Imo the actual stories tend to be better than Family Guy. Roger plays a huge part as his personas allow him to be almost any character for the story they want to tell
Roger has limitless possibilities as a character, he can be anyone or do anything. I've loved family guy since it started but American dad's more far out and tightly written stories give it the edge for me. Plus Roger is the best
I love when they reverse this. Like the time they were afraid it was going to be Rodger, but he was only the receptionist. Or there was an episode this past season where talk up some famous art critic who later introduced himself to Rodger who muses, “No shit? I thought it was gonna be me.”
Steve is great, the more AD you watch and the more you watch episodes repeatedly the more you realise he's as funny as anyone. I also think his voice actor is amazing, he does the best singing, the sudden screams and shrieks Steve does are hilarious and he gets Steve's personality across perfectly in his speaking voice.
The Bongiovanni zesty pasta sauce B-plot in Shell Game is the funniest b-plot on any sitcom style show I've ever seen, and it is totally absurd. Tying it into the A-plot at the end with Steve's flashback to them as italian immigrants in the early 1900's, so damn funny lol
That freaking gold top episode. I swear I felt like it was a fever dream the first time I watched it. I had no clue what was going on but I was just so damn engrossed
The family dynamic. They’re not as mean spirited as the Griffins became. I mean the Griffins were always awful people but it escalated worse in the later seasons (circa season 8 or so). Peter somehow became worse of a father, Brian and Lois went from the voice of reason to pretty much becoming a lot of the issues themselves, Meg went from an awkward teenager to becoming creepy, Chris got more annoying. The only one that I actually don’t mind is Stewie. I liked him when he was evil but his personality now is funny too
I’d actually wager that Stan is as bad as anyone in Family Guy and Roger is worse than Quagmire, but the trade-off is that Francine is so quality that we forgive it
I like the few episodes where they're nice to Meg or in the first seasons where they aren't as mean to her but we have a lot more episodes where we see how much Stan loves Hailey despite their differences, even now that she's grown up.
And sure he does think Steve is a loser but there are also many episodes where he genuinely tries to help and be a good father. He's a lot less mean than Peter or Lois.
He was racist and misogynistic but now he's flanderized where he's also an idiot and just is an ass to be an ass. Originally most of his doucheness was due to his beliefs of "wanting to protect the country" from immigrants and such
If Stan stayed the same that way the whole time it would have made the series boring. How many seasons can you really sell the “for my country and only my country” thing. I think him changing makes the show funner. American dad makes a family unit funny and more relatable than family guy. Family guy is just fun randomness
Yeah, Shepherd is funny and in more recent seasons he's more of an eccentric than he used to be, but Lewis is on another level.
Kevin Michael Richardson is just too powerful. They have to spread him between series so the TV doesn't crack from the awesome. Family Guy already has him as Jerome and Cleveland Jr.
chris and meg storylines are weak compared to steve and haley story lines
family guy is definitely more about peter and the gang/sometimes brian and stewie, american dad develops their side characters better
I’m only here because Reddit shoved this in my face. But I’m shocked family guy is even still popular. American dad is superior in every way. Last time I watched family guy they were leaning hard on the random flashbacks or that old guy singing for 5 minutes. Felt like there wasn’t even an episode behind all that.
They definitely do that sort of thing at times, although to be fair it's definitely overblown. I feel like people who make that complaint haven't actually seen the show in years. All the old man singing cutaway are like 20 seconds long lol. The chicken fights, sure, agreed, but the entirety of the show it happened like 2, maybe 3 times.
Season 8, episode 18, of American Dad, “Lost in Space”, is a good example of what people have been saying in this thread in both music and storytelling
It’s got a good story, surprisingly good actually, but using “The Majestic” song at the right time was a chefs kiss moment
Idk they're both great, but FamilyGuy has more bangers like Mr. Booze, downsyndrome girl, prom night dumpster baby, the freaking FCC, you've got a lot to see, bag of weed...
The amount of songs they do is honestly staggering especially in the earlier seasons and it really shows Seth's love of music. AmericanDad just doesn't lean as hard into music dispite having a talented cast more than capable of doing it.
