Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched American Dad’s Season 20 premiere, so be warned!
The sun in the sky definitely had a smile on its face today, as American Dad hit the rare TV benchmark of debuting its 20th season, but its arrival on the 2026 TV schedule wasn’t on the same channel the animated comedy has called home for the past twelve years. “Aw Rats, A Pool Party” marked its return to Fox’s Sunday night lineup after an extended run on TBS, and what a gloriously disgusting homecoming it was. Pool parties shouldn’t inspire pure disgust, but the Smith family rises above.
Not only did the episode showcase one of the all-time grossest gags of the show’s 380+ episodes, but it also featured an excellent Star Trek callback for Patrick “Picard” Stewart, and references to Ratatouille and The Simpsons. T’was a glorious night indeed, so let’s give each of these highlights their due celebration, all while trying not to throw up in one’s own mouth.
Stan’s Dead Rat Balloon Animal Nearly Killed Me
As soon as Stan excitedly mentioned the family’s shared pubic-hair razor as a lead-in to the family’s pool party, I just knew something awful would happen. Stan doesn’t bring out that time-honored toiletry for any ol’ small-fry nonsense. It’s the pube razor, people!
I didn’t expect the pool party to get upended by a dead rat, though, or that the rat would lead to one of the most nauseatingly hilarious one-two jokes I can remember seeing. Not just on American Dad, but anywhere in life.
After Bullock & Co. arrived, and Stan was correctly called out for hiding the still dripping animal corpse behind his back after taking it out of the pool, he attempted to lie his way out of trouble by bafflingly claiming the cadaver in his hand was actually a balloon.
Not just a balloon, but one that he could then twist and turn into the shape of a rat, complete with some choice squelching noises from the foley dept.
I was already laughing too loudly as Stan started blowing air into the rat’s gross little mouth, and then the floor dropped from beneath me as he rather methodically turned his balloon animal lie into something that actually resembled the truth. By the time the corpse exploded viscera as Jeff grabbed it, I was choking on my own laughter, and had to pause the episode.
That 15-second sequence is easily one of the funniest things I’ve seen so far this year, and I imagine I’ll be using