All of ‘Family Guy’ Seasons, Ranked from Worst to Best

Only a handful of cartoons have had the ability to tap into the cultural zeitgeist in the past 20-odd years, and “Family Guy” is one of them. Following the adventures (and misadventures) of schlubby, ignorant Peter, long-suffering Lois, and their buffoonish son Chris, awkward adolescent daughter Meg, and diabolical British-accented baby Stewie, along with their pretentious alcoholic dog Brian has made us laugh countless times, has given us an endless stream of quotes, and had made a star of its creator, Seth MacFarlane. 

It’s hard to believe, but “Family Guy” has been on the air since its January 31, 1999 premiere, right after the Super Bowl. The show has certainly changed in plenty of ways since in the past 25(!) years – Stewie isn’t quite as hell-bent on murdering Lois; Lacey Chabert stopped voicing Meg after season one; several characters (or their voice actors) have died, including Mayor West, Mr. Weed, and Muriel Goldman; and Cleveland got his own short-lived sitcom – but much like The Simpsons, the show’s premise and emotional core has remained intact.

But like all long-running shows, certain seasons are widely regarded to be superior to others. These are the worst to best seasons of “Family Guy” according to its average audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, from season 1 through season 21. (For a more comprehensive list, click here for the best sitcoms of all time.)

21. Season 19

The most memorable aspect of “Family Guy” Season 19 is probably the arrival of Sam Elliott as Quahog’s new mayor, a rugged cowboy appropriately named Wild West. Other highlights of a rather uneventful season include Stewie saying his first word (that everyone can hear, at least), the F-word, in “Stewie’s First Word,” Peter becoming an Italian mob boss in “La Famiglia Guy,” and Stewie and Brian traveling to the future in Terminator-style adventure “PeTerminator.” It was also notable for being Mike Henry’s final season voicing Cleveland. 

20. Season 21

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• Year: 2022-23
• Total Episodes: 20
• Audience Score: 55

Family Guy’s most recent season (as of 2023) featured the show’s 400th episode. The season premiere, “Oscars Guy,” spoofed “The Silence of the Lambs,” “American Beauty,” and “Forrest Gump,” and other (relative) standouts included “The Stewaway,” in which Stewie becomes obsessed with hide-and-seek and Lois falls off a cliff while trying to break Bonnie’s Instagram like record; “The Munchurian Candidate,” in which Lois brainwashes Peter into pleasuring her every time he hears the “Extra” theme song; and “The Candidate,” in which Stewis gets into local politics. 

19. Season 11

• Year: 2012-13
• Total Episodes: 22
• Audience Score: 55

Season 11 featured the 200th episode, “Valentine’s Day in Quahog.” Standout episodes include “Brian’s Play,” in which Brian writes a hit play but becomes jealous when he finds out that a play Stewie wrote is better; “Roads to Vegas,” which changes up the usual Stewie/Brian “Road to” format by having a teleporter glitch create two different duos who have very different experiences in Vegas; and “Farmer Guy,” in which Peter buys a farm and becomes a meth dealer.

18. Season 12

• Year: 2013-14
• Total Episodes: 21
• Audience Score: 56

Season 12 was notable for a couple reasons: It saw the return of Cleveland after the cancellation of spinoff “The Cleveland Show” after four seasons, and it also famously saw the death of Brian in an arc that lasted several weeks and drew strongly negative reactions from viewers until it was revealed to only be temporary. Other standouts include “Into Harmony’s Way,” in which Peter and Quagmire form a folk band and “Vestigial Peter,” in which Peter gets a vestigial twin.

17. Season 10

• Year: 2011-12
• Total Episodes: 23
• Audience Score: 58

Highlights from Season 10 include the time-jumping “Back to the Pilot,” in which Brian and Stewie time travel back to the show’s pilot episode; “Amish Guy,” in which Meg falls in love with an Amish boy; and “The Blind Side,” in which Brian’s new girlfriend hates dogs but isn’t aware that Brian is one. 

16. Season 15

• Year: 2016-17
• Total Episodes: 20
• Audience Score: 58

Season 15’s most memorable episode is perhaps “Inside Family Guy,” a high-concept fictionalized “behind-the-scenes” of the show. Other standouts include “The Boys in the Band,” in which Brian and Stewie start a children’s music band; “Chris Has Got a Date, Date, Date, Date, Date,” which sees guest star Taylor Swift (as herself) agreeing to be Chris’ date to the homecoming dance; and “Gronkowsbees,” in which New England Patriots all-star moves into the house behind the Griffins. 