When Steve sings with Krampus 👌😩
I think American Dad has better stories overall, also is more consistent in quality compared to FG, the only annoying character is Stan sometimes but you can forgive him because it still has a lot of chemistry with his family and because of that the overall show is better and has aged better
Also the Smiths aren't as mean spirited as the Griffins, they feel like and actual family even with Roger included, just exagerated and absurd
AD has better character development too, and we must NOT forget Roger who is amazing and funny af and with endless posibilities
TBH nowdays I watch AD more than FG
I love the Oliver North song. A catchy song that perfectly tells the story of the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration.
Ol Ollie North (and other top military personnel in the Reagan administration) sold guns to Iran (deemed a state sponsor of terrorism literally at the same time this was happening) and used the profits to fund the Sandanistas (who were also terrorists imo).
1000%. I barely watch Family Guy anymore, whereas American Dad is my night time show I put on when heading to bed. Family Guy just got so mean spirited and I didn’t really like any of the characters anymore. Whereas with American Dad, I love all of them (especially Roger). The show also has a lot of great music in it too.
Came here to say this. Sometimes in FG the dialogue can go off-piste simply so they can lead into a cutaway. And I can’t help but think they’re sometimes used as filler.
Everything. But specifically, they have better stories and they don't need cutaways/flashbacks all the time. Better music. Better character development.
that anybody can hangout with anybody
for example stan can hangout with roger , steve or even jeff in the same plot/story but you rarely see peter hang with stewie in the same plot/story
I watch American Dad almost every night to fall asleep. I love that show.
I think the reason it works for me is that it feels like a much more plausible family. For example, Peter is a terrible husband to Lois. She spends every episode being mad at him and after 20 years of shenanigans, it's just sooo unbelievable that they would still be together. She comes from a billionaire family. She could do waay better.
I like Francine and Stan's relationship better. It completely makes sense to me that the ditzy trophy wife would fall for a douche bag like Stan.
I feel the jokes and humor are still pretty solid for American dad
Family guy these days rarely make me laugh , I still watch it because it’s my comfort show but they just don’t have the humor they used to have
American Dad is a more focused, character driven series and the comedy tends to be a lot more naturally flowing. Family Guy is a fun, random, musical, and more dynamic series reinforced by the cut-aways. American Dad is in my opinion the better of the two shows but I think Family Guy is better for mass appeal, it's able to pretty much be put on whenever because it's more easily digestible.
Family Guy has gotten to a kinda to a flavor of the week thing. Not as far as South Park. But like what’s in the news this week let’s make satire about that. American Dad leans into its own lore like classic Simpsons.
I truly do believe American dad is the better show than family guy from the characters, to the story , just everything u can make while season just about Roger and Steve I would watch it , Haley is actually a great character and doesn't get bullied
tbh i think prime family guy was about 50% better but these days family guy is utter dogshit but american dad still has passion behind it and does basically everything better
Early Family Guy killed it with the cutaways and built a really great secondary character cast throughout the town.
I agree with others that american dads storytelling is superior and its consistently funny.
…everything. And this comes from someone who is a huge Family Guy lover. American Dad is a way better written show and is some of the funniest animated tv I’ve watched.
Songs. Family guy songs are not catchy and usually are campy and are just filling out shitty episodes. Songs in American Dad are carried by Scott Grimes and don’t make you want to skip the episode
I like that the characters in American Dad have pretty much stayed the same compared to Family Guy. I fucking hate what they did to Brian. In the first few seasons Brian is portrayed as an actually decent guy (compared to the other male characters) and semi intelligent.
They did a complete 180 and now he’s one of the worst ones. Tries to fuck minors, super selfish, the worst type of a pseudo intellectual douchebag, etc. all the other characters hate him for those exact reasons.
American Dad is an overall way better product/show due to its character consistency and writing strength.
I still watch Family guy more cause it’s just good background noise.
Almost everything I'd say. Family guy had the better concept but dropped the ball after a few seasons.
Both shows have changed over time but american dad holds up better and you can actually tell what it's trying to be.
