{Trope Namer|s}}:
** BigStupidDooDooHead: Creator/BillCosby and a girl mention this on [[KidsSayTheDarndestThings his show]].
** IntercourseWithYou
** [[invoked]]ItWasHisSled: What Peter says during his video message for anyone watching ''Film/CitizenKane'' (along with the line, "There, I just saved you two long, boobless hours.")
** TheLastHorseCrossesTheFinishLine: Said by then VillainProtagonist Stewie Griffin when Lois Griffin stumbled upon his evil lair while doing some household cleaning and slowly putting the pieces together while walking around. Stewie does kill her, [[spoiler:but it turns out to be AllJustADream]].
* UnCanceled: Twice.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Originally, ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' was going to be a recurring animated sketch for ''Series/MADtv'' (as a competitor to ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'''s ''TV Funhouse'' cartoons), but Creator/SethMacFarlane decided that the show would fare better as an animated sitcom.
** Originally, Chris was supposed to be as fat as Peter, but the animators thought that would have been too depressing.
** The pilot episode originally showed Lois as a blonde (which, if kept in, would have explained why Chris is a blond, instead of a redhead like Lois or a brunette like Peter and Meg).
* WordOfGay: According to the DVD commentary track to ''Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story'', the movie was going to be called ''Queer as Stewie'' and was going to center on Stewie coming to terms with being homosexual. The writers decided against it, as they were getting more mileage out of Stewie being ambiguously bisexual in the regular episodes.