 The basis for Family Guy was MacFarlane 's thesis film The Life of Larry , created in 1995 while he was a student at the Rhode Island School of Design . A sequel was conceived in 1996 called Larry & Steve , which aired in 1997 as a segment of Cartoon Network 's World Premiere Toons . Both shorts caught the attention of Fox , who contacted MacFarlane in 1999 to develop a series called Family Guy based on the films . A hand @-@ drawn pilot was created by MacFarlane with a budget of $ 50 @,@ 000 , which led to the series being accepted for production . It was rated TV @-@ PG @-@ L ( TV @-@ 14 @-@ L on Adult Swim ) . 
