Season 1 · Episode 1 · First aired 31 January 1999

Death Has a Shadow

Episode 1 of Family Guy season 1 (S01E01), the 1st Family Guy episode overall. Written by Seth MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin. First broadcast on 31 January 1999.

Story

Stewie is building a mind control device, which Lois takes away at dinner. Peter promises Lois he will not drink at a stag party, then does. He arrives at his safety inspector job with a hangover and sleeps through the shift. Dangerous products reach the shops and Mr Weed sacks him. Peter hides the news from Lois and applies for welfare. A processing error produces a weekly cheque for $150,000, which he spends freely while telling Lois he had a pay rise. Lois finds out when a cheque arrives in the post. Peter and Brian drop the money from a blimp over Super Bowl XXXIII and are shot down. At his trial for welfare fraud the judge hands Peter 24 months, and Lois asks to be jailed with him. Stewie turns his device on the judge, who frees Peter and restores his job.

Production and reception

Production of the pilot began in 1998 and took six months; the welfare storyline was added at the suggestion of executive producer David Zuckerman to give the story more plot. Wikipedia, Death Has a Shadow
Lois was blonde in the original pilot and became a redhead for the broadcast series. Wikipedia, Death Has a Shadow
The episode aired on Fox on 31 January 1999 directly after Super Bowl XXXIII, was watched by 22 million people, and featured Lori Alan as Diane Simmons and Carlos Alazraqui as Mr Weed. Wikipedia, Death Has a Shadow
Ahsan Haque of IGN rated it 8.9 out of 10 in 2008, Robin Pierson of The TV Critic gave it 67 out of 100, and Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly reviewed it negatively. Wikipedia, Death Has a Shadow
In December 2024 the airline Cathay Pacific dropped the episode from its in-flight entertainment after a complaint about a cutaway referencing the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, and the airline apologised. Wikipedia, Death Has a Shadow

Voices

Voice	Characters
Seth MacFarlane	Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin
Alex Borstein	Lois Griffin, Gymnastic Lady #1, Baby Heimlich Kid
Seth Green	Chris Griffin, Greg Brady
Lori Alan	Diane Simmons, Nancy the Postal Lady
Fred Tatasciore	John Madden, Jewish Gymnast
Butch Hartman	Greg Brady, Paul, Thermostat Investigator #1
Wally Wingert	Pat Summerall, Jester, G.I. Jew Line
Phil LaMarr	Judge, Thermostat Investigator #2
Billy West	Church Father, Baseball Kid, Job Interviewer
Joey Slotnick	Dick Clark, Pound Poochy Kid

Principal voice credits as recorded by IMDb, which lists up to ten credits per episode, so recurring characters can be missing here. Guest voices below come from Wikipedia and TVmaze.

Guest voices

Lori Alan as Diane Simmons
Carlos Alazraqui as Mr. Weed, Mr. Jonathan Weed
Phil LaMarr as Judge
Butch Hartman as various characters
Billy West as Church Father
Fred Tatasciore as John Madden, Chevy Chase
Joey Slotnick as Dick Clark/various characters, Dick Clark
Wally Wingert as Pat Summerall
Frank Welker as Freddy

Season 1: episode 1 of 7

Season hub with air dates and credits for all 7 episodes

SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 1 and the episode's article (CC BY-SA 4.0). Spotted an error? See corrections.

Provenance

Facts only

Sources: Wikipedia: Death Has a Shadow
Wikidata Q1191505
IMDb
TVmaze
Data refreshed: 6 September 2026
Verification: Checked against Wikidata and IMDb: title, date, numbering and credits agree
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Licence: Facts are not copyrightable. Source text on Wikipedia is CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikidata is CC0; IMDb data is used for verification under its non-commercial terms.
Note: The story summary and notes were written for this site from the sources listed, by Claude in Claude Code on 2026-09-08, awaiting editorial review. Facts only; no dialogue is reproduced. Voice credits: Information courtesy of IMDb (https://www.imdb.com). Used with permission. Guest cast data from TVmaze (https://www.tvmaze.com), CC BY-SA.