Family Guy (season 20)

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Family Guy
Season 20
Familyguyitunesseason20.jpg
Digital purchase image
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes11
Release
Original networkFox
Original releaseSeptember 26, 2021 (2021-09-26) –
present (present)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 19
List of episodes

Family Guy's milestone twentieth season debuted on Fox on September 26, 2021.

Season twenty premiered the run of nineteenth production season, which is executive produced by Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Richard Appel, Steve Callaghan, Danny Smith, Kara Vallow, Mark Hentemann, Tom Devanney, and Patrick Meighan. Sulkin and Appel returned as the series' showrunners.

Production[]

On September 23, 2020, Fox announced that Family Guy had been renewed for a twentieth and twenty-first season, ensuring that the series would last another two years.[1]

This season also marks the first full season of the series in which Cleveland Brown is voiced by Arif Zahir, following Mike Henry's departure from the role. Henry will still continue to voice Herbert and other characters in the series afterward. Before the premiere, Henry sent a video on Twitter saying that he was "handing the torch" onto Zahir and said a farewell message in Cleveland's voice.[2]

Starting with "Rock Hard", long-time recurring actor Patrick Warburton was promoted to the main cast.

Release[]

The season premiered on September 26, 2021,[3] airing on Sundays as part of Fox's Animation Domination programming block, along with The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, and The Great North. In the UK, the season started airing new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+ through its Star hub starting on November 3rd.[4]

Episodes[]

See also: List of Family Guy episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [5]Directed byWritten by [6]Original air date [5]Prod.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
3701"LASIK Instinct"Steve RobertsonKirker ButlerSeptember 26, 2021 (2021-09-26)LACX021.56[7]
Lois accidentally hits Doug with her car while dropping Stewie off at daycare. Doug's parents state in order to prevent them from pressing charges, Lois has to build Doug a tree house and go get her eyes checked, and she agrees to have the boys build it while she goes to the doctor to check out her vision. Dr. Hartman convinces Lois to get LASIK to correct her vision. However, the surgery is botched thanks to Dr. Hartman's cat, so she is rendered blind. Lois feels unseen as a result, so Meg, who feels unseen all the time, advises her mother to vent online, which is the only normal technique that makes her feel better. Lois becomes an internet celebrity as she starts the ICU program and exploits her condition for financial gain, but is surprised to discover her sight has come back. She attempts to keep the charade going until she accidentally outs herself on The Helen Disingenuous Show upon Reese Witherspoon bringing out a giant check, where she owns up to her mistakes. Meanwhile, after building Doug's tree house, the male Griffins are tasked to keep spending time with Doug in order to avoid a lawsuit by his father. Eventually, a fed up Stewie tells Doug they would rather be sued, since Peter basically has nothing, seeing as he drove Brian's car there. Stewie tries to call Doug's father to end the deal, but learns he was just faking the extra demands to make up for his father's neglect, and actually enjoyed their time together. Doug's dad arrives only to get his phone from Doug and immediately leaves to be with his mistress. While Brian and Chris plan to poop in the shoes of Doug's father, Stewie agrees to be friends with him in private as long as they remain rivals in public.
3712"Rock Hard"Greg ColtonMatt McElaneyOctober 3, 2021 (2021-10-03)KACX201.28[8]

While at an old record store, Peter and his friends recount tales of three rock legends:

  • Peter imagines himself as Jim Morrison, who founds The Doors alongside Ray Manzarek, but various personal issues start to affect his music career, culminating in his death via a heroin overdose.
  • Spoofing Green Book, Jerome imagines himself as Muddy Waters (referred to as "Muddy Drawers"), who sells his soul to the devil in order to better his musical ability. His music career ends up in ruins when his new Italian American friend steals his songs, revealing himself to be Elvis Presley, and gets famous without giving him credit, leaving Muddy stuck in obscurity.
  • Stewie envisions himself as Elton John, who is pushed by his parents to become a gay musician. He then faces stress from his manager and drugs and manages to become a music icon. After being in the hospital, Elton wants him and his music writer to "do where are they now", only for him to be sad of how he ends up looking, then the two switch over to roasting Sean Hannity.

After the stories, Peter states they should remember the four member band from the 60's who changed music forever. Quagmire thinks Peter is referring to The Beatles, but Peter says he was referring to The Trashmen, proceeding into a clip of "Surfin' Bird" with Peter, Cleveland, Joe and Quagmire as the band.

NOTE: This episode was dedicated to Norm Macdonald, who had died the previous month from acute leukemia. However, the dedication is cut out from streaming versions.

