Summary
The 21st century has already seen somefantastic comedy series, but few are able to matchFamily Guywhen it comes to either fame or longevity. The Seth MacFarlane animated sitcom has managed to maintain an audience since its debut in 1999, delivering countless controversial jokes, outrageous moments, and clever storylines throughout that time.
That’s not to say that every episode is a winner, mind. With over 420 of them, there are bound to be some that are a little underwhelming. Yet, when the show is at its very best, few comedies can come close to matching it. The bestFamily Guyepisodes find ways to further push the boundaries and consequently find themselves in a league of their very own.
Updated June 08, 2025, by Tom Bowen:More than two and a half decades on from its 1999 debut, Family Guy remains one of the most popular animated shows on television. Granted, a rather sizeable portion of its viewership has dropped off in recent years, but not nearly enough to prevent the show from being renewed for two more seasons back in 2023. The current season brought the total number of episodes beyond the 420 mark: an impressive feat that few other animated shows have managed to accomplish. The best Family Guy episodes stand out much more than others, thanks in large to their hilarious jokes and memorable moments.
IMDb Rating: 8.2
There have been somegreat animated Christmas specialsover the years, and “Road to the North Pole” is right up there with the very best. It sees Brian and Stewie travel over to the North Pole to teach Santa a lesson after the pair are left disappointed by their encounter with one of Santa’s helpers at their local mall.
The episode is crammed full of memorable moments, like when Peter holds up the line to meet Santa or when Stewie and Brian run into Quagmire and his dying niece. Of course, in true Christmas fashion, it also concludes with a positive message, withthe people of Quahogagreeing that just a single gift is more than enough for them. As long as it’s not a gym membership, that is.
15Da Boom
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Post-apocalyptic narratives are often seen in video games -both good and bad ones- but it’s not a typical storyline for an animated sitcom. Yet that’s exactly the sort of taleFamily Guytells in “Da Boom.” It all begins when Y2K causes a nuclear holocaust, which destroys most of Quahog and mutates many of its residents. However, the Griffin family remains unharmed, and they have to make a new life in what’s left of the world.
Not only does the episode have a unique premise, but it also includes some great jokes. The most notable of these is definitely the first-ever Chicken fight, which would eventually go on to become one of the show’s most popular and longest-running gags.
14Blue Harvest
“Blue Harvest” was the first of threeFamily Guyspecials that paid homage to the originalStar Warstrilogy. It was released in 2007 to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary ofA New Hopeand is full of fantastic gags and references. Officially, it serves as the first episode of Season 6, though its 48-minute runtime is around double that of the other 11 episodes.
“Blue Harvest” sees Chris taking on the role of Luke and casts Lois as Princess Leia, which somehow manages to be even more problematic than in the original movie. The rest of the main cast are also given important roles in theStar Warsstory, with Stewie’s performance as Darth Vader being particularly memorable. All in all, it’s a pretty funny episode, particularly forStar Warsfans.
13Three Kings
“Three Kings” parodies three of Author Stephen King’s most memorable novels, those beingStand by Me,Misery, andThe Shawshank Redemption. All of them are pretty funny, but it will probably be the latter that lives longest in the memory of viewers thanks in large to one or two excellent jokes and references.
Whether it be Cleveland describing Peter’s Andy Dufresne character as a fat drink of water that came from the bathroom sink or Peter making a mockery of the warden’s iconic “obtuse” line, those who’ve seen the movies or read the books will likely get a real kick out of this episodes. Those who haven’t should still find plenty of cause to laugh.
12Death is a Bitch
InFamily Guy, death is more than just a state of being (or not being, depending on how one looks at it), but rather a real character who is responsible for harvesting the souls of those who die. After Peter decides to fake his death on an insurance form in the “Death is a Bitch” episode, Death turns up to claim his bounty, but things don’t quite go to plan.
Fortunately, before Death can take Peter away from his loved ones, he slips and sprains his ankle, forcing him to take some time off while he recovers. When Peter points out to the world that it’s impossible to die while Death is out of action, people begin to take advantage of this, which leads to Peter having to fill in for death and even more hilarity.
11Stewie Loves Lois
There’s a lot going on in the season 5 episode, “Stewie Loves Lois,” but the main narrative thread follows Peter. After a routine prostate examination, Peter feels violated and so decides to take Dr. Hartman to court. However, he soon realizes that no doctor will treat him following the lawsuit, forcing him to return to Hartman for help.
Elsewhere, Stewie’s feelings towards Lois change after she repairs his stuffed teddy bear, Rupert, which had earlier been destroyed by a vicious dog. He ends up becoming incredibly needy as a result, which eventually leads to Lois ignoring him and Stewie falling down the stairs. Infuriated by her neglect, Stewie’s hatred for his mother soon returns.
10Petarded
Peter’s lack of intelligence has led toplenty of humorous momentsover the years, but perhaps none more so than in the season 4 episode, “Petarded.” After taking a test to determine whether or not he is a genius, Peter is informed that he has a below-average IQ and ends up using this to his advantage.
He quickly realizes that people are willing to make certain allowances due to his “condition,” and begins to test just how far he can take things. This leads to him instigating a bible fight at church, kicking open stalls in the female bathrooms, and, eventually, drenching his wife in scalding hot oil. Thankfully, Lois is able to make a full recovery, though, much to Peter’s delight, it’s revealed that she’ll continue to smell like french fries for the next six months or so.
9Yug Ylimaf
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Episodes that focus on Brian and Stewie tend to be good, and “Yug Ylimaf” is no exception. During it, Brian breaks Stewie’s time machine, which makes time itself move backward. It’s then up to the duo to solve the issue before Stewie is unborn.
Family Guyhas always excelled at self-referential humor, and there’s plenty of it in this episode. It occurs naturally too, as some of the show’s classic scenes are revisited as the world goes back in time. Yet, the smartest joke in the episode is perhaps the title, which isFamily Guyspelled backward.
8Stewie Kills Lois
IMDb Rating: 8.3
Few episodes ofFamily Guyare quite as captivating as “Stewie Kills Lois.” Partway through, it subverts viewers' expectations by (seemingly) killing off a main character. It’s such an uncharacteristic move by the animated sitcom that it makes viewers interested in what happens next. As the title suggests, Lois is the one to fall, and the rest of the episode is about the others finding out who did it.
Despite the storyline being about a significant death,Family Guystill manages to deliver some laughs. There are numerous examples strewn throughout the episode, like when Peter claims that Philip Seymour Hoffman starred inTitanic, rather than Kate Winslet.
7Lois Kills Stewie
During the early seasons of the show, Stewie frequently talks about killing Lois. Well, during a two-parter in season six, he tries to do just that. Unfortunately for him, Lois survives, and in this second part, he’s on the run. However, the baby doesn’t just hide; instead, he takes over the world.
The episode works best in tandem with its predecessor, but it’s a good piece of television regardless. Some of its most memorable moments include anAmerican Dadcameo and the brilliantly crafted fight scene at the end - which would fit into manyhighly-rated action movies.