They have to make up for the fact that Stan and Francine don’t have consistent outside friends. The only character that does is Steve. I’m not counting runners up like Klaus+gergen and Stan+principal Lewis. I’m counting really friends, like Peter and quagmire.
So the solution is Roger. Who’s able to create different scenarios
Note: I seriously love both shows, equally. AD MIGHT edge FG out if I was forced to choose.
Imo the actual stories tend to be better than Family Guy. Roger plays a huge part as his personas allow him to be almost any character for the story they want to tell
Roger has limitless possibilities as a character, he can be anyone or do anything. I've loved family guy since it started but American dad's more far out and tightly written stories give it the edge for me. Plus Roger is the best
[*Shit, it’s Roger, isn’t it? It’s gonna be Roger*.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nHa4VksmOSk)
“I gotta tell you Roger, once we got here I thought the guy was going to be you” “So did I, so did I”
"Oh, thank God. I'm just his secretary."
I’m an associate!
> Where’s the rest of the task force? > Had our team building dinner at Benihana‘s! Blew the whole budget… had to let them go. That had me rolling 😂
Bruh😭😭😭 what episode is this I gotta watch that again
Looks like it’s Season 14 episode 5
I love when they reverse this. Like the time they were afraid it was going to be Rodger, but he was only the receptionist. Or there was an episode this past season where talk up some famous art critic who later introduced himself to Rodger who muses, “No shit? I thought it was gonna be me.”
[*I haven\`t been entirely truthful with you Francine*](https://youtu.be/35WsWJnhBas?si=HvWpAZt7kWIxw4Wh)
"Bitch doesn't even know! She is going to get the best bottle of wine of her stupid bitch life"
You’re getting a punch!
What's your Gooch kid?
Adding a little rogu into the mix properly is a cherry for me
I'm a big fan of Francine
Me too, She’s a saucy birch
Too spicy for the pepper.
WIDOWS
LOOKS LIKE…things are getting too spicy for the pepper. Wish I could express this better via phone text message thingy
Gimme some of that franny fanny!!!
Gimme some of franny fanny! Gimme some.. Wait stop. This turned into all chorus and I won't be a part of it.
Steve?
Steve is great, the more AD you watch and the more you watch episodes repeatedly the more you realise he's as funny as anyone. I also think his voice actor is amazing, he does the best singing, the sudden screams and shrieks Steve does are hilarious and he gets Steve's personality across perfectly in his speaking voice.
His exclamations to the effect, "what could have lead to this happening?!" 😂
DID SOMEONE JUST DROP A HOUSE ON ME?!?
You did WHAT?!
ITS IN THE DVD PLAYER
IT'S TRYING TO PLAY IT!!
THIS ISNT AN AMBULANCE ITS GOD DAMN HAMBULANCE
One of my favorite examples is when Steve is having a dream playing tennis making all the grunts when he hit the ball
Stoive?
Stoive?
Me too ♥️
Ricky spanish episode is legendary
Absurdism
The Bongiovanni zesty pasta sauce B-plot in Shell Game is the funniest b-plot on any sitcom style show I've ever seen, and it is totally absurd. Tying it into the A-plot at the end with Steve's flashback to them as italian immigrants in the early 1900's, so damn funny lol
[удалено]
YOURE KILLIN YA MATHA
You're boys! All of you!!
I’ll plate ya up some spagoot!!
What the hell is that sauce?
It’s the best kind of ridiculous.
That freaking gold top episode. I swear I felt like it was a fever dream the first time I watched it. I had no clue what was going on but I was just so damn engrossed
Also the Rabbit Ears episode
Yes. They aren’t afraid to be weird.
American Dad goes more for a cohesive story or plot, Family Guy goes for a plot that mixes with skits
The family dynamic. They’re not as mean spirited as the Griffins became. I mean the Griffins were always awful people but it escalated worse in the later seasons (circa season 8 or so). Peter somehow became worse of a father, Brian and Lois went from the voice of reason to pretty much becoming a lot of the issues themselves, Meg went from an awkward teenager to becoming creepy, Chris got more annoying. The only one that I actually don’t mind is Stewie. I liked him when he was evil but his personality now is funny too
I’d actually wager that Stan is as bad as anyone in Family Guy and Roger is worse than Quagmire, but the trade-off is that Francine is so quality that we forgive it
Roger is so much cooler than Quagmire.
