As Peter Griffin himself would put it: “Sweeeet.”

Three years after the Fox network unceremoniously cancelled “Family Guy,” the outrageously funny animated sitcom that pushed the bounds of good taste, the show will return with the first of some 35 new episodes on May 1.

It is a near-unprecedented step in the world of network television, where dead shows usually stay dead. But it’s entirely appropriate for a show that broke the mold for both family sitcoms and cartoons, taking shots at cultural, political and religious icons along the way.

“Oh my God, they crack on everything,” said Miguel Dorado, a 20-year-old English major. “Half the fun of watching is just to see all the little pop culture jokes.”

Though the show is ostensibly about the fictional Griffin family of Quahog, Rhode Island, it is filled with edgy parodies of television, movies, news and historical events, often taken to a “did they really just say that?” extreme.

From a road trip episode updating the old Crosby & Hope films - including modern twists like a visit to an Amsterdamn hash bar - to a sensitive Merchant Ivory-type film starring Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, nothing is sacred.

Network censors often battled the show’s creator, Seth McFarlane, over content, eventually killing a pre-Sept. 11 joke featuring Osama Bin Laden and shelving an entire episode, “When You Wish Upon A Weinstein,” about Peter’s search for a Jewish person to help do his taxes and tutor his son, Chris, in math.

“I couldn’t even believe half the stuff they (made) fun of,” said Sasha Michaelson, 22. “I saw (the 'Weinstein' episode, which was eventually released on DVD), and I wasn’t offended (as a Jew). But I could see how some people could be.

“They make fun of everybody … black people, white people, men, women … but it’s never mean, and it’s like they’re showing how everybody has problems.”

McFarlane also voices the characters of Peter (the Griffin father), Stewie (the baby), Brian (the family dog), and Glen Quagmire (Peter’s best friend, neighbor and a borderline pervert). “Mad TV” star Alex Borstein writes for the show and voices mother Lois Griffin. The cast includes Seth Green (Dr. Evil’s son in the “Austin Powers” movies) as son Chris and Mila Kunis (Jackie on “That ‘70s Show”) as daughter Meg.

The show premiered in 1999, in the choice time slot after the Super Bowl. Despite critical raves and a devoted cult following, the show’s ratings suffered as Fox executives repeatedly shuffled it across their schedule, often putting it up against ratings giants like “Friends.”

They cancelled the show in 2002 after three seasons, even as devoted fans mounted a petition drive to save the show or convince another network to continue production.

However, DVD releases of the first three seasons were a huge hit – fans bought some 2.2 million copies of box sets containing the show’s first two seasons, making it the second-best selling television show on DVD, behind the first season of “Chappelle’s Show.”

Reruns of the first three seasons on Cartoon Network were also an unexpected ratings hit, beating even “The Tonight Show” and “The Late Show” among the coveted demographic of men aged 18-34.
Fox signaled its intention to resurrect the show in 2004, ordering the new episodes but suggesting they might be sold for first airings on Cartoon Network.

Now, the network plans to air at least some of the new episodes, paired with another McFarlane creation, “American Dad,” an animated sitcom about another dysfunctional family, this time headed by a red-blooded patriot who works as a CIA agent.