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Nothing screams quintessential American television like Family Guy. With close to three decades, 23 seasons, and over 400 episodes, the adult animated sitcom is a timeless staple in every household. Created by Seth McFarlane, the show revolves around an everyday family, with parents Peter and Lois, children Meg, Chris, and Stewie, and their dog, Brian, living in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island.
Just like its counterparts, The Simpsons, South Park, and Bob's Burgers, Family Guy also finds the sweet spot between humor and pop culture commentary. This leads to throwaway gags about celebrities, politicians, or even major global events that might end up coming true. From predicting the Ellen DeGeneres controversy to clocking British law, the show has made some shocking predictions so far.
Disclaimer: All opinions in this article belong solely to the writer. Spoilers ahead.
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Ellen's cancellation, British censorship, and other predictions in Family Guy
1) The Ellen DeGeneres controversy
Season 9, episode 9 "And I am Joyce Kinney" (2011)
Lois runs into popular TV show host Joyce Kinney and agrees to meet for drinks. Bad idea: A drunken Lois confesses to making an adult film called "Quest for Fur," and Joyce uses her platform to publicly humiliate Lois as revenge for a past prank. In this episode, there is a cutaway gag of former popular talk show host Ellen DeGeneres continuously talking over her guests and making them uncomfortable.
This prediction about her personality came true when allegations of workplace misconduct broke during the pandemic. Since then, Family Guy constantly goes for a joke at Ellen's expense, like in season 10 episode 7 Fox-y Lady and more recently, in season 21, episode 3 The Wife-Changing Experience, where a charity program begs for donations to save Ellen's crew.
2) The curious case of British censorship
Season 4, episode 1 "North by North Quahog" (2005)
Peter and Lois decide to rekindle the spark in their marriage, visiting Mel Gibson's suite at the Barrington Hotel. However, chaos ensues when things don't go as planned, and Peter goes home early. But before that, they watch a British adult film on TV. The scene is comedic because the film's contents are so chaste that it can't be classified as explicit. There is no movement, and everything is covered up.
Over a decade after this episode, in 2017, the UK passed a law putting pornographic content behind an age verification wall. While this was done to protect children from accessing explicit content, it kicked up a storm as people feared further media censorship from a more authoritarian government. Family Guy intuited the harsh hand of law in the UK way before it happened.
3) Caitlyn Jenner's gender orientation
Season 7, episode 14 "We Love You, Conrad" (2009)
Family Guy revisited Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner) and the celebrity's gender orientation plenty of times. In season 7, Stewie and Brian disagree over Bruce's gender. Stewie makes a random observation, remarking:
"He's not a man... Bruce Jenner is a woman. An elegant, beautiful Dutch woman."
In season 10, episode 1, Lottery Fever, they revisit the observation when Bruce Jenner is brought onto stage to perform a feminine burlesque number. A few years later, in 2015, Bruce Jenner transitioned to Caitlyn Jenner, making Stewie's words come true.
4) The Boston Marathon bombings
Season 11, episode 15 "Turban Cowboy" (2013)
Peter befriends a Muslim man named Mahmoud, and before he knows it, he's a part of a terrorist organization planning to bomb the Quahog bridge. This is a grim premise with terrifying implications already, but a random cutaway moment shows Peter running over the crowd at the Boston Marathon to win the race. While there are bombs in this episode, it has nothing to do with the Marathon.
However, within a month of the episode airing, the tragic bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon killed three people and injured several others. In light of the incident, it was a chilling prediction that hit too close to home. Fox removed it from its Hulu reruns at the time.
5) Kevin Spacey's true colors
Season 4, episode 4 "Don't Make Me Over" (2005)
There's a new mall in town, affecting business at the Drunken Clam. Meanwhile, Meg goes through a makeover after being rejected by Craig Hoffman, and her newfound confidence takes her all the way to Saturday Night Live. In a random cutaway gag, Stewie is seen streaking through the mall, naked and screaming:
"Help! I've escaped from Kevin Spacey's basement!"
Family Guy fans find out that Stewie gets money from Brian for doing this, and it passes as a funny moment. However, Kevin Spacey was one of the biggest names to come out of the #MeToo movement, with actors like Anthony Rapp, Harry Dreyfus, and Tony Montana stepping forward to accuse him in 2017.
6) A glimpse of a future pandemic
Season 15, episode 6, Hot Shots (2016)
Peter and Lois start an anti-vaccination drive after Stewie is injured trying to stop a bat from entering the house. Several parents join the movement, and soon, a measles outbreak at Stewie's daycare puts Quahog in quarantine. Only Brian is concerned that the anti-vaccination sentiment might be causing this mess.
While many shows featured a pandemic or a disease outbreak, Family Guy managed to capture the socio-political scenario that a disease brings with it. A very similar sentiment happened during the coronavirus pandemic, four years after the episode aired, with anti-vaccination being one of the most debated topics.
7) The Bitcoin phenomenon
Season 14, episode 11 "The Peanut Butter Kid" (2016)
This is one of those meta Family Guy moments that predicted a future event while also becoming a big enough phenomenon to inspire it. Peter and Lois consolidate their finances, worrying about Stewie's college funds. This leads to a hilarious escapade where Stewie auditions for a peanut butter commercial. Peter off-handedly mentions investing in Bitcoin as a way to end their money woes.
A lot of Bitcoin and Family Guy fans were quick to note that the time window after Peter utters the word "Bitcoin," its value skyrocketed, becoming a more mainstream form of investment. While he suggests it as a "lottery" type idea to get rich quickly, its financial viability couldn't be denied after the episode dropped. Whether Peter inspired the bitcoin surge is inconclusive.
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