15. Season 14

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• Year: 2015-16
• Total Episodes: 20
• Audience Score: 59

Season 14’s season premiere, “Pilling Them Softly” (in which Stewie is diagnosed with ADHD and both he and Brian get hooked on Aderall), was the show’s 250th episode. This season also saw Chris becoming a registered sex offender in “An App a Day;” Peter and friends going to South Korea after discovering that Quagmire was once a Korean soap opera star in “Candy, Quahog Marshmallow;” and Stewie building a robot friend in “Guy, Robot.” 

14. Season 18

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• Year: 2019-20
• Total Episodes: 20
• Audience Score: 61

Season 18 was “Family Guy’s” 20th anniversary, but it wasn’t an especially banner season. Standouts include “Yacht Rocky,” in which Peter and friends go on a yacht rock cruise, 90s parody “Peter & Lois’ Wedding,” and “Holly Bibble,” which follows the familiar formula of giving the “Family Guy” treatment to three bible stories. 

13. Season 7

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• Year: 2008-9
• Total Episodes: 16
• Audience Score: 62

Season 7 is overall in the “pretty good” category, but it definitely had some memorable standout episodes, including “Road to Germany,” in which Mort, Stewie, and Brian find themselves back in time in WWII-era Germany; “Family Gay,” in which a medical experiment turns Peter gay; “Peter’s Progress,” in which Cleveland’s Jamaican cousin tells Peter the story of his cousin who founded Quahog, Griffin Peterson; and “Not All Dogs Go to Heaven,” which sees Stewie spending a day with the cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” only to discover that they’re all unbearably obnoxious. 

12. Season 8

• Year: 2009-10
• Total Episodes: 21
• Audience Score: 62

While Season 8 didn’t immediately receive great reviews from critics, it’s chock full of episodes that have become classics, including “Road to the Multiverse,” in which Brian and Stewie transport to a world where the Griffin family is all dogs and Brian is a human; “Quagmire’s Baby,” in which Quagmire takes in his illegitimate baby daughter; the dark “Brian & Stewie” in which they get locked in a bank vault; “Quagmire’s Dad,” in which the title character undergoes gender reassignment surgery; and the cult-favorite Star Wars spoof “Something, Something, Something, Dark Side.”

11. Season 9

• Year: 2010-11
• Total Episodes: 18
• Audience Score: 63

“Family Guy”’s first season to be broadcast in high definition, season 9 included some classic episodes including the murder mystery “And Then There Were Fewer;” “Brian Writes a Bestseller,” which famously included a scene with live-action Bill Maher; “Road to the North Pole,” in which Brian and Stewie unsuccessfully take over Santa’s job; and “It’s a Trap,” which gives the “Family Guy” treatment to “Return of the Jedi.”

10. Season 17

 

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• Year: 2018-19
• Total Episodes: 20
• Audience Score: 64

Season 17 included some episodes that are definitely rewatchable, including the very fun “You Can’t Handle the Booth!,” which the Griffins provide real-time DVD commentary over. It also included two two-episode arcs, one in which Brian becomes trapped in a marriage with a dying woman and the other which sees Peter becoming President Trump’s press secretary after getting a job as a scaremongering news anchor. 

9. Season 13

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• Year: 2014-15
• Total Episodes: 18
• Audience Score: 65

Season 13’s most memorable episode was its first, a 44-minute crossover with The Simpsons called “Simpsons Guy” (watching Peter make friends with Homer is a true joy). Other standouts include Lois and Peter opening a bakery that becomes a strip club in “Baking Bad;” the guys trying to help Jesus lose his virginity in “The 2000 Year Old Virgin;” and Stewie, Brian, and Chris getting stuck aboard the Titanic in “Stewie, Chris, & Brian’s Excellent Adventure.”

8. Season 20

• Year: 2021-22
• Total Episodes: 20
• Audience Score: 67

Season 20 saw the introduction of Arif Zahir as the voice of Cleveland, as well as actors including Patton Oswalt, Chris Parnell, and Jay Pharaoh in new recurring roles, leading to the season being dubbed “a rebuilding year” by reviews. Standout episodes include “Cootie & The Blowhard,” which sees Peter have an affair with Bonnie; “Hard Boiled Meg,” in which she becomes a getaway driver and dates a robber; and “Girlfriend, Eh?”, in which Peter and Chris to go to Canada to prove that Chris’ girlfriend actually exists. 

