On the surface, Seth McFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, seems like your average funny guy with a lot of wit and jokes on hand ready to tell at a party, but in reality, he is so much more than that. His love of animation started when he was just two years-old, per USA Today, when he was drawing characters like Fred Flintstone and Woody Woodpecker. Over the next couple of decades, MacFarlane perfected his craft, and with the help of his college professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, he was hired by an animation studio. After successfully creating two short animated films, MacFarlane was encouraged to create a series, and thus, Family Guy was born.
The show ran its course for three years before Fox decided the cut it from its programing due to bad time slots causing low ratings. However, when reruns were picked up by Adult Swim and DVDs hit the shelves, enough interest was noticed that the series was brought back. People are humored by the crude and witty jokes, but more importantly, they love that no content that happens in our real world is off the table when it comes to what the writers incorporate in the various storylines. The Family Guy writers pull from their own imaginations, but they also keep up with what is going on in our own world and make sure to add a punchline to many unfortunate events.
Considering the different storylines as well as the types of humor each character brings to the series, these are the top 10 Family Guy characters, ranked.
10 Meg Griffin
In the first season, Meg Griffin was voiced by Lacey Chabert, but since then, Mila Kunis has stepped in as the Griffin’s most mistreated family member. Meg is the eldest child of Peter and Lois, and for one reason or another, Peter fails to connect with her. He, his sons, and even sometimes her own mother are incredibly cruel with the things they say towards her. Meg can be sitting in a scene, not bothering anyone, and a crude comment about her will likely be made.
Unfortunately, for those who really want to root for Kunis’ character, Meg is easy to hate. She whines, she does not fit in with her family, and since people tend to default to loving the protagonist, Peter, it is effortless to go along with his jokes and ridicule the eldest daughter. None of this means that her presence is not appreciated because if it was not for her, who else would take all the blame?
9 Joe Swanson
The Seinfeld actor, Patrick Warburton, has a very distinctive deep voice, so when Joe Swanson appeared on the screen, fans immediately knew who was behind the man in the wheelchair. Joe is a paraplegic police officer, but no one, including criminals as well as his own friends, should ever think that they can get the upper hand on him. He is determined, stubborn, and he has a bit of a temper.
Since he’s a cop, the writers have fun poking at all the stereotypes and horrible jokes that are made towards law enforcement officers, and Joe takes them pretty well for the most part. Fans adore Joe because he brings a bit of chaos to several scenes, but overall, he is a good friend to Peter.
8 Chris Griffin
Chris (voiced by Seth Green) is the middle child of Peter and Lois, and as a middle child he is often left out of things. His older sister, Meg, gets attention because everyone makes fun of her, and his baby brother, Stewie, receives affection because no one really pays attention to the horrible things he says.
To put it kindly, Chris is unintelligent, unathletic, and completely unmotivated. He is incredibly kind and gentle-natured which redeems some of his personality traits, but at times, his good intentions get him in trouble or mocked. Fans especially like his continued rivalry with his childhood nemesis, the Evil Monkey.
7 Herbert the Pervert
After Family Guy was picked up for a third season, Mike Henry decided he needed an additional character to bring in some controversy, so the “old man next door” trope came into play. Instead of being a sweet elder, Herbert is a perverted older man who has a creepy fascination with Peter’s oldest son, Chris. On a number of occasions, Herbert has tried to lure Chris to his house or trick him into a certain situation.
Reviews were expected to be mixed because adding in the sexual jokes of a pedophile is not something everyone tends to laugh at. However, Herbert is a favorite because while what he says is down right dirty, his slow nature, age, and many failed attempts makes him appear more harmless than dangerous.
6 Cleveland Brown
Cleveland Brown is one of the most normal and level-headed characters in the whole series. As one of the few men of color, he is often the butt-end of racial jokes, or his friends make sure to directly look at him while saying something racist about another situation or person. Cleveland was written out of the show to star in his own spinoff, The Cleveland Show, but after its cancelation, he returned to Family Guy.
For 22 years, Cleveland was voiced by MacFarland’s friend, Mike Henry, but in 2020, Henry chose to step down as Cleveland, saying he loved his character, but “persons of color should play characters of color.” Since then, Arif Zahir has taken over as the humorous character.
5 Lois Griffin
Before everyone knew her as Susie Myerson in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Alex Borstein was — and still is — the voice of Lois Griffin. Lois comes from a proper New England family, but as fate would have it, she fell in love with an annoying goofball, got married, and had his three children. Lois is meant to represent the typical stay-at-home mom, but there are a few instances when she gets out and lands herself a temporary job.
Fans love to see her “second personality” come out at times when she is telling a story about her past, or when she simply does not care about the consequences of her actions. These, unfortunately, are few and far between instances. In all, she is the glue that holds the Griffin family together.
4 Glenn Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire is just one of many characters that Seth MacFarlane voices himself. Towards the beginning of the series, he was the sex-crazed best friend of Peter who simply did not know when to shut up, and he was best known for his catchphrase, “Giggity.”
Fans seemed to enjoy his character because he was unapologetically himself, and he crossed just about every line when it came to sexual references, jokes, and acts. After several years, Quagmire’s character has pivoted to a more realistic and level-headed guy. The sex addiction and lewd jokes weren’t fresh and funny anymore, so the writers did his character justice by having him grow up a bit.
3 Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin (also voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is the star of the show, the man’s man that makes everyone laugh due to his stupidity and shenanigans. However, he is not the best character on the show. Peter brings all the characters together and often sets the tone for their humor and slapstick comedy, but that does not always earn him the spotlight.
The reason why Peter is so high on this list is because he has absolutely no filter, and for that, fans are grateful for his character. Peter speaks and acts before he ever thinks, and he rarely cares about the natural consequences that come along afterward. Some things that he does will make audiences cringe, but most of the crazy situations he gets into or things he says will have people rolling their eyes along with his wife.
2 Brian Griffin
Along with Peter, Brian Griffin was the other staple character for MacFarlane’s animated series. While he is technically the family pet and Stewie’s best friend, Brian is his own unique character with thoughts, feelings, and struggles. He hangs out with people, drives, drinks, and questions his own purpose in life, so it is quite clear that him being a dog does not get in the way of his preferred lifestyle.
Brian is possibly the most rational thinking and intelligent character in the whole series, and he is quick to call out ridiculous shenanigans before they take place. When his character was killed off in season 12, fans were so upset that it caused the writers to bring him back through the use of time travel.
1 Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin is the baby and youngest son of Lois and Peter, and he is anything but sweet and cuddly. From the beginning, Stewie makes it very clear that he plans to take over the world and kill his mother at some point. He doesn’t seem particular about which one comes first, but for a little sociopath like him, he just wants to see the demise of others. Like his best friend Brian, Stewie is incredibly intelligent, but no one ever seems to take him seriously.
Perhaps this is why he is the best character. At times, Stewie will actually act like a child, and it is cute. However, he quickly forces himself to snap out of it and continue on with whatever brutal scheme he has up his sleeve.