What Is The 'Family Guy Death Pose?' The Viral Meme Explained

Family Guy has inspired a lot of viral memes over the years. One of the most tried and true formats is the Family Guy Death Pose, a pose seen many times throughout the show when a character dies or gets hurt. Here's how people turned a simple animation pose into a viral meme format.

What Is The 'Family Guy Death Pose' Meme?

The Family Guy death pose is a pose that's been seen a lot throughout the show's 20+ year run. While it's not clear exactly when the first instance of the pose appears, one of the most notable examples happens during the 11th episode of the 10th season, which aired in 2012.

In the episode, Peter Griffin falls down the stairs. Once he hits the floor at the bottom of the steps, he's seen in a distinct pose, lying face down on the floor with an arm and a leg bent awkwardly behind his back. The scene itself became the subject of edits as early as 2018, with the pose itself becoming the subject of redraws that same year.

How Is The 'Family Guy Death Pose' Used In Memes?

The most popular memes referencing the Family Guy death pose are redraws. These redraws show characters from a variety of fandoms striking the iconic pose, their limbs twisted behind their backs in a hilarious and recognizable way.

Beyond that, the scene where Peter falls down the stairs is also a popular format. The scene is often edited to fit another context, with some popular examples including a vocoded to 'Gangsta's Paradise' edit and an edit that adds the Super Mario 64 HUD and sound effects to it.

For the full history of the Family Guy Death Pose, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.