Family Guy

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Transmitted:	January 1999 - Present
Country of origin:	USA
Genre:	Animated series, Dysfunctional family, Brutal cartoon violence
Starring:	Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green
Rating:	5/5
No. of seasons:	10 and counting

Seth MacFarlane's riotous animated series almost never made it past its first season.
With poor viewing figures in The States, it was only when the show was released on DVD that things took off. Similarly to 24 more recently, the UK audiences led the way, leading to record DVD sales for an animated series and more attention turned to it back home. A second season was commissioned and, surviving a further cancellation – resulting in one of the finest in-jokes in TV history, as Peter Griffin kicks a new season off by listing all of the shows that need to be cancelled in order to ensure Family Guy's survival, each and every one of them having indeed been cancelled - it's now ten seasons in and in fine form.

The premise:
Meet The Griffins, a dysfunctional family that, outwardly at least, appear normal. But nothing is normal, here.
Peter is a ghastly slob, who seldom thinks about anyone but himself, and certainly little about his long suffering wife Lois.
Brian, the alcoholic dog who hankers for writing as his trade.
Meg and Chris, the kids, each with their personal demons, including Chris' own very real demonic monkey, which lives in his closet.
Then the star of the show, Stewie the baby, the megalomaniac infant with designs on his own mother's life; plotting, scheming, even building a time machine, he's determined the bitch will die.

Turning a vicious eye on the underbelly of American society, everything is ripe for ridicule, here.
More Doug Stanhope than Michael McIntyre in terms of content, this is acerbic, adult-oriented content that, at times, makes one gasp, unable to believe they've just done what they've just done.
Twisted, dark and crucially, very, very funny, this is rock solid stuff and kicks The Simpson's out of the ballpark in every single way.
Just great.

Find an episode guide here