American Dad is one of the most popular animated comedy sitcoms around the world.
The show was created by Seth McFarlane, who also created Family Guy along with Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker. The series follows observational comedy, surrealism, black comedy, and farce into absurd plotlines per episode.
American Dad premiered in February of 2005 and has aired 330 episodes divided into 19 seasons until March 2022. The show revolves around the family of CIA operative Stan Smith.
Plot
As mentioned above, Stan Smith is the protagonist of American Dad, who is happily married to Francine. They are an upper middle class family with two children, Hayley, a liberal leftist, and a nerdy son Steve.
The family also consists of a manipulative Alien named Roger and a weird goldfish named Klaus, who has the mind of an Eastern European athlete.
Cast and Characters
Stan Smith, played by Seth McFarlane
Stan Smith is a CIA weapons expert and is portrayed as a typical American stereotype of a macho man. He is rash, racist and insensitive.
It is also stated that he is a conservative Republican and is Canadian.
Francine Smith, played by Wendy Schaal
Francine is the wife of Stan and the mother of Hayley and Steve. She is a homemaker and is the voice of reason within the family.
She also had a promiscuous life before settling down and had trouble with the law, drug abuse, and cults. She was raised by a Chinese American couple and thus can speak Chinese.
Hayley Smith, played by Rachel McFarlane
Hayley is the eldest daughter of the couple and an anti-thesis of her father. She is liberal and passionate about communism, activism, and women’s rights.
It is implied that Stan might not be Hayley’s father; however, they do share a unique dynamic. Hayley is nineteen and has a boyfriend named Jeff Fischer.
Steve Smith, played by Scott Grimes
Steve Smith is the couple’s younger son and is fourteen years old. He has three geeky friends who share many traits with him and is best friends with Roger the Alien.
He is portrayed as gawky and, at the same time, emotional and sensitive. Though at times, he stands his ground against Roger and other characters in the Show.
Roger, played by Seth McFarlane
Roger is a grey alien who is over 1601 years old and lives with the family. He started living with Stan ever since he saved him at Area 51 and has been on Earth after crashing at Roswell.
He is very much into contemporary pop culture and is portrayed as manipulative, self obsessed, sociopathic, and petty. Roger has a sort of love-hate relationship with the family and is a rival to Klaus.
Klaus, played by Dee Bradley Baker
Klaus Heisler is the talking goldfish of the Smith Family. He was once an Eastern European athlete whose mind was transferred into the fish by the CIA so that he might not win the Olympics.
He has a huge crush on Francine and is often seen making advances on her. After Francine, he is the most reasonable voice in the family.
Awards and Accolades
American Dad has a huge fan following in the United States and has been nominated for many awards.
The nominations include Teen Choice Awards, Prime Time Emmy, Peoples Choice, Golden Reel Awards, etc.