True Lies Meets South Park In The 400-Episode Sitcom So Good, It Survived Being Cancelled Twice

Image via MovieStillsDB Published Sep 3, 2026, 2:46 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. Sign in to your ScreenRant account While a mix of True Lies and South Park might sound impossible to pull off in terms of tone, the Fox sitcom that managed this blend ended up hitting the incredible milestone of 400 episodes thanks to its consistent popularity. The success of The Simpsons is unparalleled in TV history, something evidenced by the show’s many world records. As of summer 2026, the series is both the longest-running US scripted prime-time TV series and the longest-running sitcom in American TV history, and The Simpsons isn’t going anywhere any time soon. With over 800 episodes to its name, The Simpsons is also the longest-running animated comedy ever, although there are a few shows that could someday hope to outdo the sitcom in that regard. Family Guy has 461 episodes, South Park has 338 before season 29’s September 2026 premiere, and Bob’s Burgers has a more than impressive 313 despite only debuting in 2011. However, the most surprising show to rival The Simpsons in terms of the longevity of its animated anarchy is undoubtedly American Dad. Originally conceived as a pointed political satire lampooning paranoid conservatives during the second Bush administration, American Dad centered on Stan Smith, a suburban father who was also a CIA agent. The show’s awkward mix of edgy humor and political commentary made the series a weird blend of James Cameron’s 1994 action comedy True Lies and South Park, but American Dad defied the odds and survived two cancellations to thrive over the decades. American Dad Was Canceled By Fox In 2013 and TBS In 2025 Much like New Girl came into its own when the show stopped focusing on Zooey Deschanel’s heroine Jess and Riverdale’s slide into Lovecraftian horror and fantasy salvaged what was originally a dull, familiar teen drama, American Dad improved immeasurably when the series abandoned its original premise. Throughout the first two seasons of the series, Stan’s chauvinistic jingoism defined the character, alongside his frequent clashes with his liberal daughter, Hayley. However, as American Dad continued, seasons 3–5 started to win over new viewers by focusing instead on side characters like the flamboyant alien Roger, the talking goldfish Klaus, Stan’s teen son Steve, and his profoundly unpredictable wife Francine. The longer American Dad continued on, the more the show morphed from a grounded, distinctly 2000s-era political satire to one of the most surreal and bizarre network comedies in history. This delighted fans of the series, who came to American Dad in search of something that made Family Guy’s most drawn-out anti-humor seem as mainstream as an episode of The Big Bang Theory. However, the series wasn’t for everyone. Indeed, Fox canceled the show after season 11 in 2014, likely because its consistent audience share of around 4-8 million from seasons 1-8 viewers had dwindled to a mere 2.5 million average. Fortunately for fans, TBS immediately picked up where Fox left off, and American Dad season 15—21 aired on the network between 2014 and 2025. To say that American Dad refused to change its tune after its Fox cancellation would be putting it mildly, as the show instead became more surreal and bizarre after its first brush with death. Season 19, episode 10, “Gold Top Nuts,” and season 16, episode 4, “Rabbit Ears,” are among the show’s most critically acclaimed outings ever, and they’re equally notable for being some of American Dad’s most uncompromisingly weird episodes. Anyone who has watched Rick and Morty's sci-fi anarchy might be wondering just how weird American Dad can really get, since the show is limited by the constrictions of network TV censorship. However, a quick look through the show’s history proves that American Dad has made an art form of taking the familiar, comforting contours of the US network TV sitcom and warping them until they are unrecognizable. American Dad’s Christmas episodes include a Mad Max-esque post-apocalyptic adventure story that pits Jesus against the Antichrist, as well as a gory slasher where Santa Claus gets violent revenge on the Smith family after Steve accidentally shoots him. Season 8, episode 10, “Blood Crieth Unto Heaven,” is an extended homage to the award-winning play August Osage County, and it’s just as dark and emotionally fraught as that rundown implies. The aforementioned “Rabbit Ears” isn’t even particularly comedic, instead playing out like a nightmarish episode of The Twilight Zone as Stan becomes trapped in a vintage TV show late at night. Season 14, episode 19, “Kloger,” follows an ill-fated hookup between Klaus the goldfish and Roger the alien, while a subplot sees Steve try to intentionally contract pinkeye so he can avoid a fitness test. American Dad’s 400th Episode Proves The Series Can’t Be Stopped If American Dad just dipped into the potentially discomfiting weirdness of “Rabbit Ears” on occasion, the show wouldn’t necessarily be any odder than Family Guy. If American Dad just went for the shock humor jugular of “Kloger” once or twice a season, it would likely be no weirder than South Park. However, it is American Dad’s admirably consistent, unfailing commitment to sheer bizarre invention that makes the series stand out in the world of US network sitcoms. There simply is not another show like this on TV, and the fact that the series sprang from what was once a fairly boilerplate satire of US party politics makes this transformation all the more striking. While it would admittedly be a while before American Dad could catch up with the longevity of The Simpsons, the show’s upcoming 400th episode is still a good chance to highlight its notable place in the medium’s history. American Dad is only the fifth US sitcom to ever reach the 400th episode milestone, alongside The Simpsons, Family Guy, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, and the ‘50s classic The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. This is an impressive achievement in its own right and one that deserves celebration, but it is also one that becomes all the more impressive when American Dad is contrasted with those shows. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was a thoroughly traditional sitcom, while Tyler Perry’s House of Payne never attempted anything that could have been considered risky or experimental even in the era of Cheers and Frasier, let alone now. The Simpsons pushed the boundaries of what types of comedy network sitcoms could experiment with, and Family Guy needled at network censorship norms, but American Dad’s mix of True Lies and South Park is stranger and more surreal than either earlier show ever dreamed of becoming. Release Date February 6, 2005 Network FOX, TBS Directors Rodney Clouden, Tim Parsons, Jansen Yee, Joe Daniello, Josue Cervantes, Pam Cooke, Jennifer Graves, Shawn Murray, Valerie Fletcher, John Aoshima, Brent Woods, John Drake O'Day, Bob Bowen, Mike Kim, Anthony Lioi, Ron Hughart, Tony Wharmby, Jim Parsons Cast Seth MacFarlane Stan Smith / Roger (voice) Wendy Schaal Francine Smith (voice) Writers Nic Wegener, Joe Chandler, Brett Cawley, Robert Maitia, Parker Deay, Jeff Kauffmann, Zachary Rosenblatt, Kenny Schwartz, Laura McCreary, Rick Wiener, Jordan Blum, Erik Durbin, Charles Suozzi, Chris McKenna, Steve Hely, Joel Hurwitz, Tim Saccardo, Erik Sommers, Paul Stroud, Sam Brenner, Murray Miller, Teresa Hsiao, Kirk J. Rudell, Matt Fusfeld Creator(s) Seth MacFarlane, Matt Weitzman, Mike Barker