Family Guy is an American animated television sitcom, created by Seth MacFarlane, for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family which consists of Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and their pet dog Brian. The show uses frequent "cutaway gags", jokes in the form of tangential vignettes which parody American culture.
The show was conceived by MacFarlane after the show's predecessor Larry shorts was canceled. MacFarlane changed the design of the protagonist Larry and renamed him Peter; he also changed the design of Larry's dog Steve, and developed him into Brian. Shortly after the third season aired, the series was canceled, but soon, because of good DVD sales and high ratings on syndicated reruns, the network renewed the show. The setting for the stories is a partially fictional town in Rhode Island, based on MacFarlane's upbringing and education.