Family Guy’s 20 Darkest Episodes

The following contains discussions of violence, abuse, terrorism, and ableism.

When Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy first hit Fox’s airwaves the surprisingly dark jokes came as a shock, and the darkest episodes of Family Guy are still highly controversial years — even decades — later. Though often uncomfortable and controversial, much of Family Guy‘s identity is tied to its proclivity for potentially-distasteful humor. Making light of everything from the assassinations of prominent political figures to all-too-soon topical jokes, there’s almost nothing from which the showrunners will shy away. There are almost uncountable moments in Family Guy meant entirely to offend, and some are definitely more palatable than others. The darkest Family Guy episodes are just the most egregious examples of the show’s over-the-top satire and cutting humor — although many go above and beyond the regular line-crossing Family Guy is known for.

Family Guy has often been criticized as a pale imitation of The Simpsons, and the show’s emphasis on the everyday suburban family made the comparison undeniably apt. However, the series eventually manifested a unique personality, brand, and sense of humor, and Family Guy went on to carve a singular niche as the much darker cousin to The Simpsons. Family Guy’s willingness to go to much more offensive and challenging places than The Simpsons, exploring dicier themes and pushing the boundaries of network television, has resulted in these unremittingly dark and controversial installments.

20 Fresh Heir (Season 12, Episode 14)

Like a surprising number of Family Guy episodes, season 12, episode 14, “Fresh Heir” has an incestuous-based premise, as Peter attempts to marry his own son, Chris, in order to get his hands on the Pewterschmidt fortune, to which Chris is the heir. Even though that’s already something of a weird and dark narrative, what makes “Fresh Heir” one of the darkest episodes of Family Guy due to the ways in which he tries to win his own son’s love. Peter literally kills an innocent child, and then proposes to Chris with Lois’s ring. Family Guy isn’t exactly a show about learning lessons, but “Fresh Heir” is totally soulless.

19 The 2000-Year-Old Virgin (Season 13, Episode 6)

Religion is another subject that Family Guy has never shied away from when it comes to offensive humor, and season 13, episode 6, “The 2000-Year-Old Virgin” is no different. The episode follows Jesus as he tricks men into believing he’s a virgin so he can sleep with their wives, alienating a whole religious group by depicting Jesus Christ as an absolute sleazeball who emotionally manipulates women. Though Family Guy isn’t the only sitcom that has religion in its crosshairs, few are as quick to depict messiahs and prophets as sleazebags. That kind of blasphemy certainly isn’t appreciated among certain religious groups, and this episode of course caused a significant amount of backlash among the Christian community.

18 Brian Griffin’s House Of Payne (Season 8, Episode 15)

Season 8, episode 15 doesn’t alienate any kind of religious group nor does it make fun of catastrophic real-life events, so there’s no guilt to bear if “Brian Griffin’s House of Payne” encourages some laughs. However, it’s still of the darkest episodes of Family Guy, as it follows the whole Griffin family essentially treating Stewie like a ragdoll. After Meg and Chris accidentally injure Stewie by knocking him down the stairs, the blame keeps getting passed around, which leads to Peter making Lois unknowingly run her baby over. It’s unquestionably dark, but it’s also a welcome episode for some fans who hate Stewie Griffin.

17 Con Heiress (Season 17, Episode 8)

Chris is usually the most wholesome Family Guy character (though not by much), and while his morals are often still questionable, he’s the easiest to empathize with. However, that all goes out of the window in season 17, episode 8, “Con Heiress.” The episode delves into the long-running relationship between Chris and Herbet, the vulgar old man who doesn’t hide his attraction to the teenager. When Herbert confuses Peter for a teenager and becomes sexually attracted to him, Chris gets jealous and fights with his father for Herbert’s attention. Though Family Guy indulges in this kind of unpleasant storytelling, the show has never felt ickier than this entry into the darkest Family Guy episodes.

16 Brian The Closer (Season 13, Episode 4)

Season 13, episode 4, “Brian the Closer” sees every character indulging in their absolute worst traits. The episode is full of negativity, whether it’s planning to murder spouses, conning friends, and animal abuse, even if Brian is as anthropomorphic as it comes. Firstly, Peter refuses to pay for Brian’s facial injury, of which he was accountable. Then, in one of the rare times Quagmire is a decent human being and friend by fixing Brian’s face, Brian responds by conning him, selling him a horrible home with so many problems. But darkest of all, Bonnie buys a home on a cliff edge with plans to kill Joe.

