American Dad Season 18 - What We Know So Far

When American Dad! first premiered back in 2005, some assumed it was just another version of Family Guy. Such comparisons are only natural since both adult-oriented cartoon series come from the mind of Seth MacFarlane. However, after 17 seasons and a jump from Fox to TBS, American Dad! has forged its own path, becoming one of the longest-running scripted television series in history. 

The show has consistently found new ways to stay fresh. While early seasons focused heavily on politics, recent episodes have gotten more surreal, with storylines like Stan Smith communicating with the CIA's deceased janitor via his old leaf-blower. Season 17 even had an episode where Stan kidnaps The Weeknd, which works out just fine for the singer as he longs for a simpler life away from the spotlight.

With an alien who loves playing dress-up and the ghost of Sinbad in the mix, there are plenty of ways for the cartoon to stay relevant and original for years to come — which is good news considering the show has been renewed for seasons 18 and 19 (via Goliath), the former of which is set to come out in the very near future. After 300 episodes, American Dad! isn't slowing down in the slightest, and here's what we can expect next season. 

Fans of American Dad! are in luck: There's not going to be a ton of downtime between the season 17 finale and the season 18 premiere. The last new episode of the series (its Christmas special) came out on Dec. 21, 2020, and season 18 is currently set to debut on April 19, 2021 (via NME). Fast turnaround times are par for the course for the cartoon as new episodes are pretty much on a regular rotation on TBS, and it's easy to see why. 

The show is a solid performer, bringing in 18 million viewers across all of the network's platforms, according to Deadline. It's also easy for American Dad! to pick up new fans as older episodes air on Adult Swim, and the series is available in its entirety on Hulu. As long as the cast and crew want to keep making episodes, it's safe to say TBS will continue letting them.

All of the main voice actors are expected to return for American Dad! season 18. Seth MacFarlane, co-creator of the show, voices several members of the Smith household, including Stan and Roger the alien. Joining him are Wendy Schaal as Francine Smith, Rachael MacFarlane as Hayley Smith, Scott Grimes as Steve Smith, Jeff Fischer as Jeff Fischer-Smith (Hayley's husband), and Dee Bradley Baker as Klaus the talking goldfish. 

Other actors likely returning next season include Patrick Stewart as Avery Bullock, Curtis Armstrong as Snot, Eddie Kaye Thomas as Barry, and Daisuke Suzuki as Toshi. Plenty of guest stars have made their way onto American Dad! over the years, with season 17 bringing on the likes of Bill Nye, Criss Angel, Patton Oswalt, and Jane Lynch. There's no word yet on which celebs will join the Smith family for their next round of shenanigans, but we expect more than a few familiar voices.

The trailer for American Dad! season 18 came out on Jan. 21, 2021, and by the looks of it, the show's signature brand of dark humor will be firmly intact for the upcoming episodes. Just one minute in length, the trailer shows Roger and Steve taking up professions as snake venom harvesters. As one might expect, they come across a venomous snake, and it promptly bites them numerous times. 

It's common for comedies to lose their bite after a certain length of time, especially when a show has been on the air for well over a decade, but that clearly isn't the case for American Dad! New episodes will continue to come out for at least the next couple of years, which means there should be plenty more storylines with Roger assuming false identities and Steve trying to get a girlfriend.