Season 9 · Episode 13 · First aired 20 March 2011
Trading Places
Episode 13 of Family Guy season 9 (S09E13), the 160th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Steve Callaghan and directed by Joseph Lee. First broadcast on 20 March 2011.
Story
Peter wins a dirt bike in a televised contest by keeping a hand on it for nine hours, seeing off Mayor West with a text message that makes him let go. Chris then wrecks the bike showing off for Meg, and the row that follows ends with the parents and children swapping places for a week. Meg runs the house and turns out to be a fine cook, Chris impresses Peter's boss Angela at the brewery, and Peter and Lois flounder at school under homework and bullies. When they ask to stop, Meg agrees but Chris refuses, having taken Peter's job. Overwork drives Chris to drink and then to a heart attack. Out of hospital, he accepts that adult life is no easier, and the household returns to normal.
Production and reception
- The title refers to the 1983 film Trading Places, in which two men swap lives to settle a bet about upbringing and inheritance. Wikipedia, Trading Places (Family Guy)
- Steve Callaghan, an executive producer and showrunner on the series, wrote the episode. Joseph Lee directed and Ron Jones composed the music. Wikipedia, Trading Places (Family Guy)
- Guest voices included Gary Cole, Nina Dobrev, Carrie Fisher, Rachael MacFarlane, Laura Vandervoort and Lisa Wilhoit, with Adam West also appearing. Wikipedia, Trading Places (Family Guy)
- Nielsen recorded 6.55 million viewers. The A.V. Club reviewer Rowan Kaiser graded the episode B and welcomed the larger parts written for Chris and Meg. Wikipedia, Trading Places (Family Guy)
- The production team entered the episode for the outstanding comedy series Emmy in 2011, together with four others from the same season. Wikipedia, Trading Places (Family Guy)
Voices
| Voice | Characters |
|---|---|
| Seth MacFarlane | Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin |
| Alex Borstein | Lois Griffin |
| Seth Green | Chris Griffin, Canadian Student |
| Mila Kunis | Meg Griffin |
| Mike Henry | Criminal |
| Steve Callaghan | Victim |
| Gary Cole | Principal Shepherd |
| Nina Dobrev | Lois' High School Bully |
| Carrie Fisher | Angela |
| Rachael MacFarlane | Amber |
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
- Gary Cole as Principal Shepherd
- Nina Dobrev as Gina, Teen Girl #3
- Carrie Fisher as Angela
- Rachael MacFarlane as Amber
- Laura Vandervoort as Third Bully Girl, Bridget
- Lisa Wilhoit as Connie D'Amico, Connie DiMico
- Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson
- Adam West as Mayor Adam West
- Johnny Brennan as Mort Goldman
- Mark Hentemann as Opie
- Scott Grimes as Singer
- Alec Sulkin as Announcer #2
- Danny Smith as Jim Kaplan
- Seth Green as Cheerleader
- Steve Callaghan as Mugging Victim
Season 9: episode 13 of 18
- E1And Then There Were Fewer
- E2Excellence in Broadcasting
- E3Welcome Back, Carter
- E4Halloween on Spooner Street
- E5Baby, You Knock Me Out
- E6Brian Writes a Bestseller
- E7Road to the North Pole
- E8New Kidney in Town
- E9And I'm Joyce Kinney
- E10Friends of Peter G.
- E11German Guy
- E12The Hand That Rocks the Wheelchair
- E13Trading PlacesYou are here
- E14Tiegs for Two
- E15Brothers & Sisters
- E16The Big Bang Theory
- E17Foreign Affairs
- E18It's a Trap!
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
- Data refreshed
- 6 September 2026
- Verification
- Checked against Wikidata and IMDb: title, date, numbering and credits agree
- 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.