7. Season 16

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• Year: 2017-18
• Total Episodes: 20
• Audience Score: 69

Season 16 included the show’s 300th episode (“Dog Bites Bear”), as well as final farewells to characters played by Adam West and Carrie Fisher, who both passed away that year. The season’s standout episode was the high-concept premiere, “Emmy-Winning Episode,” in which Peter tries to win an anny by re-fashioning the show in the style of acclaimed shows like “Modern Family” and “Transparent.” Other highlights included the dramatic, commercial-free “Send in Stewie, Please” (which takes place entirely between Stewie and a child psychologist voiced by Ian McKellen) and Sherlock Holmes spoof “V is for Mystery.” 

6. Season 6

• Year: 2007-8
• Total Episodes: 14
• Audience Score: 69

There’s no shortage of memorable episodes in season 6, including “Blue Harvest” (the show’s first “Star Wars” spoof) and “Movin’ Out (Brian’s Song)” (in which Brian gets an apartment with his not-too-smart girlfriend Jillian), but its most famous contribution to the canon is the two-part “Stewie Kills Lois” and “Lois Kills Stewie,” in which Stewie finally actually murders Lois, and then Lois returns the favor. 

5. Season 5

• Year: 2006-7
• Total Episodes: 18
• Audience Score: 71

Season 5 is notable for introducing Jillian, Brian’s dimwitted girlfriend, Played by Drew Barrymore, in “Whistle While Your Wife Works.” Other notable episodes include “Stewie Loves Lois,” in which Stewie becomes increasingly obsessed with his mother; “Road to Rupert,” in which Brian accidentally sells Stewie’s beloved teddy bear at a yard sale; and “Airport ‘07,” in which the guys hatch a harebrained scheme to get Quagmire his job as a pilot back. 

4. Season 1

• Year: 1999
• Total Episodes: 7
• Audience Score: 74

The seven-episide first season of “Family Guy” came out strong right out of the gate, with Peter committing welfare fraud in the pilot, “Death Has a Shadow.” Other first-season classics include “Mind Over Murder,” in which Stewie builds hig time machine and Peter’s basement bar becomes popular after Lois starts singing there and “Brian: Portrait of a Dog,” in which Brian leaves the family and is sentenced to death. 

3. Season 4

• Year: 2005-6
• Total Episodes: 30
• Audience Score: 75

“Family Guy”’s longest season to date, the 30-episode season 4 is loaded with classics, including “Breaking Out Is Hard to Do,” in which Lois is sent to prison after becoming a kelptomaniac, leaving the family in disarray, “Jungle Love,” in which Chris runs away from home to join the Peace Corps in South America; “The Fat Guy Strangler,” in which Lois discovers that her long-lost brother is a serial killer; and “Brian Goes Back to College,” which sees him becoming a writer for the New Yorker.

2. Season 2

• Year: 1995-2000
• Total Episodes: 21
• Audience Score: 76

“Family Guy” was officially firing on all cylinders by season 2, which included the classic “Road to Rhode Island” buddy comedy modeled after the “Road to…” movies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope; “Da Boom,” in which the family survived a nuclear holocaust and famously encounter an obnoxious Randy Newman on their way to the Twinkie factory; and “Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater,” in which the family inherits a lavish mansion. 

1. Season 3

• Year: 2001-2003
• Total Episodes: 22
• Audience Score: 77

Season 3 came out swinging with “The Thin White Line,” easily one of the show’s best episodes, in which Brian becomes a police dog but gets addicted to cocaine in the process. This high quality carried straight through into the show’s best season ever, which is filled to the brim with classics including “Brian Does Hollywood,” in which he moved to LA and becomes a porn director; “One If by Clam, Two If by Sea,” which sees the guys’ favorite bar transformed into a snooty Brirish pub, “Road to Europe,” in which Stewie and Brian travel to Europe to find the cast of Stewie’s favorite TV show and Peter and Lois go to a KISS concert; and “From Method to Madness,” in which Stewie becomes a hit duo with a stuck-up girl named Olivia.