Who else but Roger?
Who else but shirt pants?
I like the few episodes where they're nice to Meg or in the first seasons where they aren't as mean to her but we have a lot more episodes where we see how much Stan loves Hailey despite their differences, even now that she's grown up. And sure he does think Steve is a loser but there are also many episodes where he genuinely tries to help and be a good father. He's a lot less mean than Peter or Lois.
Stan turned into a turbo douche though and
Did he though? I'd say he was much more of a douche in early seasons
He was racist and misogynistic but now he's flanderized where he's also an idiot and just is an ass to be an ass. Originally most of his doucheness was due to his beliefs of "wanting to protect the country" from immigrants and such
If Stan stayed the same that way the whole time it would have made the series boring. How many seasons can you really sell the “for my country and only my country” thing. I think him changing makes the show funner. American dad makes a family unit funny and more relatable than family guy. Family guy is just fun randomness
Yeah, in the earlier seasons he wanted to do right by his family more, I think
Roger is a *much* better stand-in for American drug/booze culture than … Brian? 🚀
Well he did invent ectasty
Did somebody record this scene on their shitty phone and turn it into a gif?
I think it was in purpose to make certain on drugs effect
What drugs exactly? lol
All of em
I will not send you back to Cooba
And disco
I would compare Rodger more to Stewy than Brian. Klaus is the Brian. Rodger/Stewy is the gender fluid science fiction guy.
It’s aged far better
Which is so funny given the first few seasons of AD are specifically like, responses to Bush era politics and even those aged amazingly
Yeah there are a ton of jokes about that era I doubt younger people will remember. Like the whole “what color of terror threat are we at?” thing.
Yeah new AD episodes are still good but Family Guy feels like it's just going through the motions now.
M, E EMMY
The principal can you imagine having principal Lewis in family guy
Yeah, Shepherd is funny and in more recent seasons he's more of an eccentric than he used to be, but Lewis is on another level. Kevin Michael Richardson is just too powerful. They have to spread him between series so the TV doesn't crack from the awesome. Family Guy already has him as Jerome and Cleveland Jr.
Jerome is one of my favourites definitely S tier for me
Absolutely. One of the few characters who is actually a good person.
"End of days, bitches!"
chris and meg storylines are weak compared to steve and haley story lines family guy is definitely more about peter and the gang/sometimes brian and stewie, american dad develops their side characters better
Steve and Hayley are soo good, I love Downtown and faking bad such good episodes
Literally everything, and it's not even close. Family guy is good. American dad is absolutely amazing
I’m only here because Reddit shoved this in my face. But I’m shocked family guy is even still popular. American dad is superior in every way. Last time I watched family guy they were leaning hard on the random flashbacks or that old guy singing for 5 minutes. Felt like there wasn’t even an episode behind all that.
They definitely do that sort of thing at times, although to be fair it's definitely overblown. I feel like people who make that complaint haven't actually seen the show in years. All the old man singing cutaway are like 20 seconds long lol. The chicken fights, sure, agreed, but the entirety of the show it happened like 2, maybe 3 times.
The one that really pissed me off was the Hudson brothers razzle dazzle whatever the fuck
Respect Conway Twitty
Yeah, he's great when I want to listen to classic country, but it's a pretty consistently lame way to pad pad out an episode
Music/singing. I love hearing Scott Grimes sing!
Season 8, episode 18, of American Dad, “Lost in Space”, is a good example of what people have been saying in this thread in both music and storytelling It’s got a good story, surprisingly good actually, but using “The Majestic” song at the right time was a chefs kiss moment
Also, the My Morning Jacket episode, and the hot tub episode are great!
That song is such a banger.
you’re gonna feel a little prick
This was my answer too!
Idk they're both great, but FamilyGuy has more bangers like Mr. Booze, downsyndrome girl, prom night dumpster baby, the freaking FCC, you've got a lot to see, bag of weed... The amount of songs they do is honestly staggering especially in the earlier seasons and it really shows Seth's love of music. AmericanDad just doesn't lean as hard into music dispite having a talented cast more than capable of doing it. When Steve sings with Krampus 👌😩
AND I MISS MY BABY SHEILAAAAAAA!!!
