The season features 20 episodes centered on absurd family antics, pop culture parodies, and cutaway gags, with no race-swapping, gender-swapping, or forced diversity clashing with the source material or setting. Casting remains unchanged from prior seasons, with the core white voice cast (Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Mike Henry) handling diverse characters in the typical animated style, pre-dating any later voice actor controversies. Themes are apolitical or mockingly satirical: Episode 6, 'The D in Apartment 23,' directly lampoons cancel culture as Brian faces viral outrage and shunning over a slur-tweet, portraying social justice warriors and mob hypersensitivity as ridiculous and evil, a clear anti-woke stance praised in reviews.

Episode 1 pokes fun at Emmy-chasing progressive shows like Modern Family and Transparent without endorsement. Other plots involve skydiving mishaps, assassins, stock scams, veteran impersonation, and internet addiction, all driven by humor over messaging. No explicit lectures on systemic racism, patriarchy, or identity politics; LGBTQ+ elements like Stewie's ambiguous sexuality are played for longstanding jokes, not activism.

Creators show no intent for inclusion mandates. Audience reception notes no significant backlash labeling it 'woke'; instead, some lament general softening toward PC elsewhere, but S16 resists with anti-SJW content, maintaining entertainment focus without social justice dominance.