Are you a Family Guy fanatic? Well, we’ve got seven facts that you might not know about this wildly popular animated series. Think you know it all? Just look below to find out!
Number Seven: Seth MacFarlane’s Close Call. Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, nearly died in the September 11 attacks. The night before the attacks, he went out and had too much to drink, missing his flight the next morning. The flight he was scheduled to be on would have crashed into the North Tower.
Number Six: The Life of Larry. Before Family Guy, MacFarlane created The Life of Larry. The series was what landed MacFarlane a deal for Family Guy and featured several similar characters, such as an intellectual speaking dog.
Number Five: Stewie Griffin Vs. Jimmy Corrigan. MacFarlane was accused of stealing the character of Stewie from Chris Ware’s character, Jimmy Corrigan. However, MacFarlane claimed he had never heard of him when he created Stewie, although the two characters do share several similarities.
Number Four: Emmy Nomination. In 2009, Family Guy became the first animated series nominated for a Best Comedy Series Emmy award since The Flintstones in 1961. However, neither series won an Emmy.
Number Three: Don’t Go There. Family Guy is banned in several countries, including many parts of Asia and Africa. This is because many races and religions are mocked in the show, especially countries where people do not speak English as a first language.
Number Two: Seth Creates Controversy. One episode of Family Guy that featured Peter Griffin running over Boston Marathon runners was quickly pulled from the air. Though the episode aired before the infamous Boston Marathon attack, it aired so closely to the actual attack that it was deemed too traumatizing. Some people speculate that MacFarlane was aware of the attack before it even happened because of this episode.
Number One: FCC Complaint Title Holder. Family Guy holds a record for the number of complaints it has received in regards to its content. For an episode titled “Family Gay,” 188,368 FCC complaints were filed. It takes only the most basic of imaginations to think about what kind of content would have caused so many complaints.