15 Seahorse Seashell Party (Season 10, Episode 2)

When Fox did a crossover event with hurricane-themed episodes of Family Guy, American Dad!, and The Cleveland Show, Family Guy’s entry in season 10, episode 2, “Night of the Hurricane” pantheon took a strange turn and led to one of the darkest Family Guy episodes. Stuck in the house during the storm, Brian decides to take magic mushrooms and has a really bad trip. There’s a lot of fun to be had with the surrealist animation as Brian hallucinates and Stewie helps him through it, but it’s more disturbing than funny, often evoking upsetting themes and playing on the paranoia of unfortunate experiences with recreational drugs.

14 No Meals On Wheels (Season 5, Episode 14)

After Peter receives a financial windfall in season 5, episode 14, “No Meals on Wheels,” he uses it to open his own restaurant. Unfortunately, he struggles to maintain a loyal clientele, leading Joe to step in and make it the go-to hangout spot for his friends. To Peter’s dismay, his friends are all paraplegic. Believing that this would somehow further impact his business, Peter bars them from the establishment, prompting a fight between the friends. As silly as it is insensitive, “No Meals on Wheels” is a particularly goofy episode of Family Guy. While the show often forces Joe to be the butt of many jokes, it feels particularly out-of-hand in this season 5 outing.

13 Stewie Is Enceinte (Season 13, Episode 12)

When he becomes worried that he and Brian’s relationship is falling apart in season 13, episode 12 “Stewie is Enceinte,” Stewie secretly takes some of the dog’s DNA and impregnates himself with it, resulting in a troubling litter of dog-human hybrid creatures. Brian and Stewie end up with way more kids than they can handle in one of the darkest Family Guy episodes. Most of their offspring have birth defects, necessitating round-the-clock care that ill-prepared parents Brian and Stewie can’t afford. Eventually, they ditch their kids at an animal shelter. It’s a grim take on domestic mistreatment paired with a certain Cronenberg-like unpleasantness.

12 Trading Places (Season 9, Episode 13)

Chris works at a brewery and Meg becomes a homemaker, while Peter and Lois go to high school in season 9, episode 13, “Trading Places,” in order to determine whether it’s easier to be an adult or a kid. Chris ends up being so good at Peter’s job that he’s hired permanently. However, the stress of being the breadwinner of the house at such a young age gets to Chris, and he starts drinking heavily, having heart palpitations, and verbally abusing his family at every opportunity. It’s a not-so-fun shoe-on-the-other-foot scenario that may cut a little too close to home in some cases.

11 Death Is A B**** (Season 2, Episode 6)

In this season 2, episode 6, “Death Is a B****,” Peter marks himself as diseased in order to evade a pricey hospital bill. However, this prompts a visit from Death himself, who later twists an ankle in pursuit of Peter. Peter must then temporarily assume Death’s duties while he is recovering. While it’s overall fairly light-hearted and features a guest spot from the late comedian Norm MacDonald, “Death is a B****” is one of the darkest Family Guy episodes both figuratively and literally. It deals with incredibly heavy subject matter, particularly during the finale sequence in which Peter must decide who to kill during a potentially-fatal plane crash.

10 Partial Terms Of Endearment (Season 8, Episode 21)

While it is available on home media, season 8, episode 12, “Partial Terms of Endearment” has never been allowed to air in the United States. Fox refused to broadcast the episode and requested that Adult Swim not air it, either. Ironically, this likely drew more attention to the episode than if Fox had just aired it. In the episode, Lois is asked by friends to be a surrogate mother. She gets pregnant, then the friends who were going to raise the baby die, so Lois has to decide whether to raise it herself or get an abortion. It’s a scathingly sardonic episode with a premise that doesn’t feel fit for a comedy series in the slightest, not even the typically dark Family Guy.

9 Airport ’07 (Season 5, Episode 12)

A loose parody of the classic 1980s comedy Airplane!, “Aiport ’07” sees Peter and the gang stage an airplane hijacking in order to portray Quagmire as a hero of aviation, thereby reinstating his pilot position from which he was fired. Things don’t go according to plan, though Quagmire is able to save the day at the last second. Memorable thanks to a cameo from the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, “Airport ’07” draws a few uncomfortable parallels to the September 11th attacks. It’s also notable for its out-of-place “Prom Night Dumpster Baby” cutaway gag, cementing it as one of the darkest Family Guy episodes.

