Seth MacFarlane, the star and creator of "Family Guy", believes that the series has reached such momentum that there is no real reason to cancel it. Until people get sick of Family Guy, MacFarlane said it will be on the air — and they haven't tired of the Griffin family in the 25 years since the show debuted. Speaking to the LA Times in 2024MacFarlane explained:

"At this point, I don't see a good reason to stop. People still love it. Let's go out to dinner that night.

How one of MacFarlane's key inspirations, The Simpsons, the animated sitcom Family Guy has been around so long (and kept its cast/crew in such regular employment) that it's past the point where it can deliver a well-deserved grand finale. MacFarlane's vision of an endless "Family Guy" is funny, though, because the show there is faced cancellation - twice, even.

Family Guy was briefly canceled in May 2000 after its second seasonallegedly due to competing time slots that made it difficult for the show to post quality ratings. It was then quickly renewed for a 22-episode third season, which aired from 2001 to 2002. the controversial third season finale, "When You Wish Upon A Weinstein," It debuted on DVD in 2003.) "Family Guy" seemingly ended again after its third season, but strong DVD sales and popular reruns of "Ault Swim" convinced Fox to revive it. As MacFarlane noted to the LA Times, this happened because his contract with Fox was still in effect, and in fact the network renewed that contract to renew "Family Guy." In May 2005, Season 4 of Family Guy premiered and the show has been releasing new episodes ever since.

But how did MacFarlane feel about his first show being canned when it happened? In the aforementioned interview with the LA Times, he admitted there was “nothing to compare it to” and said, “It was the first show I ever played, and it was accepted. I thought, “Oh, I guess this is normal. Which of course it wasn't. But it wasn't like they kicked you to the curb, "We still want to work with you."

Little did MacFarlane and Fox know that they would soon be back in the Family Guy business.