WhileFamily Guy’s parody of streaming services was a fun standout from season 23, the gag couldn’t be more ironic given the show’s own history.Family Guy’s season 24 renewalproves that Seth MacFarlane’s show never needs to worry about being canceled again. Although the series had a rough start,Family Guyhas grown into a perennially reliable crowd-pleaser at Fox.
As such, the show isn’t afraid to bite the hand that feeds it. Much likeThe Simpsonsoften mocked the other offerings of Fox, the very network the show was airing on,Family Guyrecently took a satirical swing at numerous Hulu shows. Eagle-eyed viewers will note this is the streaming serviceFamily Guyis available on.
Despite this apparent conflict of interest, season 23, episode 10, ”A Real Who’s Hulu,” saw Peter search through his recently rediscovered iPad to watch various Hulu shows. The episode then consisted of three shorter vignettes that parodied popular Hulu hitsThe Bear,The Dropout, andOnly Murders in the Building, before a brutal ending stinger.
Family Guy Season 23 Episode 10 Memorialized Failed Streaming Services
The Sitcom Mocked The Countless Streaming Services On Offer
Family Guymocked the overabundance of streaming services at the end of ”A Real Who’s Hulu,”with an In Memoriam sequence for all the streaming services that have come and gone in the last few years. WhileotherFamily Guyseason 23 episodesfocused on the show’s characters, this meta outing was busy arguing that there are too many streaming options.
The ending name-dropped Seeso, Quibi, CNN+, and many more streaming services that most viewers have likely forgotten, implying that the market was saturated with too many shows on too many platforms. This was funny consideringFamily Guy’s 23 seasons are available on Hulu, but there was another part of the gag that made it particularly ironic.
Family Guy Season 23 Making Fun of Hulu Was Ironic
The Animated Comedy Series Was One of the Streaming Service’s First Shows
Way back in 2010, when there were far fewer mainstream options for viewers who wanted to stream shows on the Internet,Family Guywas one of Hulu’s first big titles. When the streaming service first launched, Seth MacFarlane himself did ads to convince viewers that a then-free site where viewers could watch unlimitedFamily Guyepisodes really did exist.
It was funny to see Family Guy mock the many streaming services that followed in Hulu’s footsteps whenFamily Guyitself helped establish the streaming service’s reputation years ago.
It wasn’t long before the short-lived golden age of free streaming services ended, but some of Hulu’s market share was no doubt solidified byFamily Guy’s popularity. As such, it was funny to seeaFamily Guyseason 23 episodemock the many streaming services that followed in Hulu’s footsteps whenFamily Guyitself helped establish the streaming service’s reputation years ago.
