Family Guy S24E6: Still Funny or Just Overused gags?

A Familiar Format Returns

Having run for more than 20 years, Family Guy remains famous for its quick jokes and absurd comedic style. But in the new episode, “Viewer DMs” (Season 24, Episode 6), leaves many people wondering whether the show is still developing new ideas, or simply rehashing what used to work. With an IMDb rating of 6.2/10, early viewers are split.

The Comedic Style of Family Guy

Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy has long relied on cutaway gags and edgy humor to keep viewers entertained. The “Viewer DMs” episodes appear every 10 years and are very popular because they show different types of stories in this episode. According to FOX, this episode includes three main parts: Lord of the Rings parody, a segment about the Griffins’ pioneer history, and a 1960s-style show featuring Quagmire. While this structure can make the show less cohesive, it gives writers creative freedom and keeps Family Guy’s playful, unrestrained style.

A Structurally Mixed Episode

This episode is made up of the three parts mentioned above, not a full story. Each part focuses on a different theme and takes place in different settings. This makes the episode interesting and unpredictable, but it feels loose and unconnected. The stories do not connect strongly with each other, leaving the episode less memorable.

Parody and Repetitive Humor 

One part of the episode is a parody of The Lord of the Rings. It uses familiar characters in a fantasy setting. Some jokes are easy to understand and still funny, such as Joe being treated like an object. Meg being turned into a strange creature such as the “giant spider” from The Lord of the Rings, and during the Griffin family migration, they even use “Megs” as raft. Brian jokes that “the Megs keep dying”. And Quagmire remains as lecherous as ever. However, these jokes are not innovative, and long-time viewers will likely recognise them immediately. This makes the humour feel familiar but not particularly fresh. Family Guy has used Meg as a target of dark humor for many years. 

Satire vs. Offense

In the Griffin family migration part includes jokes about “there’s an all-new race to be unjustifiably prejudiced against and it’s called Chinese”, and references to history such as Peter says “Let’s never teach about that in our schools”. These dark jokes attempt to be presented in a satirical way, but may also be considered offensive by some viewers, which can be uncomfortable.

For instance, Peter’s line – “You had a thousand years to invent guns, and you didn’t, so sorry”, directly echoes historical injustices, and the treatment of Chinese labourers who built the transcontinental railroad, they yet faced severe discrimination and unfair treatment.

Family Guy has long relied on controversial humor as one of its defining stylistic traits, often using cutaway gags and edgy jokes that have drawn widespread criticism. As modern audiences have become far more aware of cultural and racial issues, these kinds of jokes do not land as well as they once did. This makes it lack new ideas.

Meta Humour and Media Satire

The episode also uses a lot of meta-humor. During the Griffins’ migration, Stewie questions his own character continuity by asking himself, “Does this Stewie want to kill Lois?” “I’m not really sure what the rules are.” Through Stewie’s lines, the show jokes about its own inconsistent character rules, especially in standalone segments. Known to long-time viewers, Stewie has always tried to kill Lois in all kinds of ways.

In “The Glenn Quagmire – Giggity Good Time Hour” part, someone noted, “since The Cleveland Show was such a big success, I wonder if you’ve considered giving Quagmire a show of his own.” From Stewie’s “big success might be overly charitable” jokes about The Cleveland Show not being nearly as popular as predicted. Many viewers on Reddit also believe that instead of launching The Cleveland Show, it would have been better to give the character more screen time on Family Guy. 

A Show That Has Not Changed

Overall, this episode demonstrates both Family Guy’s strengths and its weaknesses. It remains quick jokes and absurd style of comedy, and its dark humor still hits the mark from time to time. However, the episode also relies too heavily on repeated jokes and character formulas: Meg is still picked on, Joe is still confined to his wheelchair and Quagmire is still overly sexualized. Yet these consistent character treatments and running gags also form an unspoken bond between the show and its long-time viewers. Although some may find that the show fails to seek breakthroughs, merely repeating past successes and losing the freshness a series should have.

The Show’s Unchanging Formula

After all, this episode still offers significant entertainment value, especially for long-time Family Guy fans. For new viewers, however, the humor may come across as outdated and overly regional. Times change, and comedy must evolve with them. Even Seth MacFarlane has no intention of changing the show’s long-standing formula. He understands that some new viewers may find its humor hard to accept. As he said in the interview: “The writers’ room is full of really funny people who are out to get laughs. And that’s what the show is.”