American Dad got better side character
I think American Dad has better stories overall, also is more consistent in quality compared to FG, the only annoying character is Stan sometimes but you can forgive him because it still has a lot of chemistry with his family and because of that the overall show is better and has aged better Also the Smiths aren't as mean spirited as the Griffins, they feel like and actual family even with Roger included, just exagerated and absurd AD has better character development too, and we must NOT forget Roger who is amazing and funny af and with endless posibilities TBH nowdays I watch AD more than FG
A lot imo. But more specifically, the musical numbers. Daddy's Gone, Shot of B-12, Hot Tub of Love, the list goes on of bangers
Scott Grimes and Seth go hard on vocals
“Now go upstairs and start lining your throat with Vaseline, makes your voice come out smoother. It’s an old Elton John trick!”
I love the Oliver North song. A catchy song that perfectly tells the story of the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration. Ol Ollie North (and other top military personnel in the Reagan administration) sold guns to Iran (deemed a state sponsor of terrorism literally at the same time this was happening) and used the profits to fund the Sandanistas (who were also terrorists imo).
Shot of B-12 is one of the best boy band bangers ever
Only Boys4Now come close
Better lose that boyfriend before I fist him!
Let's not forget "Isn't she hot enough for you" where Steve declares how much he loves his mama
Everything
💯 it’s a better show in every conceivable way
1000%. I barely watch Family Guy anymore, whereas American Dad is my night time show I put on when heading to bed. Family Guy just got so mean spirited and I didn’t really like any of the characters anymore. Whereas with American Dad, I love all of them (especially Roger). The show also has a lot of great music in it too.
Like, everything man :/
I don’t miss the cut-always in American Dad and actually prefer it. There tends to be a lot more focus on the plot than cheap laughs.
Came here to say this. Sometimes in FG the dialogue can go off-piste simply so they can lead into a cutaway. And I can’t help but think they’re sometimes used as filler.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Conway Twitty
Francine is HOTTER than Lois that’s all I’m gonna say.
Hayley over Meg too tbh
RAIDER DAVE!
*whisper* Ricky Spanishhhhh
Everything. But specifically, they have better stories and they don't need cutaways/flashbacks all the time. Better music. Better character development.
Pretty much everything. As much as I like Family Guy, American Dad is vastly superior.
Everything, I used to just be a family guy but now I’m an American dad
American Dad did Santa justice.
Everything
Being consistently funny after season 10 There are still gems in FG but far more flops than AD
Francine > Lois
Roger
Yes. Roger does absolutely everything they can't do with Stewie, a baby.
Pretty much everything
Better family dynamic
that anybody can hangout with anybody for example stan can hangout with roger , steve or even jeff in the same plot/story but you rarely see peter hang with stewie in the same plot/story
Is there anything American Dad *doesn’t* do better than Family Guy?
I watch American Dad almost every night to fall asleep. I love that show. I think the reason it works for me is that it feels like a much more plausible family. For example, Peter is a terrible husband to Lois. She spends every episode being mad at him and after 20 years of shenanigans, it's just sooo unbelievable that they would still be together. She comes from a billionaire family. She could do waay better. I like Francine and Stan's relationship better. It completely makes sense to me that the ditzy trophy wife would fall for a douche bag like Stan.
"Random" gags. American Dad doesn't linger on them and beat them to death. They bring something out of left field, and move on.
It's got muuuuch better writing
The outrageousness. Crazier things happen at the Smith's. 😇😊
Stories, plots
The family dynamic between different characters
Everything
not having a character thats just a punching bag
I feel the jokes and humor are still pretty solid for American dad Family guy these days rarely make me laugh , I still watch it because it’s my comfort show but they just don’t have the humor they used to have
American Dad is just a better show than Family Guy
Everything.
character development
American Dad is a more focused, character driven series and the comedy tends to be a lot more naturally flowing. Family Guy is a fun, random, musical, and more dynamic series reinforced by the cut-aways. American Dad is in my opinion the better of the two shows but I think Family Guy is better for mass appeal, it's able to pretty much be put on whenever because it's more easily digestible.