3723"Must Love Dogs"Mike KimDaniel PeckOctober 10, 2021 (2021-10-10)KACX181.67[9]
On Halloween night, Quagmire meets a woman named Carrie taking her niece trick or treating and the two hit it off. On a subsequent date, she reveals that she is an avid dog lover. Quagmire is shocked at this, but lies about loving dogs as well in order to keep the relationship going, and asks Brian to pose as his dog. Brian agrees, but only so he can see the relationship fail; he ups the ante by making Carrie think Quagmire proposed, and she accepts. Once she moves in, Quagmire is horrified at how her many dogs are ruining his life and he reaches his wits' end at the engagement party as a party guest (Haley Tju) compliments the dogs. After getting trampled by her dogs due to him saying walk in his engagement speech, he reveals that he actually hates dogs and that he recruited Brian to help out. Carrie breaks up with him, not because of his tastes, but because he lied to her. Quagmire admits that Brian was right, but vows revenge on him for ruining the relationship. Meanwhile, Stewie discovers that half of his Halloween candy was stolen, and Chris tells him it was Peter who did the same to Chris when he was young and offers to help Stewie. Chris advises his brother to hide it in the backyard, but Stewie later finds that the rest of his candy was stolen and expresses great grief. Unbeknownst to him, Chris was working with Peter to rob Stewie.
3734"80's Guy"John HolmquistPatrick MeighanOctober 17, 2021 (2021-10-17)LACX011.37[10]
Peter gives Chris some 1980s movies so he can learn how to impress a girl. When this gets Chris in trouble upon him being brought home by Joe, Peter is chastised for referencing his favorite decade, as a lot of the values espoused by its entertainment have not aged well. Undeterred, Peter attempts to prove to the family the 80s are still good, but is convinced otherwise after killing the Caddyshack gopher. Peter then tries to find other decades to explore, much to Lois' consternation. Peter is heartbroken at the fact that the 80s are no longer good and tries to commit suicide, but the Ghost of John Hughes tells him the 80s were simply a time of trying new things and convinces Peter to move on. Meanwhile, Stewie is sick of Doug upstaging him, so he volunteers to retrieve a frisbee that landed at the top of the jungle gym, which Doug says is a death trap to kids. The next day, Stewie is prepared to climb, but is surprised when Doug plans to do it as well. The two race to the top, and although Stewie wins, his foot gets stuck. Doug offers to help him out, and the two have a heart-to-heart about their rivalry. Stewie gives Doug the frisbee, but learns their bonding was a ploy to get the frisbee and hog the glory, but Stewie frees himself and catches up. They both fall to the ground, but realize they were not as high up as they thought. They share the credit for retrieving the frisbee, only to find that the kids who watched them climb the jungle gym have all left and replaced with other kids who say what they did meant nothing to them. The boys assure they are now friends and a movie is soon made about their adventure as Stewie sees the trailer.
3745"Brief Encounter"Brian IlesTravis BoweOctober 24, 2021 (2021-10-24)KACX191.38[11]
Peter and the guys discover Duds & Suds, a laundromat that sells beer, and decide to wash their clothes there, while also describing which brands of underwear they use. However, Peter and Quagmire end up switching briefs by mistake, and start acting like each other. Quagmire uses Peter's laugh, makes immature jokes, becomes obsessed with "Surfin' Bird" and has an unseen fight with Ernie the Giant Chicken; all the while Peter uses Quagmire's catchphrases, has excessive sex with Lois, and treats Brian with contempt. Joe deduces that they swapped briefs, and even after they switch back, the two still feel awkward and figure that such an event destroys their masculinity and that they cannot be friends anymore. However, after Lois explains how it should not kill a friendship, Peter and Quagmire reconcile. Meanwhile, Stewie wants to get rid of Chi Chi, a stuffed monkey that Lois gives him, since his presence complicates his relationship with Rupert. When Doug confesses to having a similar issue with Miss Tiggywinkles, the two agree to commit each other's murders. Doug "kills" Chi Chi by pushing him off a bookshelf, but Stewie is hesitant to kill Tiggywinkles upon finding that she is a real cat. Doug bribes Stewie with the chance to hang with Doug's kindergarten friends. Stewie bribes Brian into killing Tiggywinkles, but this attempt fails too when Tiggywinkles beats up Brian. Eventually, Tiggywinkles is either killed by Doug or died of natural causes. Either way, Doug prepares to send a photo of Stewie holding the cat. Stewie chases after Doug which gets interrupted when Doug's bully Tyler (Patton Oswalt) drives up and insults Doug. Doug mentions to Stewie that Tyler's "Doug" is his drunken stepfather.
3756"Cootie & The Blowhard"Jerry LangfordMaggie MullNovember 7, 2021 (2021-11-07)LACX031.57[12]
