FOX | TBS | Release Date: February 6, 2005
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
13
Negative:
7
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75
Season 11 Review: [Both first episodes are] funny enough on their own, although taken together they reveal how easily the show's formula can be read after being on the air for so long. [12 Sep 2014, p.58]
70
Kansas City StarAaron BarnhartJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: Mostly a hoot. [4 Feb 2005]
60
Orlando SentinelHal BoedekerJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: The scattershot humor ranges from perceptive to sophomoric to blah. [6 Feb 2005]
50
San Francisco ChronicleTim GoodmanJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: Feels forced.... What "American Dad" really resembles most is the less-funny outtakes from "Family Guy," done in a way that doesn't even pretend to be original. [4 Feb 2005]
50
USA TodayRobert BiancoJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: If you like Family Guy, you'll probably like American Dad. The problem is, if you've seen Family Guy, you've already seen American Dad. [4 Feb 2005]
50
San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesCharlie McCollumJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: In its early episodes, "American Dad" not only follows the lead of "Family Guy" but also throws in digs at U.S. political institutions. [1 May 2005]
50
Washington PostJohn MaynardJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: "Family Guy" fans, prepare to be disappointed: "American Dad" looks a lot like its predecessor, but it lacks the zing and smarts that made "Family Guy" a cult hit. [1 May 2005]
50
Boston HeraldSarah RodmanJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: Although 'Dad' also was created by [Family Guy's Seth] MacFarlane and has even more outlandish characters - a gay alien, a randy German goldfish - it feels like the more conventional (read: less funny) sitcom. [1 May 2005]
50
Houston ChronicleMike McDanielJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: It cribs from Family Guy, which has a similar family makeup, and, as with that series, its laughs are hither and yon. [30 Apr 2005]
50
New York Daily NewsDavid BianculliJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: It's a bit cruder and ruder [than "Family Guy"], and its family seems unimaginatively similar to Peter Griffith's - except that the dad works for the CIA, and there's a talking alien instead of a talking dog. [28 Apr 2005]
50
Newark Star-LedgerAlan SepinwallJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: If you're not expecting much, you'll come away satisfied. But compared to a good episode of "Family Guy" - or even a mediocre "Simpsons" episode - it's pretty thin gruel. [28 Apr 2005]
40
Chicago TribuneSid SmithJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: As with "Guy," the idea is to cram this new animated cartoon series with a laugh a second, or at least a second-by-second attempt. Trouble is, too many of the laughs are so-so, too fleetingly funny or disturbingly potty-mouthed. [4 Feb 2005]
40
The New York TimesAlessandra StanleyJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: Lacks bite.... The series aspires to pick up where 'The Simpsons' and 'South Park' left off, but many of its jokes and cultural references seem off. [4 Feb 2005]
40
Boston GlobeMatthew GilbertJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: Little more than an empty vehicle for clever jokes on America since 9/11. [30 Apr 2005]
40
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: To call "Dad" derivative of "Family Guy" would be an understatement. [28 Apr 2005]
37
San Diego Union-TribuneRobert P. LaurenceJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: "Dad" is even spottier than "Family Guy," a nearly random collection of blackouts in search of a story. [29 Apr 2005]
37
Chicago Sun-TimesThomas ConnerJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: The jokes aren't funny, the story is silly (or, really, not silly enough) and the new writers follow the "Family Guy" model so closely they fail to explain any of the characters or even the premise of the show. [28 Apr 2005]
30
VarietyBrian LowryJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: As in "Family Guy," MacFarlane and company rely on a fast-moving formula predicated on the mindset that if a joke doesn't work, another will be along momentarily. There's something to that for small fry, but the low batting average and scatological emphasis conspire to narrow the program's appeal. [4 Feb 2005]
30
NewsdayNoel HolstonJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: Determinedly irreverent and politically incorrect, but so obvious in its targets and so unoriginal in its barbs that it ends up being mostly an ode to its own crudity. [29 Apr 2005]
0
New York PostAdam BuckmanJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: About as appetizing as fried roadkill. [5 Feb 2005]
0
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan StormJul 10, 2013
Season 1 Review: The only fun is in trying to enumerate how many ways it's offensive. [30 Apr 2005]