Season Review: American Dad Season 17

Overview:

America’s favorite animated family, the Smiths, are back for more misguided and maladjusted adventures. American Dad’s 17th season doesn’t find itself struggling to tell stories as Stan, Francine, Hayley, Steve, Roger, Klaus, and even Rogu, share an evenly balanced year of excitement. After this long there’s very little that American Dad hasn’t said or done, yet season 17 still finds ways to challenge the Smith family, both as individuals, and as a unit, with acerbic comedy that’s just as sharp as ever.

Our Take:

It becomes increasingly difficult for a television show to surprise and challenge its audience with each passing installment, but this task becomes practically impossible if a series has accumulated a bevy of content that’s just shy of 350 episodes. It’d be easy for American Dad to phone it in or simply call it quits, but during a time where so much content is being cut and erased it’s extremely encouraging to know that there are at least two more seasons of American Dad confirmed. This pledge could be worrisome if American Dad were going through the motions or repeating its greatest hits to diminishing returns. However, a bright future for American Dad is comforting when season 17 delivers consistent quality across the board that finds ways to push characters and stories to fresh places, including some of the weirdest and most memorable episodes that American Dad has made in years.

One of the biggest ways in which American Dad can explore fresh territory at this point in its lifespan is through its characters rather than specific storylines. American Dad has gotten a lot of mileage out of deeper looks at Klaus and Jeff, with this season being plentiful for both individuals. “The Book of Fischer”, “Please Please Jeff”, and “The Book of Fischer” are all some of the best and deepest Jeff episodes that American Dad has ever done. Klaus and his alcove also get their due, as do his notorious “boys.” One of the funniest jokes from this season involves an extremely specific shade of paint for Klaus’ truck that I’ll never be able to forget. This season of American Dad effectively celebrates characters as individuals, but there are also some really satisfying stories between Hayley and Stan, as well as Hayley and Jeff, that get to the root of their relationships.

Additionally, Steve’s support system of friends have always been popular, but this season gives Snot a lot to do and attempts to contextualize Steve’s friends on their own, or with other characters beyond just Steve. It’s a successful experiment that American Dad will hopefully continue to embrace next season. “I Heard You Wanna Buy Some Speakers,” for instance, is a story between Snot and Barry that becomes an episode about Barry finding his independence outside of Snot–and Steve’s–shadow. And don’t worry, among all of these fractured family members and friends is still plenty of Rogu.

A series like American Dad has covered so much ground after 350 episodes that it’s hard to still find fresh takes on these characters and material. Season 17 has a handful of stylistic anomalies that stand out and feel like the direct result of a series that’s been around for this long and has adopted a natural level of fearlessness over what can and can’t be done in an episode. “Smooshed: A Love Story” is a fairly standard breakdown of unrequited young love, but it adopts a mockumentary angle that gives it a little extra spice and teases the possibility of a long-term love interest in Steve’s future. “The Curious Case of the Old Hole” resurrects Steve and Roger’s detective alter egos, Wheels and the Legman, whose specific brand of chaos is always a welcome addition to American Dad. It’s comforting to see this long-standing tradition hasn’t been forgotten. On the topic of such, “You Are Here” and “The Grounch” continue American Dad’s history with successful seasonal holiday installments that push the limits of reality while still staying within canon. 

Finally, “Gold Top Nuts” and “Echoes” are two of the strongest episodes in American Dad’s run. The former is a bizarre meditation on language, symbols, and identity that’s a surprise on every level. “Echoes” operates as a de facto series finale that explores with the end of all things, fate, and a multiverse theory that teases some powerful revelations that thankfully don ‘t act as American Dad’s final message, but would function as a fitting farewell if they were. It’s episodes like these two that are testaments to the importance of American Dad’s ongoing existence and why it’s not just some animated show that’s in its twilight years.

Some of the episodes from this season of American Dad are definitely more successful and original than others, but none from this lot are absolute misfires, which is saying something for a series that still adheres to the old-fashioned 22-episode formula of network television. Aesthetically, this season contains some adventurous visual flourishes through smaller fantasy sequences and stylistic escapes. ”Gernot and Strudel” and its creepy creations or the apocalyptic death-bringer from “Echoes” showcase completely different animation styles from American Dad’s norm. They’re fun opportunities for American Dad’s animators to really show off their skills and push boundaries that stray from the series’ standard animation. It’s rare that audiences are tuning into American Dad for its animation and visuals, but it’s satisfying that these later seasons can still indulge in that area.

Like any season of television, American Dad’s 17th year has had its shares of ups and downs, but there are far more wins than losses this year. The more introspective direction that’s taken with some of the characters and their relationships is encouraging for the nature of the show’s future, but the bigger swings that this season takes are absolute grand slams that are among the series’ best work. These risks and ambitious turns are encouraging, but it’s also just deeply funny on top of everything else. American Dad never lets ego or ambition get in the way of pure comedy. It makes me extremely happy to report that American Dad has plenty left to say after 17 seasons and, oddly enough, the show’s future has never looked brighter.