Stewie learns that he has cooties after sharing the Play-Doh with a girl in his class. Doug, who is playing doctor, backs up her claim and states that he is terminal. Stewie makes several attempts to become at peace with his death and raise awareness of his disease, but Brian will not take him seriously. He eventually heads to Burlington to get put down, but Brian talks him out of it by stating that he should just feel lucky to be alive and value whatever time he has left, even going so far as to eat the "tainted" Play-Doh in solidarity. Meanwhile, Joe goes away on a stakeout after Brian's tenth birthday party. When Peter tries to find him at his house, Bonnie offers him to stay for dinner where he becomes addicted to her cooking and is unable to enjoy what Lois makes. Although he continues to eat behind his family's back, Peter has trouble keeping what happened at the Swansons' a secret, viewing it as an affair of sorts. He eventually comes clean only to find that Lois does not care about what he did as it makes things easier for her, but does feel hurt by it.
3767"Peterschmidt Manor"Joseph LeeMatt PabianNovember 14, 2021 (2021-11-14)LACX041.11[13]
Peter buys a new pitching machine and becomes obsessed with it. When he attempts to use it to unclog a toilet, he ends up flooding the house, forcing the Griffins to live at Pewterschmidt Manor for the time being. Carter needs them to stay so he can attend the funeral of Lois' childhood nanny Meredith who abruptly quit while she was still young. While Lois heads off to the funeral with Carter, the others turn the manor into a hotel. Amidst all the shenanigans, Stewie and Brian attempt to set up Elle Hitler with Dr. Hartman, but ends up causing a love triangle between them and Principal Shepherd. When Elle chooses Hartman because he has money, Stewie ties up loose ends by tripping Hartman's mother into Shepherd's arms. Meanwhile, Lois and Carter make the drive to the funeral home three states over. Through Meredith's intermittently blind sister Jacqueline, Lois learns that Meredith was actually fired by Carter after Babs learned the two had an affair. Lois is furious at her father for ruining her childhood and ridding her of the one person who was there for her. While refusing to speak to him after the funeral, she falls asleep on the drive home as Carter calls in a favor from someone who he previously picked up from LAX. Arriving home, Carter shows Lois a man-made lake near his house where Lois can hang out whenever she misses Meredith.
3778"The Birthday Bootlegger"Julius WuMark HentemannNovember 21, 2021 (2021-11-21)LACX051.68[14]
Peter is put in charge of extravagant monthly celebrations at the brewery in order to celebrate office birthdays including the musical number "June is Busting Out All Over" with Leslie Uggams, but these are soon quelled by the new manager Preston Lloyd (Peter Macon) who favors productivity above all else. Peter retaliates by throwing speakeasy-type secret parties inside an overlooked conference room. During one celebration, he borrows Marty McFly's amp and the noise gives him away due to it being near Preston's office where the sound knocks everything off his wall. This causes Preston to fire him. Meanwhile, Stewie pulls a prank on Doug and gives him a nosebleed, earning him his third strike and thus a one-day detention at the elementary school which Miss Tammy takes him to across the street. He views this as actual prison and comes out a ruffian, taking his anger out on his family. He tortures Chris by forcing him to watch a kiddie cartoon and threatens Rupert over not visiting him during detention. Lois manages to calm him down with a bubble bath, although he still has a back tattoo from the experience much to Brian's surprise. When Peter shows up at the office to collect his belongings, Opie, Stella, and the other workers show solidarity with him. This convinces Preston to rehire him, figuring that the employees might be more willing to work if they get to party each month.
3789"The Fatman Always Rings Twice"Joe VauxAlex CarterNovember 28, 2021 (2021-11-28)LACX061.45[15]
In a 1940s film noir version of Quahog, Mac Bookpro (Peter Griffin) is a "Private Dick", who has just solved a case involving the unfaithful wife of Seamus. Soon after, he is greeted by Heddy Toothbrace (Lois Griffin), who asks him to investigate the case of her missing daughter, Sister Megan (Meg Griffin). Mac searches various places and starts to suspect Cardinal St. Louis (Carter Pewterschmidt), but after almost getting assaulted by Bogey (Mort Goldman) and Bacaw (Ernie the Giant Chicken), he soon hears about Megan's murder by gunshot. He discovers a roll of film in her remains. While the film is developing, he takes Heddy on a date. The pictures reveal that Heddy and the Cardinal are in cahoots with the mob, which is backed up by lesser mob member Karol (Chris Griffin), who discloses his underground alcohol business and his plans to corner the market. Mac heads to the church to confront the Cardinal, only to find him stabbed to death. Officer Ace Hardware (portrayed by Joe Swanson) shows up, stating that the bullet found in Megan matches the ones found in Mac's gun, and the murder turns out to be a setup to frame Mac and get him locked up. Mac is bailed out by newspaper reporter Red Weiner (Brian Griffin) and pursues Heddy to the harbor, where she reveals that she is innocent and was only fleeing the town for her own safety. Mac's cross-dressing secretary Fanny Patbottom (Stewie Griffin) reveals himself to be one of Megan's former orphans, whom she abused while the Cardinal was too busy with his bootlegging. Plotting revenge on everyone who did him wrong, he prepares to kill Mac with his own gun, but is knocked out by Seamus and arrested by Hardware and the police. With the case closed, Mac and Heddy prepare to marry in Hawaii, while Fanny is taken to the asylum to be lobotomized and castrated.
37910"Christmas Crime"Mike KimSteve CallaghanDecember 19, 2021 (2021-12-19)LACX071.53[16]

