Family Guy is Seth MacFarlane‘s flagship animated series for adults. The series follows the Griffin family, including Peter (MacFarlane), Lois (Alex Borstein), their children Meg (Mila Kunis), Chris (Seth Green) and Stewie (MacFarlane) and their dog Brian (MacFarlane). Family Guy is set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Quahog, and follows the Griffins’ misadventures and those of their family and friends.

While it’s difficult to pick out the funniest characters in the series, there are several that stand out. Each character in the show brings their own unique brand of humor to the story. Some characters have distinctive voices that make their jokes funnier. Other characters are funny because of their perspectives. The funniest characters in Family Guy are the ones who lean into the show’s absurdity and make it charming.

10

Tom Tucker

Voiced by Seth MacFarlane

Tom Tucker (MacFarlane) is the local news anchor at Channel 5 News. His distinct baritone voice makes him stand out and is instantly recognizable. He makes full use of his voice in his role as a newscaster and commands attention every time he’s on the air. He’s a former actor, and there’s always a hint of bitterness in his voice. He’s also notably nonchalant when presenting some of Family Guy‘s wildest news stories.

Tom Tucker doesn’t need to be a main character to be one of the series’ funniest personalities. He is able to highlight a joke, make a funny situation funnier, or overreact at completely inappropriate times. His exaggerated delivery of the news always stands out. Tom’s humor also comes from the fact that he drops wild pieces of lore about himself, and the fact that he delivers every piece of information with such a distinctive tone.

9

Glenn Quagmire

Voiced by Seth MacFarlane

Glenn Quagmire (MacFarlane) is one of Peter’s closest friends and the Griffins’ neighbors. He is one of Family Guy‘s most recognizable characters because of his shenanigans. His humor is vulgar, and his misogyny comes through in basically every moment he’s on the screen. However, the fact that he’s the butt of many jokes since he’s such an objectively terrible person makes him one of the series’ funniest characters.

Quagmire’s humor comes from the fact that he’s easy to make fun of. His sense of entitlement would make him insufferable. Thankfully, his friends and other associates are always ready to bring him back down to Earth. His shocking and overtly sexual jokes would fall flat in a lesser character. Quagmire’s outlandish and offensive humor works because he is given the chance to show how emotionally deep he can be, especially when he’s called out by those around him.

8

Cleveland Brown

Voiced by Mike Henry and Arif Zahir

Cleveland Brown is one of Family Guy‘s most recognizable characters, and eventually headlined his own series, The Cleveland Show. He is one of Peter’s best friends and often acts as the voice of reason and caution when their friend group gets out of hand. After temporarily being written out of Family Guy to headline The Cleveland Show, Cleveland has returned to Quahog. Although his character has changed significantly since he returned, he’s still one of the most charming characters on the show.

Because Cleveland is one of the calmest characters in a series that features chaotic personalities, his humor comes from the fact that he often offsets the chaos his friends cause. Cleveland’s thoughtfulness often leads him to have unintentionally funny moments. The fact that Cleveland often brings his friends back down to Earth when they get too carried him away makes it even funnier when he himself flies off the handle.

7

Chris Griffin

Voiced by Seth Green

As the Griffins’ oldest son, Chris has a unique perspective on his family. He often goes between being a clueless teenager to dropping surprising insights about his family and friends. Chris physically resembles his father and is often very similar to Peter in temperament. Ultimately, Chris comes across as being a sweet-natured teen in contrast to his evil baby brother and his sister, who has a tendency to come across as pathetic.

Chris is one of the funniest Family Guy characters because, underneath his unintelligent exterior, he’s able to make pointed observations about his family and the world around him. Chris’s humor comes from the fact that he can go from acting incredibly juvenile to surprisingly mature in a short amount of time. Like his father, he often lacks common sense, which also makes him both funny and charming.

6

Meg Griffin

Voiced by Mila Kunis

Meg Griffin is the Griffin family’s only daughter, and often the butt of her family’s jokes. She’s also frequently bullied by classmates at school, and she doesn’t always recognize that she’s being targeted. While she’s often portrayed as a pushover, she has always had her limits and has been known to snap when pushed too far. Despite her seemingly emotionally weak exterior, she constantly surprises those around her by showing how many talents she actually has.

