Family Guy is one of the greatest animated sitcoms in history. This beloved adult cartoon became so popular that it escaped years of cancellation to continue airing for many more years. Like The Simpsons, this show has declined in quality over time, but there are still plenty of episodes that show how great it can be. For this reason, we’re looking at the Top 10 Best Episodes of Family Guy.
(Spoilers and Mature Content Ahead!)
10. Road to the Multiverse
FOX
Family Guy is at its best when it enters sci-fi territory, and the writers went nuts with this classic episode. Stewie takes Brian on a trip through the multiverse with his latest invention, and the different worlds they travel to are a delight to behold. There’s a world without Christianity, a world drawn by Disney, a world ruled by dogs, and even one where everyone has to go Number Two at the exact same time. The comedic possibilities are endless, and the show successfully took advantage of them.
9. And Then There Were Fewer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFaVq4B8Woo
This episode began Season 9 with a bang by doing the unexpected and kills off some of its long-time characters. When the Griffins and their many friends are invited to dinner by James Woods, the evening takes a turn for the worse when people are murdered one by one. Everyone at the party is a suspect, forcing the audience to rethink everything they knew about everyone in the show. The episode also ends with two of the most shocking twists in Family Guy history.
8. I Dream of Jesus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184
Fans fondly remember this episode as the origin of the “Bird is the Word.” When Peter rediscovers his love for the song “Surfin’ Bird,” all he does is dance along to it in the most outrageous ways possible. The episode takes a complete left turn when Peter discovers Jesus Christ running a record store. From there, Peter tries to reintroduce in the Messiah into the world, and things don’t go quite as planned. This episode is offensive and quite possibly blasphemous, but it is still a riot to watch.
7. Blue Harvest
FOX
This episode parodies Star Wars in the greatest way possible. When the Griffin House loses power, Peter retells the story of A New Hope in true Family Guy fashion. Everyone in Quahog acts as different characters in George Lucas’s magnum opus, and they play them to comedic perfection. Peter’s sardonic take on Han Solo is hilarious, and Stewie’s eccentric Darth Vader gets all the laughs. Since George Lucas declared himself to be a fan of the show, this episode was the perfect way to honor the legendary filmmaker.
6. Brian and Stewie
FOXBrian and Stewie end up trapped in a bank vault and the duo passes the time as they wait to be rescued. During that time, they each share their deepest secrets to each other. Unlike most Family Guy episodes, this one doesn’t have any cutaways. Instead, it focuses on the dialogue between the titular characters (which is just Seth MacFarlane talking to himself for a half an hour). While this show was met with the usual controversy for a particularly shocking scene, this episode is a profound and heartwarming one that brings Brian and Stewie closer than ever before.
5. Airport ’07
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O33WAJVdnZI
Quagmire loses his job as a pilot after Peter siphons fuel out of his airplane. He is then forced to move in with the Griffins, and the results are hilarious. While the episode was funny enough with Peter obsessing over redneck culture, Quagmire’s presence sends it soaring beyond perfection. This episode is him at his best, not just comedically, but because of his heartfelt pursuit of reclaiming a job that made him happy. Though Family Guy has paid homage to Airplane! many times throughout the series’s history, this episode is arguably the best one.
4. North by North Quahog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6npeU3EznI
After the show was canceled for almost three years, Family Guy returned with one of the craziest adventures in the show’s history. When Peter and Lois go on a second honeymoon, they end up in Mel Gibson’s hotel room, where they find the unreleased sequel to Passion of the Christ (which looks so much better than the original). Meanwhile, Brian and Stewie babysit Meg and Chris, and the former duo perform hilariously as parental figures. All in all, “North by North Quahog” is the perfect comeback for such a beloved series.
3. Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzDrjsO077E
This three-episode arc follows Stewie after he survives a near-death experience and tries to turn over a new leaf. He then discovers a man he believes to be his actual father, and he and Brian travel to San Francisco to meet him. In a shocking twist, this mystery man is revealed to be his future self, and Stewie goes to the future to see where he ends up in life. The journey Stewie takes is a hilariously spectacular odyssey that shows what Family Guy is capable of making.
2. PTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Z5tHvSBhs
When the FCC increases TV censorship after a wardrobe malfunction at the Emmys, Peter decides to create his own TV network full of uncensored shows and original programming. From Quagmire’s Midnight Q to The Peter Griffin Sideboob Hour, PTV gives us hilariously inappropriate shows that we secretly wish we real. The FCC responds not just by censoring Peter’s show, but censoring real life. With its wacky premise and a catchy song, this episode hilariously jabs at the ridiculousness of censorship, which has plagued the show for years.
1. Road to Rhode Island
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzYnQoyIFPY
This classic episode was the beginning of Brian and Stewie’s adventures together, and it set a high standard for the show as a whole. When Brian is forced to pick up Stewie from vacation, the two miss their flight and must make a long journey across the country to get home. Along the way, Brian confronts his inner demons by returning to the farm he was born in to reconcile with his mother. Though Stewie struggles to support his drunkenly depressed dog, the two grow closer together, cementing them as one of the greatest duo of friends in television history.