It’s funny to think that the Simpsons used to be considered a cartoon unfit for children, but Family Guy certainly raised the bar on that one and kept raising it. The question now though is whether Family Guy will outlast the Simpsons or if it will fade off before it can go that far. At 17 seasons it’s become the third-longest running animated series on TV and it doesn’t seem as though FOX is ready to make the near-mistake of cancelling it again. The network did this once before to near disaster and it would seem that they learned their lesson. When thinking that it might eventually outlast the Simpsons however there are a few good points that indicate that it could and some that say it won’t.
It could outlast the Simpsons simply due to the fact that it’s a younger show and still has a lot of potential left to play out. Of course so does the Simpsons, as 30 seasons is likely twice or even three times more than a lot of people thought the show would last. There are a host of factors going for Family Guy that might make it possible for the show to stick around, some of them that are eerily close in nature to the Simpsons. For instance, no one seems to age in Quahog. Over the course of 17 seasons not a single person aged, moved on, or otherwise looked a year older due to the passage of time. This is similar with the Simpsons since there too the only people that ever seem to get older are the people that leave. There are a number of ideas like this that Family Guy doesn’t really steal from the Simpsons but definitely puts its own spin on since a lot of things tend to happen that can draw certain parallels with other shows.
To think that these two shows have been in competition is kind of amusing since in truth they have in some regards, but in others it can be seen that those who like the Simpsons might very well like Family Guy and vice versa. In almost every way Family Guy is a raunchier, racier version of the Simpsons and a show that was primed and ready to take over when it first came on. But if anyone remembers there was a bit of resistance when Family Guy was first released and a lot of people felt pretty much the same way they felt about the Simpsons when it first came on the air. To this day however there are still people that don’t like the show for its vulgarity, but they’re so few in number at this point that FOX likely doesn’t care about these people say about the show since the ratings are pretty solid.
There are reasons why Family Guy might not supplant the Simpsons though, and a lot of them have to do with the fact that as edgy as the Simpsons can get the show can’t hold a candle to Family Guy since the Simpsons are thought of as more a family show than many others. For a while it seemed that the idea of any show was to push the boundaries as much as possible and keep the FCC on their toes continually in order to see just how much could be done before the organization started cracking down. After a while this was simply what Family Guy was known for and a lot of people felt that it would get old after a while and the show would lose its touch. While it was almost canceled for good it was brought back, which proves that people wanted it around, but perhaps it also proved that they wanted it to change a bit. You’ve got to admit that Family Guy has done a lot in time when it comes to adding to pop culture. In fact it’s entirely fair to say that Family Guy has changed our minds a bit when it comes to the average animated sitcom, as it raised the bar so high that other shows had to step up their game just to match it.
In terms of outlasting or replacing the Simpsons it would almost seem that Family Guy is bound to either go out around the same or stick around and fill up the time slot once the Simpsons has run its course. When that will be however is anyone’s guess since both shows are still going strong and don’t really show any sign that they might be dropping off anytime soon. For now we’re just going to have to wait and see which show presents a stronger case for sticking around, but in some cases it does seem to be the show that will be more adaptable as the years continue to roll along. Which one that might be though is a matter of opinion.
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