The very first pilot episode of “Family Guy” was shared on YouTube after being considered lost for over three decades.
The full pilot episode of “Family Guy” was found by chance by a user of the Lost Media Wiki Discord server. The episode was produced in 1998 and was shared with the public for the first time after being lost for more than 30 years.
Fans of Seth MacFarlane’s animated series previously had access to only half of the 16-minute episode, available as bonus content on the Family Guy Volume 2 DVD, released in 2003 with material from the first season.
Robert Paulson, a graphic designer and animator, uploaded the episode to his online portfolio in 2022, but it was only discovered in March 2025 by chance by a user of the Lost Media Wiki Discord.
The search for the lost episode stemmed from fans’ desire to compare the show’s current quality to how it began when it premiered in 1999.
Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy,” assembled the pilot after Fox invested $50,000 in the project and decided to move forward with the series, which officially debuted in 1999.
The episode features much of what later appeared in the official premiere, with Stewie Griffin building a mind-control device and his father, Peter Griffin, getting drunk at a bachelor party.
Peter’s voice in the pilot was not performed by Seth Green, who voices the character today. Instead, Seth MacFarlane himself voiced Peter in the pilot.
The series was renewed in 2023 for seasons 22 and 23.
+Watch the pilot episode of “Family Guy”
Photos: YouTube Gobbie. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.