Family Guy Was Quick To Change A Prominent Detail About Lois

While he's currently exploring the cosmos in the sci-fi series "The Orville," Seth MacFarlane's breakout in television was thanks to a particular family in Quahog, Rhode Island. In 1999, "Family Guy" premiered on FOX and took the initial premise of "The Simpsons" but spun it into edgy and absurd directions fans were probably only used to at that point from "South Park." The Griffin family introduced us to its unique blend of cutaway gags, harsh celebrity satire, and beloved running jokes that sometimes involve a brutal fight with a giant chicken. "Family Guy" has run for an impressive 20 seasons at the time of writing, never veering too far from its consistent formula for joke material.

However, that doesn't suggest the series is afraid of implementing some changes. During its time on TV, each member of the Griffins has transformed in one way or another, especially Lois. The family's matriarch starts the series as usually one of the few voices of reason, occasionally dipping her toes in some zany shenanigans. As the series continues, she increasingly verbally dumps on her daughter Meg and even has an affair with Bill Clinton. And that's just the tip of the significant change iceberg Lois goes through from Season 1 to Season 20. We'd like to think that the only thing that remains the same about Lois is her design, yet even that isn't true. There was actually one prominent detail about Lois that differed from the show's first pilot.

Watching the 11-minute pilot pitch for "Family Guy" (via VerbcideMag YouTube) is a neat history lesson into the series' origins. The pitch could be seen as a stripped-down version of "Death Has A Shadow," which was the debut episode of "Family Guy." The plot remains unchanged, as Peter gets too drunk at a party and, as a result, falls asleep at his job. There's even a "Brady Bunch" bit that feels similar to whenever the series humorously skewers the '70s sitcom. The pitch is also a bizarre peek into what could have happened with the designs. Some of the Griffins' clothes are much different compared to what they wear in the series.

But all of that seems so trivial when we look at Lois. In the pitch, gone are her trademark red hair and blue blouse. Instead, Lois is sporting blond hair and a red shirt. Much like the rest of the Griffins, the design was short-lived, as we got the family's appearance as we know it today as soon as the first official episode. It hasn't been officially stated why Lois went through the hair change, but it could be because MacFarlane didn't have much money or time for the pilot. While speaking in an interview for The Paley Center for Media, MacFarlane recalled that when executives at FOX gave him only $50,000 for the pilot, he worked on it for only six months, animating by hand. It definitely explains the pilot's rough-edged look compared to the rest of the series.

Seeing Lois with a blond 'do is a little strange after 20 seasons of nothing but red. However, as some fans on Reddit noted about the hair change, Lois being a blonde gives a better explanation for one of her children's designs. Chris is the only Griffin family member with blond hair, with Meg and Peter having brown. Although a beloved character on the show, It's always made him stick out. Some fans noted it's weird that with Lois' different hair after the pilot, nothing was done to Chris. u/preseidon posted, "And they couldn't do a quick change to make his hair match theirs?" 

Perhaps the show didn't want the Griffins to be too predictable in design. And, as another fan noted, genetics can play an unpredictable game when it comes to generations passing down traits. Besides, who's to say that Chris is a natural blond, anyway? We're only assuming until the series presents a new joke about the teenager lying all these years about his hair. It's not uncommon for teenagers or young adults to aim for some personal style by turning to some trusty hair dye. "I always thought Chris could be a bottle blonde," u/yellow_psychopath posted.