(Credits: Far Out / Fox)
Sun 7 December 2025 4:30, UK
Family Guy is one of the many animated sitcoms that has continued to air new episodes on a consistent basis since its debut in 1999. Although there have been several notable controversies and near-cancellations, it continues to be popular. Seth MacFarlane, amid it all, has been reluctant to offer a timeframe on when (or if) it will ever wrap up.
Unlike many of its competitors, Family Guy hasn’t exactly had a second surge in quality. The general consensus has been that the show’s writing has declined ever since MacFarlane left the series as a showrunner and writer. While South Park achieved newfound relevance this year and the revival of King of the Hill inspired new enthusiasm among fans, Family Guy hasn’t been relevant in quite some time.
There are two clear reasons why, the first being that the show no longer feels like an event that would spike the interests of audiences beyond its core fanbase, wherein the obvious way to elevate anticipation would be to bring the adventures of the Griffin family to the big screen, where it might be able to resonate with an audience that didn’t grow up with it.
The Simpsons Movie helped revive interest in The Simpsons when it faced a similarly dodgy period, and the popularity of South Park reached its apex after South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut became a smash success and surprisingly an Oscar nominee.
The second reason that Family Guy is no longer at its peak, and why a film would be well-timed, is the lack of MacFarlane’s involvement. Love him or loathe him, MacFarlane developed a style of humour that has been extremely influential for the industry, given that everything from Deadpool to Rick and Morty owes his reference-heavy comedy some degree of credit.
MacFarlane offered up some of his best work when he used the show to experiment with different genres by doing extended tributes to Star Wars, Agatha Christie, and The Sound of Music, and hence, without his presence, the show has become a parody of itself.
As was the case with other animated films based on sitcoms, such as The Bob’s Burgers Movie or Beavis and Butt-head Do America, there wouldn’t be much different within the production of a feature length project when compared to what’s done on the series; not only is an animation team set, but the cast of voice actors have already gotten used to their roles. MacFarlane is known for making things quickly, but giving him the time and effort to work on a longer production might allow him to put in more effort.
As much as the creator has tried to distance himself from his animated work of classical music and his Star Trek-inspired show The Orville, he needs Family Guy as much as the show needs him. The reason why Ted worked so well was that MacFarlane had found a way to bring the same unusual blend of heart, raunchiness, and shameless irreverence from his original show to the big screen.
During a time in which Disney has pillaged all of its assets in search of properties that could be brought back to the big screen, a Family Guy movie could serve as a reminder of what a game-changing phenomenon the series was, and what it still could be.
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