American Dad! type TV Show network Fox genre Animated

Worlds are going to collide this week on Family Guy when Lois and Peter are joined in the bedroom… by Hank Hill. And we’ll tell you whut: Sunday’s episode (Fox, 9 p.m.) not only blends the universes of Family Guy and King of the Hill, it also tosses American Dad into the mix, and features opening credits in the style of King of the Hill. Check out the clip below and then read the backstory of this dream crossover.

“We’ve been talking awhile about trying to do an American Dad crossover,” explains Family Guy executive producer Steve Callaghan. “Some of the characters had popped up briefly in Family Guy episodes, but we wanted to do something a little more substantial. We decided to combine that with the idea that since Cleveland left, we’ve had a couple of celebrities move in briefly in his house, but we hadn’t really ever addressed who’s living in that house. So we thought those things could neatly overlap. Of course, we didn’t want to change the universe for good, so we decided to make it a dream sequence. And once the idea of Peter waking up from a dream came up, someone pitched adding in the King of the Hill element. It’s a fun, silly way to start the episode.”

The producers had a little help in resurrecting Hank Hill: Hill creator Mike Judge, who’s friends with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, lent his voice once again to the character. As for those opening credits, “we tried as much to duplicate what they did but insert our characters,” notes Callaghan. “Fortunately we’ve been around long enough that we’ve had the chance to build up a set of secondary and tertiary characters. That was fun sitting down and figuring out who would be the Family Guy equivalent to sub in for [each] King of the Hill person.”

Of course, the Hill homage is hardly the first time that the show has spoofed an opening credits sequence, as series like Law & Order, The Incredible Hulk, Monty Python’s Flying Circus have all been Griffinized. In fact, this isn’t even the last time that Family Guy will do it this month: The April 28 episode features a tip of the titles cap to Modern Family.