History YMMV / AmericanDad

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}}, its numerous awards and being regarded by fans and critics as superior to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (or at least post-{{Uncanceled}} ''Family Guy''), ''American Dad!'' is rarely discussed in pop culture, and most people outside the fandom couldn't tell you anything about the show other than "It's a political[[note]]Even though the show mostly abandoned political themes as early as the second season[[/note]] ''Family Guy'' clone with a crossdressing alien." Another reason why ''American Dad!'' hasn't received as much mainstream attention as ''Family Guy'' is because ''Family Guy'' has been relentlessly attacked by media figures for years, but even [=MacFarlane's=] harshest detractors seldom bash ''American Dad!'' since it's neither as controversial as ''Family Guy'' nor as mediocre as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', this causing it to fall under the radar.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}}, its numerous awards and being regarded by fans and critics as superior to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (or at least post-{{Uncanceled}} ''Family Guy''), ''American Dad!'' isn't discussed in pop culture very often and most people outside the fandom probably couldn't tell you anything about the show other than dismissing it as a political[[note]]Even though the show mostly abandoned political themes as early as the second season[[/note]] ''Family Guy'' clone, especially if the person saying it hates ''Family Guy'' or Seth [=MacFarlane=] in general. That being said, even [=MacFarlane's=] harshest critics seldom bash ''American Dad!'' outright since it's neither as controversial as ''Family Guy'' nor as mediocre as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', which is also why it doesn't get mentioned often in the mainstream.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}}, its numerous awards and being regarded by fans and critics as superior to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (or at least post-{{Uncanceled}} ''Family Guy''), ''American Dad!'' isn't discussed in pop culture very often and when it is, it's usually just dismissed as a clone of ''Family Guy'', usually by detractors of ''Family Guy'' or Seth [=MacFarlane=] in general. That being said, even [=MacFarlane's=] harshest critics seldom bash ''American Dad!'' outright since it's neither as controversial as ''Family Guy'' nor as mediocre as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', which is also why it doesn't get mentioned often in the mainstream.

* AcceptablePoliticalTargets: When the show used to be about politics early in its run, conservatives, the Republican Party, and the Bush Administration were massive punching bags, with many of the jokes during those seasons being jokes about their policies and their ideologies. Stan's initial characterization was that of an extremely conservative right-winger whose extremist views constantly clash with Hayley's liberal views and usually drove most of the A-plots.
* AcceptableTargets: Used with varying degrees of intensity: the more the writers hate it, the meaner they'll be. So far, everything has been ripe for being Dadded.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}}, its numerous awards and being regarded by fans and critics as superior to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (or at least post-{{Uncanceled}} ''Family Guy''), ''American Dad!'' isn't discussed in pop culture very often and when it is, it's usually just dismissed as a clone of ''Family Guy'', usually by detractors of ''Family Guy'' or Seth [=MacFarlane=] in general. That being said, even [=MacFarlane's=] harshest critics seldom bash ''American Dad!'' outright since it's neither as controversial as ''Family Guy'' nor as banal as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', which is also why it rarely gets mentioned in the mainstream.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: From "The Bitchin' Race." In Tunisia, Steve wants to go to the Hard Rock to buy souvenir pins. There actually is a Hard Rock Cafe at Port El Kantaoui, which opened two years before the episode aired.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}}, its numerous awards and being regarded by fans and critics as superior to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (or at least post-{{Uncanceled}} ''Family Guy''), ''American Dad!'' isn't discussed in pop culture very often and when it is, it's usually just dismissed as a clone of ''Family Guy'', usually by detractors of ''Family Guy'' or Seth [=MacFarlane=] in general, though even they seldom bash ''American Dad!" outright since it's neither as controversial as "Family Guy" nor as banal as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', which is also why it rarely gets mentioned in the mainstream.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}}, its numerous awards and being regarded by fans and critics as superior to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (or at least post-{{Uncanceled}} ''Family Guy''), ''American Dad!'' isn't discussed in pop culture very often and when it is, it's usually just dismissed as a clone of ''Family Guy'', usually by ''Family Guy'''s detractors.

*** In the episode, "Stan's Food Restaurant", Stan tells Francine that he was molested by a priest at Christian summer camp, only for him to later admit that ''he seduced the priest''. Is this the truth, or was Stan in denial and blaming himself? It doesn't help that many real life victims of sexual assault blame themselves for what happened, and the episode "Into the Woods" shows that whenever someone bullies or abuses Stan, he revises the memory after the fact, placing himself in the role as the aggressor.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}}, its numerous Emmys and being regarded by fans and critics as superior to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (or at least post-{{Uncanceled}} ''Family Guy''), ''American Dad'' isn't discussed in pop culture very often and when it is, it's usually just dismissed as a knockoff of ''Family Guy'', usually by ''Family Guy'' detractors.

