Summary
- Family Guy pushes boundaries with dark humor, resulting in some episodes being too controversial to air in the US.
- Censors carefully evaluate and sometimes ban certain Family Guy episodes due to offensive content.
- "Partial Terms of Endearment" was banned in the US but aired in other countries and can be found on the Family Guy season 8 DVD box set.
Family Guy has a history of its jokes being close to the bone, but one episode from over a decade ago still hasn't been aired in the US. Seth MacFarlane's long-running animated sitcom isn't afraid to reference any area of popular culture, and as a result, certain stories can result in some of Family Guy's darkest episodes. This was certainly the case for the episode in question, and it's the reason why it never received airtime in the country of its production.
Many of Family Guy's most controversial moments come paired with a joke or commentary that could offend certain groups. As such, the network censors have to treat these sequences with care. While sometimes just certain gags or cutaways can be removed from an episode, there is the occasional instance where the bulk of the story is deemed too sensitive to allow it to air.
Related
Family Guy has been a mainstay of FOX for over 20 years, and that makes it all the more surprising that it was canceled for a brief time.
Family Guy Season 8's "Partial Terms Of Endearment" Was Banned In The US
The episode debuted on BBC Three in the UK
The final episode of Family Guy season 8, "Partial Terms of Endearment," was prevented from being aired in the US back in 2010. The story focuses on Lois agreeing to act as a surrogate and carry her friend's baby. In a dark turn, the biological parents die in a car accident, leaving Lois with a difficult decision to make regarding whether to abort the pregnancy. Although the topic is approached with Family Guy's signature irreverent sense of humor, the dissonance in tone was clearly too much to overcome, and the episode received a domestic network ban.
Although the topic is approached with Family Guy's signature irreverent sense of humor, the dissonance in tone was clearly too much to overcome.
"Partial Terms of Endearment" still hasn't been aired in the US, but the episode has appeared on TV in other countries. For instance, BBC Three aired the episode in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2010, when Family Guy season 8 was in the midst of its original release cycle. In addition, "Partial Terms of Endearment" appeared on the Family Guy season 8 DVD box set, even within the US.
"Partial Terms of Endearment" is not available to stream on Hulu, the current home of Family Guy.
Another Family Guy Episode Was Banned By Fox (But Not As Heavily)
This episode eventually aired on Fox 4 years after it was initially intended to
Family Guy season 3, episode 22, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", is another one of the show's episodes that ran into trouble with Fox's censors. Originally intended to be aired in 2000, executives held the episode back in case its themes were viewed as anti-Semitic. Eventually, Adult Swim aired "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" in 2003, and then Fox followed suit in 2004. So, even though this early episode of Family Guy was initially met with residence, it differs from its season 8 counterpart in that it was eventually permitted to air in the US.
Family Guy can be streamed on Hulu - with the exception of "Partial Terms of Endearment."
Family Guy
Animation
Comedy
Family Guy, created by Seth McFarlane and David Zuckerman, follows Peter Griffin and his family as they find themselves in bizarre situations in the fictional city of Quahog, Road Island. Between the cutaway gags and memorable characters such as Chris, Meg, Lois, Stewie, and Brian, Family Guy has become one of Fox’s most successful animations, even winning several Primetime Emmys.
- Cast
- Seth MacFarlane , Alex Borstein , Seth Green , Lacey Chabert , Mila Kunis , Mike Henry , Patrick Warburton
- Release Date
- January 31, 1999
- Seasons
- 21
- Family Guy (1999)
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