8 Halloween On Spooner Street (Season 9, Episode 4)

Chris and Meg go to a party with the hopes of finding someone to hook up with in “Halloween on Spooner Street.” However, they unwittingly hook up with each other, and after being initially horrified by the revelation, they decide to just enjoy the fact that they hooked up, despite it being incestuous. Meanwhile, Peter and Joe develop a habit of pranking Quagmire. Sick of their antics, Quagmire takes them for a near-fatal ride in a Japanese World War 2-era fighter plane. The episode is offensive on all fronts, and while that’s the case with pretty much all the darkest Family Guy episodes, “Halloween on Spooner Street” arguably went way too far.

7 Brian & Stewie (Season 8, Episode 17)

The episode’s titular duo of Brian and Stewie is trapped in a bank vault over a weekend in the extra-long 150th episode of Family Guy. The lack of cutaway gags and location changes puts the focus squarely on the characters, allowing for some uncharacteristic soul-searching. The darkest point in the episode is when Stewie finds a gun in Brian’s safe deposit box and Brian reveals his dark reasons for keeping it. Unflinchingly morbid, “Brian and Stewie” strays from the show’s typical laugh-a-minute routine, forcing viewers through an uncomfortable emotional gauntlet.

6 Turban Cowboy (Season 11, Episode 15)

Peter befriends a Muslim man named Mahmoud in season 11, episode 15, “Turban Cowboy,” and, since the most offensive stereotypes are indulged at every turn in Family Guy, Mahmoud turns out to be a radical extremist plotting an attack. To cement “Turban Cowboy” as one of the darkest episodes of Family Guy, it also features a gag about Peter killing a bunch of people at the Boston Marathon, airing just a couple of weeks before the tragic Boston Marathon bombings. Line-crossing to some and outright insensitive to others, “Turban Cowboy” showcased just how unafraid Family Guy‘s showrunners were to make light of taboo subjects.

5 Send In Stewie, Please (Season 16, Episode 12)

Ian McKellen guest-starred as a child therapist who was appointed to counsel Stewie after an altercation with one of his classmates in “Send in Stewie, Please.” The whole episode takes place in the therapist’s office, beginning with Stewie deducing everything about the therapist’s personal life from the personal touches around the room. Throughout the episode, the therapist gets Stewie to open up and reveal that he puts on his pseudo-British accent. However, Stewie doesn’t like someone knowing his secret and decides not to save the therapist when he starts dying.

4 A Shot In The Dark (Season 14, Episode 9)

Taking inspiration from the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin which took place three years prior to the episode’s debut, “A Shot in the Dark” begins with Peter setting up a neighborhood watch organization and accidentally shooting Cleveland, Jr. when he thought he was breaking into his own house. The ensuing court case in which Carter’s lawyers do everything in their power to discredit Cleveland, Jr. is a poignant-yet-unsubtle take on how the justice system handles these cases. Unfortunately, Family Guy isn’t known for its moving social satire, and the episode can feel more like a reckless jab than honest criticism.

3 Road To Germany (Season 7, Episode 3)

One of the most celebrated of the “Road To” collection of Family Guy episodes, “Road to Germany” sees Brian and Stewie time travel to 1939 Poland in pursuit of Mort, who accidentally stumbled into Stewie’s time machine. Rife with extremely crass humor and featuring elaborate gags involving fascist dictators, “Road to Germany” makes light of some incredibly sensitive subjects. It’s a very on-brand outing for the series, but those potentially upset by subject matter relating to World War II will absolutely want to steer clear. The episode is firmly regarded as one of the darkest Family Guy episodes for obvious reasons.

2 Screams Of Silence: The Story Of Brenda Q (Season 10, Episode 3)

Widely regarded to be one of Family Guy’s worst episodes, “Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q” revolves around Quagmire’s sister’s physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her fiancé. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia alum Kaitlin Olson was squandered with a guest spot in an episode that has no redeeming comedic value. Whenever Family Guy tries to get serious, it horribly falls flat, and that’s exactly what happens in “Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q.” The episode oversimplifies its subject matter and presents all the wrong messages.

1 Life of Brian (Season 12, Episode 6)

One of the darkest episodes of Family Guy ever aired, Season 12, episode 6, “Life of Brian” depicts the death of one of Family Guy‘s most beloved characters following a car accident. Straight-faced and emotional, “Life of Brian” is an out-of-left-field gut-punch for fans of Family Guy, and it didn’t go over particularly well. Brian was briefly replaced by Vinny, but showrunners eventually listened to the outcry from fans and returned Brian to the series. Changes can help to maintain a show’s appeal, but that’s very rarely the case with Family Guy, whether it’s trying to get serious or killing off a beloved character.