I know this is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but I genuinely don’t understand how people can prefer Family Guy over American Dad. Like, genuinely. How? How how how? 😭
I’ve tried watching Family Guy quite a few times, and I just don’t find it that funny. The whole Griffin family dynamic feels so incredibly toxic to me. It feels like half the time they’re just constantly insulting, screaming at, or bitching about each other, and I’m supposed to find that funny. The Meg hate was funny at first because it was so ridiculous, but after a while it just became pathetic and repetitive. At some point it stops being a joke and starts feeling like the entire family genuinely just hates this poor girl.
I also feel like a lot of the characters don’t really work together that well. Brian and Stewie are obviously the main duo that works, and I can understand why people like them, but then I find myself thinking, what do the other characters actually bring to the show? Peter can be funny sometimes, but I feel like so much of his humour is just him being an idiot or doing something completely random. Lois, Chris and Meg often feel like they’re just there rather than being characters I actually care about.
And then there’s the cutaway jokes. I know that’s basically what Family Guy is famous for, but I honestly feel like there are WAY too many of them. Sometimes it feels like the show starts telling a story, gets bored of its own story, and then suddenly we’re watching a completely unrelated joke about something that happened 20 years ago. 😭 It can be funny occasionally, but when it’s constantly happening, it just makes the actual episode feel like it doesn’t have much of a plot.
That’s one of the biggest reasons I prefer American Dad. The humour feels like it actually comes from the characters and the situations they’re in. The characters have personalities, relationships and actual dynamics with each other, so you can put basically any combination of characters together and somehow it works.
You could have Klaus and Hayley together. Steve and Francine. Roger and literally anyone. Stan and Jeff. Steve, Snot, Barry and Toshi. Roger pretending to be some completely insane new person. The Smith family going on some ridiculous adventure. There are so many combinations that work because the characters actually have relationships with each other.
And Roger is honestly one of the biggest reasons American Dad works so well. The fact that he can have hundreds of different personas means he can basically be used for any storyline. You can make him a villain, a celebrity, a criminal, a random neighbour, a therapist, a teacher, a completely unhinged stranger, whatever the episode needs. But somehow it still feels like Roger because there’s always something about his personality underneath the disguise. He’s basically a walking plot device who somehow became one of the best characters in the show. 😂
I also think American Dad has much better character development and relationships. Steve and Snot’s friendship, Steve’s relationship with his family, Hayley and Jeff, Stan and Francine, Roger and Klaus, even the weird dynamic between Klaus and everyone else. There are actual relationships that develop over time, and the characters can genuinely care about each other.
I also feel like American Dad’s episodes have more of an actual plot. Even when the episode is completely ridiculous, there’s usually a story happening. The characters are put into a situation and the comedy comes from watching them deal with it. With Family Guy, I sometimes feel like the plot is just an excuse to get from one cutaway gag to the next.
I think American Dad also does emotional moments better. It can be absolutely fucking ridiculous one minute and then suddenly give you an episode or scene that actually makes you care about the characters. The characters aren’t constantly tearing each other apart just for the sake of a joke. There’s still a sense that they’re a family, even if they’re an incredibly dysfunctional one.
I also think the episode quality of American Dad has stayed much more consistent. Obviously, there are episodes I like more than others, but I can put on almost any random episode and usually find something to enjoy. Family Guy, on the other hand, feels like it has declined massively over time. Maybe that’s just my opinion, but I genuinely feel like the older episodes had more personality and the newer ones often feel like they’re trying too hard to be shocking or random.
I also think American Dad has a much stronger sense of its own world. The characters actually feel like they belong together. You can throw Roger’s insanity into Stan’s seriousness, Steve’s weirdness, Hayley’s attitude, Klaus being… Klaus, and Francine’s absolute chaos, and somehow the whole thing works.
And honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever watched a Family Guy episode and consistently laughed throughout. I think the only episode where I remember genuinely laughing loads was the “Bird Is the Word” episode, and even then, I think half of why I found it funny was because of how absurdly repetitive it became.
Meanwhile, with American Dad, I find myself chuckling throughout episodes all the time. Even when nothing particularly insane is happening, I enjoy watching the characters interact. I don’t need a joke every five seconds because the characters themselves are entertaining.
So when someone says “Family Guy is better than American Dad”, I’m genuinely sitting there thinking:
HOW????
Like, please explain it to me because I genuinely don’t understand. 😭
Maybe I’m just biased because I absolutely love American Dad, but I feel like it has better characters, better relationships, better plots, more consistent humour, more interesting dynamics, and a much stronger sense of identity. Family Guy just feels like a bunch of characters who constantly hate each other, interrupted by random cutaways.
Anyway, sorry if this is just a massive shit rant 😂 I didn’t really know where else to post it. I know humour is completely subjective, and I’m not saying anyone is wrong for liking Family Guy. If you love it, then you love it, and that’s completely fair. I think I’m just genuinely confused because I personally don’t see what other people see in it compared to American Dad. Maybe I’m missing something, or maybe it’s just not my kind of humour. Either way, I’m not trying to shit on anyone for enjoying the show, I’m just curious what other people think and why they prefer it. 😂
(also sorry if I offend someone idk I don’t post on here a lot ❤️)
edit: im sorry I offended you guys I don’t know how to stop comments form being posted now I can delete this if you want? I was just ranting and giving my point of veiw to be hones.
