 " North by North Quahog " , which premiered May 1 , 2005 , was the first episode to be broadcast after the show 's hiatus . It was written by MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin . MacFarlane believed the show 's three @-@ year hiatus was beneficial because animated shows do not normally have hiatuses , and towards the end of their seasons , " ... you see a lot more sex jokes and [ bodily function ] jokes and signs of a fatigued staff that their brains are just fried " . With " North by North Quahog " , the writing staff tried to keep the show " [ ... ] exactly as it was " before its cancellation , and " None of us had any desire to make it look any slicker " . The episode was watched by 11 @.@ 85 million viewers , the show 's highest ratings since the airing of the first season episode " Brian : Portrait of a Dog " . 