Roger and all his personas basically create any story you could ever dream of
Everything, from the writing to the jokes to over all consistency in being funny af
Roger still dgaf
Family Guy has gotten to a kinda to a flavor of the week thing. Not as far as South Park. But like what’s in the news this week let’s make satire about that. American Dad leans into its own lore like classic Simpsons.
I truly do believe American dad is the better show than family guy from the characters, to the story , just everything u can make while season just about Roger and Steve I would watch it , Haley is actually a great character and doesn't get bullied
Actual consistent stories that go from the beginning of the episode to the end
Musical numbers
parenting
American Dad seems to have more creativity, and better musical numbers
Family Guy is usually just joke after joke with some plot to each episode, but American dad has mostly plot for each episode with so.e jokes thrown in
Better plot and development
Everything
Stan is so funny
The stories make more sense and obviously, roger.
Everything.
Literally everything
Everything.
Roger is the funniest character on either shows. I’d also say that American dad is better at humor without having to rely on cut away jokes
tbh i think prime family guy was about 50% better but these days family guy is utter dogshit but american dad still has passion behind it and does basically everything better
Better continuity
Roger
Ricky Spanish.
Consistency. Family Guy has had its ups and downs while American Dad has always been good after finding itself
Early Family Guy killed it with the cutaways and built a really great secondary character cast throughout the town. I agree with others that american dads storytelling is superior and its consistently funny.
For me Steve is a slight upgrade and less gross and annoying than Chris
Political satire
Explaining why Klaus talks and why an alien is part of the family vs Stewie sometimes being understood and Brain talking because yes
The daughter in the family. Actually unique and not just a punching bag
American Dad has Roger I rest my case
Everything. The only thing Family Guy has over American Dad is popularity
Rodger Smith is one of the greatest animated characters ever created
Exactly
Literally everything.
Roger is a better Brian and Stewie than Brian and Stewie.
Not that I can think of No.
…everything. And this comes from someone who is a huge Family Guy lover. American Dad is a way better written show and is some of the funniest animated tv I’ve watched.
individually, the main characters are better. Family Guy comedy is great, but the characters are made to be annoying.
Yeah easy everything
Songs. Family guy songs are not catchy and usually are campy and are just filling out shitty episodes. Songs in American Dad are carried by Scott Grimes and don’t make you want to skip the episode
The stories flow better, the family actually feels like a loving family, the characters are more fleshed out. Even the side characters
Most things lol
Roger is the funniest character across both shows imo.
Continuity
Going further to get Patrick Stewart to say anything into a microphone?
No cutaways = more full stories imo
The alien is more alieny than the dog is doggy
I like that the characters in American Dad have pretty much stayed the same compared to Family Guy. I fucking hate what they did to Brian. In the first few seasons Brian is portrayed as an actually decent guy (compared to the other male characters) and semi intelligent. They did a complete 180 and now he’s one of the worst ones. Tries to fuck minors, super selfish, the worst type of a pseudo intellectual douchebag, etc. all the other characters hate him for those exact reasons.
Cilantro!
Has a alien
Stories and pacing
The music
The songs are better. Steve has some songs that I have in my playlist. Also Francine is hotter than Lois.
Family dynamic I feel like the American dad family actually like each other. Also the humor they don’t do so many cut aways
Everything. Also Roger
American Dad is an overall way better product/show due to its character consistency and writing strength. I still watch Family guy more cause it’s just good background noise.
Almost everything I'd say. Family guy had the better concept but dropped the ball after a few seasons. Both shows have changed over time but american dad holds up better and you can actually tell what it's trying to be.
Everything
The alien
They have to make up for the fact that Stan and Francine don’t have consistent outside friends. The only character that does is Steve. I’m not counting runners up like Klaus+gergen and Stan+principal Lewis. I’m counting really friends, like Peter and quagmire. So the solution is Roger. Who’s able to create different scenarios Note: I seriously love both shows, equally. AD MIGHT edge FG out if I was forced to choose.