For many viewers scouring the modern television landscape and bored by the mundanities of tired reality programs and cheesy crime dramas, something has been missing for quite some time: crass, old-fashioned political humor. Fox has finally filled that void.

Seth MacFarlane, creator of the popular but controversial cult hit Family Guy, has returned to Fox with his newest gut-wrenchingly funny cartoon, American Dad. Premiering after the Super Bowl, the show's pilot introduced television's newest cartoon family. The show officially premieres this May alongside the resurrection of Family Guy.

American Dad stars CIA agent and father Stan Smith (voiced by MacFarlane), as a typical flag-waving Republican living in northern Virginia.

His wife Francine (Wendy Schaal) stands by his side, but his daughter Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane), a bleeding-heart liberal, challenges his every move.

Stan's geeky son Steve (Scott Grimes) repeatedly takes advantage of his father's love in hopes of gaining popularity in high school. Rounded out by overweight alien Roger (Seth MacFarlane) and a German-accented goldfish named Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker), the Smiths are a far cry from the average American family.

The show begins during a presumably normal morning in the Smith household. After Stan and Hayley debate politics over breakfast, Steve announces to his proud father that he will ask out head cheerleader Lisa Silver that afternoon. Meanwhile, Francine forces a diet on the junk-food-loving Roger after he breaks a chair. The show takes off from there, guided by the same off-kilter humor that characterized Family Guy.

Although MacFarlane is best known for Family Guy, fans should hesitate to denounce Stan Smith's family as a watered-down version of the Griffins. If anything, American Dad is possibly even more controversial and funny than Family Guy. While the show mocks the anti-terrorism climate of the post-9/11 United States, MacFarlane also takes jabs at the Iraqi elections and Stan's own misogynist philosophy.

Hopefully, the same fate that befell Family Guy will not befall American Dad. Fox has cancelled critically acclaimed shows like The Tick and The Ben Stiller Show before. With its political bent, Dad could easily find itself on the chopping block.

American Dad's attack on the American political landscape is thorough, leaving no ideology unscathed. Whether that will entice viewers or simply alienate them, however, is yet to be seen.