Family Guy Returned from Cancellation 16 Years Ago Today

On May 1, 2005, Family Guy did what few shows had ever done — it returned from cancellation after three years. Sixteen years later, the notion of a long-dead show being revived is far more common, and they all may owe something to Seth MacFarlane's crass-tacular success story.

Family Guy premiered in 1999, airing for three seasons on Fox before being cancelled. Somewhere between syndicated rerus and DVD sales, the show became a cult hit, leading Fox to un-cancel it, and the show has been off to the races ever since, currently on Season 21. 

This clip is the opening of that first return episode, entitled "North by North Quahog," in which Peter Griffin announces to the rest of his family that they've been canceled, saying that "Fox has to make room for terrific shows," and then listing 29 other actual Fox shows that were canceled during their hiatus. 

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Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.