*** In the episode, "Stan's Food Restaurant", Stan tells Francine that he was molested by a priest at Christian summer camp, only for him to later admit that ''he seduced the priest''. Is this the truth, or was Stan in denial and blaming himself? It doesn't help that many real life victims of sexual assault blame themselves for what happened.

** Hayley's friend Danuta, especially after the episode "Shark?!" where she expressed romantic interest in Klaus (unfortunately, Klaus' poor social skills and desire to impress her screwed everything up) and subsequent episodes show that Klaus hasn't gotten over her. There a decent number of fans who ship Klaus and Danuta, both ironically and non-inronically.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}}, its numerous Emmys and being regarded by fans and critics as being superior to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (or at least post-{{Uncanceled}} ''Family Guy''), ''American Dad'' isn't discussed in pop culture very often and when it is, it's usually just dismissed as a knockoff of ''Family Guy'', usually by ''Family Guy'' detractors.

** Rogu. He was clearly created as a parody of [[CousinOliver the usual "new kid joins the family" premise]], but didn't completely avoid the critiques associated with such a character. Some fans dislike him, finding him unfunny and a pointless addition to the series. Then there are others who like him due to his UglyCute charm and for being the one character in the Smith clan who's treated well most of the time. What also stops Rogu from being a complete scrappy is that unlike most examples of a "Cousin Oliver", Rogu didn't join the main cast and quickly wear out his welcome, but remained a rarely-seen recurring character.

** Debbie Hyman. She was originally pretty popular for being a quirky goth and very different from all the love interests Steve has ever had. The problem was, every episode about her after her introduction was them repeatedly breaking up for whatever reason. Coupled with her miniscule development as well as being used primarily for the sake of jokes about her weight, she became a source of annoyance for some. Others however remember her for who she was and still find her one of the more enjoyable characters of the early seasons. Although no one seems to care about the one-off gag with her shooting the eyes out of squirrels.

** Rogu. In an interesting case of UnpopularPopularCharacter, he's abused much less than the other characters, but was clearly created as a parody of [[CousinOliver the usual "new kid joins the family" premise]], and became sincerely loved by the fans in spite of it. It helps that, unlike most examples, Rogu didn't join the main cast and quickly wear out his welcome, but remained a rarely-seen recurring character.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}}, its numerous Emmys and being regarded by fans and critics as being superior to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', ''American Dad'' isn't discussed in pop culture very often and when it is, it's usually just dismissed as a knockoff of ''Family Guy'', usually by ''Family Guy'' detractors.

** Hayley's friend Danuta, especially after the episode "Shark?!" where she expressed romantic interest in Klaus (unfortunately, Klaus' poor social skills and desire to impress her screwed everything up) and subsequent episodes show that Klaus hasn't gotten over her. There a decent number of fans who Klaus and Danuta (both ironically and non-inronically).

** Hayley's friend Danuta, especially after the episode "Shark?!" where she expressed romantic interest in Klaus (unfortunately, Klaus' poor social skills and desire to impress her screwed everything up). There a decent number of fans who ship the two (both ironically and non-inronically).

** Many have assumed that Hayley's UnstoppableRage (as seen in episodes such as "Pulling Double Booty" and "1600 Candles") is a side effect of the brainwashing she received as part of Project Daycare.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Recent episodes instead of just making Stan the DesignatedVillain focus more on Stan’s AmbiguousDisorder or a third party to show why his approach while maybe not wrong is flawed. For example in "Standard Deviation" Stan becomes angry when Hayley refuses to have a plan for her future life and the episode shows that he is in the right given that Hayley keeps dropping out and reinstating into college to the point where she doesn’t care anymore. However Stan's adherence to MyMasterRightOrWrong and inability to invoke IndyPloy shows that he isn’t exactly the right person to teach her how to do that.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience:
** Roger often shows signs of mental instability. One episode reveals there's an imaginary little boy in the attic who he talks to, he developed a SplitPersonality in "The One That Got Away," and in "Oedipal Panties," he freely admits to Francine, "I don't know what's real."
** Several episodes prove that Steve is capable of extreme violence, self-abuse, and just plain undiagnosable problems. Roger even lampshades this with his response to Steve's plan to exact revenge on a bully by dressing up like a girl and seducing him: "Yeah, let's keep that plan between you, me, and the string of therapists who won't be able to help you." However, given what happened with Hayley, it's implied Steve is also screwed up.

** Many have assumed that Hayley's UnstoppableRage (as seen in episodes such as "Pulling Double Booty" and "1600 Candles") is a side effect of the brainwashing she received in Project Daycare.

* IncestYayShipping: Many adult-rated fanfics have paired Steve up with Hayley or Francine. It doesn't help that Steve has canonically expressed incestuous attraction to both.

* AcceptablePoliticalTargets: When the show used to be about politics early in its run, conservatives, the Republican Party, and the Bush Administration were massive punching bags, with many of the jokes during those seasons being jokes about their policies and their ideologies. Stan's initial characterization was that of an extremely conservative right-winger whose extremist views constantly clash with Hayley's liberal views and usually drove most of the A-plots.