This year’s Family Guy Christmas special will be a Hallmark movie parody: “We just decided to give up trying to be original”

Prepare yourself, the holiday specials are approaching, and Family Guy’s is targeting Hallmark’s snug festive romance films this year. The tale will encompass all the elements of a cozy, sentimental adventure, with Lois Griffin leading the way, because naturally.

“It becomes increasingly challenging each year to try to devise an original – or what we aspire to be an original – Christmas episode,” Alec Sulkin, an executive producer and showrunner on Family Guy, shares with Collider. “So this year, we simply chose to abandon the pursuit of originality and instead utilized every single trope that’s been utilized previously.”

She receives more than she anticipated on the journey, including – surprise – romance, with a delightful local mechanic named Peter who enlightens her about what truly counts in life. I’m uncertain about that last part, this is Family Guy after all, but the showrunners come from a standpoint of appreciating the charm in the genre’s sweetness.

“It’s akin to entertainment Xanax, those Hallmark films,” Sulkin remarks. “Occasionally when you switch them on, you think, ‘You know what? Life in this place wouldn’t be so terrible.’ There’s definitely a layer of wish fulfillment.”

Disney’s Hulu’s Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel’s Lifetime’s Familiar Holiday Movie is set to launch on November 28. Our new TV shows guide will simplify selecting your viewing this festive season.

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and gaming journalist, currently residing in Glasgow. He has previously worked as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, in addition to contributing to Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and several others. Aside from Studio Ghibli, horror films, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and professional wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t keep discussing it incessantly or anything.