History YMMV / AmericanDad

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Episodes from the first two seasons before the show shifted from politics to outlandish plots are very clearly a product of both the mid-to-late 2000s and the Bush administration, with the constant bashing on Bush, his administration's policies and events that occurred during the time like the War on Terror. Beside that, the earlier episodes also had contemporary references like jokes about the NBC sitcom ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' not being funny (as seen on "[[Recap/AmericanDadS2E14HelpingHandis Helping Handis]]") and references to Kobe Bryant's rape trial that he was later acquitted for due to a lack of good evidence.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Episodes from the first two seasons before the show shifted from politics to outlandish plots are very clearly a product of both the mid-to-late 2000s and the Bush administration, with the constant bashing on Bush, his administration's policies and events that occurred during the time like the War on Terror. Beside that, the earlier episodes also had contemporary references like jokes about the NBC sitcom ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' not being funny (as seen on "Helping Handis") and references to Kobe Bryant's rape trial that he was later acquitted for due to a lack of good evidence.

* SeasonalRot: The TBS seasons tend to get this a fair bit, with frequent complaints including the ComedicSociopathy getting amped up too far from its already high levels (with the infamous "The Mural of the Story" getting the most flack), sloppier and overly wacky storytelling compared to the more focused and intricate plotlines of previous seasons, and a general sense that the show's ''Family Guy'' influence is creeping in more and more and affecting the show negatively. That said, the seasons do still have their fans and are home to some acclaimed, well-loved episodes like "Rabbit Ears" and "Persona Assistant".

* [[InformedWrongness/AmericanDad Informed Wrongness]]

** "White Rice" can be read as an example of how some ideas that work well in one form of media don't necessarily translate well to others. Francine's jokes about being the white adoptive daughter of a Chinese couple go over great in a standup routine because a live audience in the intimate setting of a theater doesn't take things at face value, and when they’re said aloud by the actual person themself, they are understood to be anectodal. When those same jokes are filmed and edited into a sitcom, the personal angle is lost and they feel like they're making fun of people, which is why the show got canceled after its first episode.

* A minor plot point in Smooshed: A Love Story was Creator/ReeseWitherspoon testing if she could still pass as a teenager in order to sell a sequel to Film/{{Election}} to Warner Bros. Just a few months later, a sequel was announced, with Witherspoon reprising her role, although it follows the character as a middle-aged woman.

** "White Rice" can be read as an example of how some ideas that work well in one form of media don't necessarily translate well to others. Francine's jokes about being the white adoptive daughter of a Chinese couple go over great in a standup routine because a live audience in the intimate setting of a theater doesn't take things at face value. When those same jokes are filmed and edited into a sitcom, they feel like they're making fun of people, which is why the show got canceled after its first episode.

** [[ObnoxiousInLaws Francine's]] [[AsianRudeness parents]]. They often come over to the Smith household uninvited, and repay Stan by belittling him, using his property without permission, and enforcing their rules despite being under his roof, with all of this meant to be swept aside and forgiven just because Francine's biological parents are worse.

** Billy can be this due to his grotesque character and annoying voice as well as adding little to the episodes (of which he has received many since his debut) outside of cheap shock value.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}} 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 only know it as "The political[[note]]Even though the show mostly abandoned political topics as early as the second season[[/note]] ''Family Guy'' clone with the 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 Seth [=MacFarlane's=] harshest detractors will usually refrain from bashing ''American Dad!'' since it's neither as controversial as ''Family Guy'' nor as mediocre as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', thus causing it to fall under the radar.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Hayley and Jeff due to the both of them being portrayed more sympathetically after Jeff was abducted as well as being the few still consistently likable characters in the main cast following the show's switch to TBS.

* GrowingTheBeard: Midway through season one, after the "Stan of Arabia" two-parter. When it first started, a lot of people thought the show was okay (while some wrote it off as a ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' knock off -- or a knock-off of a knock-off, if they were diehard ''Simpsons'' fans who thought shows like ''Family Guy'' were weakening ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''), but starting with the "Stan of Arabia" two-parter, the show got better in both animation and humor.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Krampus' two songs, [[https://youtu.be/CeNKuLjgVrI "You Get the Rod" and "We've Been Bad"]] in "Minstrel Krampus" are powerful soul songs performed by Music/CharlesBradley, although the latter is a duet with Steve.

** Hayley's friends Danuta and Nerfer. The former 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 uninronically.

* FandomRivalry: Although both shows are from Creator/SethMacFarlane there's an intense feud between those who prefer ''American Dad'' or ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. ''American Dad'' fans consider their show to be superior to its [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy sister show]] while it's not uncommon for fans of ''Family Guy'' to accuse ''American Dad'' of being a rip-off of ''Family Guy''.
* FriendlyFandoms: Many ''American Dad'' fans tend to be fans of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' due to both shows being considered better than their [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy prede]][[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons cessors]], they're not as popular or as successful as them, they have a relatively similar style of humor and they both share some writers and producers. Both shows also underwent a relatively minor case of SeasonalRot when they moved from Fox to their respective new channels.

** 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 uninronically.

* FriendlyFandoms: Many ''American Dad'' fans tend to be fans of ''WesternAnimation/Futurama'' due to both shows being considered better than their [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy prede]][[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons cessors]], they're not as popular or as successful as them, they have a relatively similar style of humor and they both share some writers and producers. Both shows also underwent a relatively minor case of SeasonalRot when they moved from Fox to their respective new channels.

* FandomRivalry: Although both shows are from Creator/SethMacFarlane there's an intense feud between those who prefer ''American Dad'' or ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. ''American Dad'' fans consider their show to be superior to its [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy sister show]] while it's not uncommon for fans of ''Family Guy'' accuse ''American Dad'' of being a rip-off of ''Family Guy''.

[[folder:#-E]]

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: Is considered to be this to ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. In addition to toning down the mean-sprited, offensive and [[GrossOutShow gross-out humor]] (this type of humor is still there but less so than its [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy sister show]]), it also tones down on the cast's {{Jerkass}} tendencies and has little-to-no {{CutawayGag}}s.

* ObscurePopularity: Despite its high ratings on both Creator/{{Fox}} (until Fox pulled it at least) and Creator/{{TBS}} 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 topics 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 Seth [=MacFarlane's=] harshest detractors will usually refrain from bashing ''American Dad!'' since it's neither as controversial as ''Family Guy'' nor as mediocre as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', thus 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}} 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 Seth [=MacFarlane's=] harshest detractors will usually refrain from bashing ''American Dad!'' since it's neither as controversial as ''Family Guy'' nor as mediocre as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', thus 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!'' 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 Seth [=MacFarlane's=] harshest detractors will usually refrain from bashing ''American Dad!'' since it's neither as controversial as ''Family Guy'' nor as mediocre as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', thus 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!'' 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 Seth [=MacFarlane's=] harshest detractors seldom bash ''American Dad!'' since it's neither as controversial as ''Family Guy'' nor as mediocre as ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', thus 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!'' 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 Seth [=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.

* AccidentalAesop: "White Rice" can be read as an example of how some ideas that work well in one form of media don't necessarily translate well to others. Francine's jokes about being the white adoptive daughter of a Chinese couple go over great in a standup routine because a live audience in the intimate setting of a theater doesn't take things at face value. When those same jokes are filmed and edited into a sitcom, they feel like they're making fun of people, which is why the show got canceled after its first episode.