Why the Family Guy-The Simpsons crossover is still iconic 10 years later

When you imagine TV's two most infamous animated families- the Griffins and the Simpsons- coming together, there's bound to be chaos and trouble. And you'd be correct. "The Simpsons Guy" is the crossover episode of Family Guy and The Simpsons, which aired in 2014. All mastery credit goes to Seth MacFarlane and Al Jean, Matt Groening, and the rest of MacFarlane and Groening for allowing the production to happen.

Ten years later, the episode is still iconic. Family Guy and The Simpsons have only strengthened and remain in the top tier of Fox Sunday night's Animation Domination Block. We haven't had a follow-up between the Griffins and the Simpsons since, with the exception of Family Guy's cold open in 2023, where Bob Belcher from Bob's Burgers made an appearance.

Why the Family Guy- The Simpsons crossover ("The Simpsons Guy") is making us laugh after 10 years

"The Simpsons Guy" was season 13's premiere, airing on September 28th, 2014. Inside this hilarious 44-minute bundle, Peter Griffin, Lois, Brian, and their kids- Stewie, Chris, and Meg-stop in Springfield following car failure and become acquainted with the Simpsons. While shopping at the Kwik-Q-Mart, the Griffins meet Homer Simpson, who introduces the Quahog residents to his favorite snack treat, donuts. From there, Homer and Peter became quick friends, and I couldn't help but compare their IQ levels side-by-side as they pursued all sorts of questionable hijinks. Needless to say, it was Homer who won the IQ round. It's not that it was of any importance, but "The Simpsons Guy "undershadowed the element.

Aside from Homer and Peter, who later were in court over beer trademarks, Bart and Stewie formed a friendship. The latter took the pranks too far, even for Bart's level, but Stewie's behavior is developed to have some ingrained evil. While the arc has been minimized in later seasons, the slight evilness works in Bart's favor in "The Simpsons Guy" because it makes Bart look like a saint regarding his prank-pullings.

Yet, that's the concept of the episode- to witness how the characters would correspond in a dual universe; it's meant to be satirical and humorous. The writers of both franchises additionally knew that one day, "The Simpsons Guy" would be a permanent fixture in pop culture history.

And they were right.