Meg is one of the funniest characters in the series because she’s so easy to mock. The way she’s able to take the bullying she receives from her family and peers in stride makes her as endearing as she is humorous. Her humor is snarky and often vulgar, which sets her apart from her family and classmates. She often uses her status as a punching bag for everyone who knows her to her advantage, which adds depth to the humor she brings to the story.

5

Joe Swanson

Voiced by Patrick Warburton

Joe Swanson is one of Peter’s closest friends, and one of the Griffins’ neighbors. He’s a wheelchair user and a police officer. He often uses his wheelchair to carry out his police duties, like chasing criminals or rescuing victims of crimes. Joe is married to Bonnie (Jennifer Tilly). While they love each other very much, they find themselves frequently at odds. Joe does his best to be a good husband, however, and a good father to his daughter.

Joe is one of Family Guy‘s funniest characters because he sees himself as an action hero, and often takes over-the-top action to prove that he is one. Of the core group of friends featured in the series, Joe is often the most intense. These exaggerated reactions to otherwise mundane situations make him one of the most hilarious characters. Additionally, the way he randomly reveals parts of his tragic backstory at the most inappropriate times gives others the chance to have a laugh at his expense.

4

Peter Griffin

Voiced by Seth MacFarlane

Peter Griffin is the series’ titular “Family Guy”, a blue-collar worker who often acts like a buffoon. He never hesitates to get himself and his family and friends into wild situations without thinking. His absentmindedness and selfishness often gets him into trouble, but leads him to truly hilarious situations. Underneath his silly exterior, however, he’s shown to be someone who’s far more intelligent than he acts, and who has unique perspectives.

One of Family Guy‘s longstanding traditions is the fact that it relies on cutaway humor, and Peter is often the center of these gags. These cutaways are often used as an opportunity to show just how far Peter will take situations. Peter’s humor also comes from the fact that he is arrogant despite the fact that he isn’t intelligent enough to back this up. His buffoonery never gets old, and the fact that he’s so earnest makes him easily one of the funniest characters in the series.

3

Lois Griffin

Voiced by Alex Borstein

As the family matriarch, Lois Griffin has a unique perspective on her family’s chaos. When she’s first introduced in the series, she’s a stay-at-home mother who offers piano lessons. Over the years, she’s become the backbone of Family Guy because she keeps her family together. She is often underestimated and proves time and again that she is one of the series’ strongest characters with her unique sense of humor.

Lois’s sense of humor is one of the most notable in the series because she goes from being goofy to deadpan and sarcastic with minimal effort. She can also be unexpectedly crude, and delivers lines one might not expect from a typical sitcom mom. Additionally, she’s able to riff off of the other characters, which makes her sense of humor versatile. Ultimately, Lois’s self-awareness is what cements her status as one of Family Guy‘s funniest characters.

2

Brian Griffin

Voiced by Seth MacFarlane

Brian Griffin is the Griffin family dog and someone who thinks he’s smarter than most people around him. He’s often arrogant and dismissive, knowing that he’s frequently more intelligent than others around him. His human characteristics don’t always make sense, and the fact that he’s an intelligent dog isn’t really addressed. Brian’s pretentious attitude comes through regularly, and it’s often easy to root against him since he thinks he’s better than everyone else.

Brian is one of Family Guy‘s funniest characters because it’s clear he sees himself as the dramatic protagonist of a deep story, when the series is anything but. The fact that Brian takes himself so seriously against the backdrop of such an unserious family makes him stand out. He often uses cringe humor to his advantage. Even when he’s at his lowest, he never loses his sense of superiority, which makes him hilarious.

1

Stewie Griffin

Voiced by Seth MacFarlane

Stewie is the Griffin’s youngest child, and the baby of the family. At the beginning of the series, he’s introduced as an evil genius hell-bent on world domination. However, as the series has continued, this part of his personality has been toned down. Instead, he’s shown to be a fiercely intelligent toddler who loves proving how much smarter he is than everyone around him, especially the members of his family. He can be unexpectedly vulnerable at times, and his observations are often incredibly accurate.

Stewie is Family Guy’s funniest character because he uses his intelligence to make pointed observations about his family and the world around him. He’s able to play off any of the other characters effortlessly, which gives him a unique opportunity to punch up his humor. Stewie’s self-awareness puts him in a position to be one of the funniest characters because he has such a unique perspective on life. Because Stewie is so over-the-top and unpredictable, he has an endless supply of humorous material to pull from.

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