'Family Guy' Star's Mom Tried To Get The Show Cancelled

By Andrew Sanford | TV | April 23, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | April 23, 2024 |

Family Guy debuted 25 years ago. It barely got its footing before being moved around on Fox’s schedule and canceled. It seemed like the only way to watch the show was to get your hands on the DVDs. Then, the show was moved to Adult Swim and got so popular that it was revived on Fox’s airwaves and is currently in its 22nd season.

The show was almost a blip in the television landscape but has become culturally iconic instead. It has been memed, quoted, and referenced ad nauseam. Characters have been killed, revived, and recast. You can’t wear a white button-up shirt with green pants and not expect to be compared to Peter Griffin. Family Guy is a massive success, but the parents of one of the show’s stars want to see it end.

The Wrap reports that the cast recently gathered at PaleyFest to celebrate the show’s impressive anniversary. Rich Appel, one of the showrunners, asked Patrick Warburton, “You come from a fairly religious family. Are they all huge Family Guy fans?” Warburton voices Joe Swanson on the show. With that kind of gainful employment, you’d think they’d be happy no matter what. Not so!

“Thomas Merton was [my Dad’s] spiritual advisor, a very famous Catholic scholar,” Warburton told the crowd. “You’d know who he was if you weren’t heathens and watch Family Guy. When I was 13 years old, [I was] passing out pamphlets on the sins of masturbation, which did not get me into the cool crowd.” Masturbation is, at worst, one of the milder topics the show has covered over the years. So, it makes sense that Warburton’s parents were not pleased with his new job.

Warburton claims that his mom tried to end the show. It’s not like she was standing on the sidewalks outside Fox demanding it stop. As Patrick explains, his mom was in a position to get the show off the air. “My mother was in the American Television Council and they were trying to get the show canceled, and I was helping support my parents with Family Guy money,” Warburton explained. “It’s been a nightmare. They hate it more today.”

Was Warburton’s mom responsible for the show’s first cancelation? The star didn’t say. At the least, she likely wasn’t upset about it. I doubt she came around to the show, though. The Simpsons, at one point, won over religious fans. That’s not something Family Guy seemed interested in doing.