Season 9 · Episode 2 · First aired 3 October 2010

Excellence in Broadcasting

Episode 2 of Family Guy season 9 (S09E02), the 149th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Patrick Meighan and directed by John Holmquist. First broadcast on 3 October 2010.

Story

A news bulletin confirms that Diane Simmons was the killer at James Woods's mansion, clearing Tom Tucker, who introduces her replacement, Joyce Kinney. Lois then reads that the conservative radio presenter Rush Limbaugh is signing books in Quahog, and Brian goes to argue with him. Limbaugh asks whether Brian has read any of his work, and later fights off a gang who mug him, so Brian reads the book overnight and becomes a Republican. Lois calls him a contrarian, and after a fractious dinner Brian moves in with Limbaugh, whose patience runs out when Brian replaces his possessions, interrupts his radio show and is jailed for waterboarding Nancy Pelosi. Limbaugh bails him out, uses an invented news story to prove Brian is still a liberal, and leaves.

Production and reception

Limbaugh said on his own radio programme that he took the part because of his friendship with Seth MacFarlane, and that he recorded across three or four days in four-hour sessions, including the song. Wikipedia, Excellence in Broadcasting
MacFarlane announced the episode in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on 13 August 2009, saying the staff had offered the idea widely to Republicans and had takers. Wikipedia, Excellence in Broadcasting
This was the first episode to carry a high-definition opening title sequence. Patrick Meighan wrote it and John Holmquist directed. Wikipedia, Excellence in Broadcasting
Guest voices besides Limbaugh included Rainn Wilson, Shelley Long, Gary Cole, Nana Visitor, Phil LaMarr and Christine Lakin. Wikipedia, Excellence in Broadcasting
Nielsen recorded 7.94 million viewers and a 3.9 rating among adults aged 18 to 49, a marked drop from the season premiere the week before. Wikipedia, Excellence in Broadcasting

Voices

Voice	Characters
Seth MacFarlane	Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin
Alex Borstein	Lois Griffin, European Woman
Seth Green	Chris Griffin
Mila Kunis	Meg Griffin
Mike Henry	Officer
Gary Cole	Mike Brady
Chris Cox	George W. Bush
Ralph Garman	TV Gang #1
Christine Lakin	Joyce Kinney
Phil LaMarr	Ollie Williams

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

Rush Limbaugh as himself, Rush Limbaugh
Gary Cole as Mike Brady
Christine Lakin as Joyce Kinney
Shelley Long as Carol Brady
Nana Visitor as Nancy Pelosi
Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute
Phil LaMarr as Ollie Williams
Chris Cox as George W. Bush

Season 9: episode 2 of 18

Season hub with air dates and credits for all 18 episodes

SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 9 and the episode's article (CC BY-SA 4.0). Spotted an error? See corrections.

Provenance

Facts only

Sources: Wikipedia: Excellence in Broadcasting
Wikipedia: Family Guy season 9
Wikidata Q4038424
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.