The Griffins gear up for Christmas as they witness Mayor Wild West unveiling a nativity scene he carved himself, but Brian is feeling cynical about the holiday, mainly because of its emphasis on commercialism. After a few too many drinks at the Drunken Clam, he accidentally rams his car into the nativity scene and hides the evidence by parking it among the other clunkers in the Spirit Airlines parking lot. West begins to question everyone in Quahog about the disappearance of his art, briefly hiring Brian to try and sniff out evidence, but eventually decides to cancel Christmas until the culprit is found, much to the family's disappointment. While picking up his aunt at the airport and getting tipped off by Stewie who wanted a Happy Asking Panda toy, West discovers an imprint of baby Jesus' head in the hood of Brian's car and has him arrested. From his cell at the Quahog Police Department, Brian sees how happy everyone is on Christmas, including Stewie who got his Happy Asking Panda, and discovers that the holiday is not just about commercialism, but also family. West has Brian released from his cell, explaining that it was all a ruse to help him learn the true meaning of Christmas. As Stewie uses the Happy Asking Panda's features, its factory in China is revealed to be using its Happy Asking Panda toy to seize American assets by collecting banking information. The head of the factory learns from one of his workers that they found $17.00 in the Griffin family account, which is not enough to cover the $23.00 used to make it.

NOTE: This episode was made available on Hulu several hours before its airing.
38011"Mister Act"Brian IlesArtie JohannJanuary 9, 2022 (2022-01-09)LACX081.39[17]
For Valentine's Day, Peter buys Lois a stationary bike known as a "Pedalton" after hearing about it during the second hour of The Today Show. Lois quickly becomes addicted to riding it, gaining a buff, masculine physique out of it. Peter is encouraged to try the bike as well, but injures his testicles, resulting in a higher pitched voice. While at church, the pastor makes note of this and has him join the choir, although the choir boys are not pleased with him overshadowing them. Peter recruits Jesus Christ to help him fight back, who trains him in a similar vein to The Karate Kid; he wins, but a crucifix falls on him, reverting his voice to normal. Meanwhile, Stewie finds himself aroused by Lois' new body and misconstrues all of her gestures as flirting, especially during a "Mommy & Me" class, after which she lets him sleep in her bed the following night. When Stewie tries to replicate the "romantic" evening, however, he learns that his mother's body has returned to normal, due to her quitting after three days upon realizing how masculine her body was turning out.
38112"The Lois Quagmire"TBAEvan WalteFebruary 27, 2022 (2022-02-27)LACX09TBD
38213"Lawyer Guy"TBAPatrick MeighanMarch 6, 2022 (2022-03-06)LACX10TBD
38314"HBO-No"TBATravis BoweMarch 13, 2022 (2022-03-13)LACX11TBD

References[]

  1. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 23, 2020). "'Family Guy' & 'Bob's Burgers' Get Two-Season Renewals At Fox". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Flook, Ray (September 26, 2021). "Family Guy: Mike Henry Wishes "Cleveland Brown" Arif Zahir Best Wishes". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  3. ^ "'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' 'Family Guy' & More TV Faves on Sundays This Fall". TV Insider. September 26, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  4. ^ “FAMILY GUY” SEASON 20 COMING EXCLUSIVELY TO DISNEY+ (UK/IRELAND)
  5. ^ a b "Family Guy on Fox". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  6. ^ "Family Guy". WGA Directory. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  7. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 28, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 9.26.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  8. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 5, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 10.3.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  9. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 12, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 10.10.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  10. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 19, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 10.17.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  11. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 26, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 10.24.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  12. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 9, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 11.7.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 16, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 11.14.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  14. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 23, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 11.21.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 1, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 11.28.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  16. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 21, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 12.19.2021 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  17. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (January 11, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 1.9.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
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