 The show returned November 8 , 2001 , once again in a tough time slot : Thursday nights at 8 : 00 pm ET ; this slot brought it into competition with Survivor and Friends ( a situation that was later referenced in Stewie Griffin : The Untold Story ) . During its second and third seasons , Fox frequently moved the show around to different days and time slots with little or no notice and , consequently , the show 's ratings suffered . Upon Fox 's annual unveiling of its 2002 fall line @-@ up on May 15 , 2002 , Family Guy was absent . Fox announced that the show had been officially canceled shortly thereafter . 
