The series focuses on the eccentric upper middle class Smith family in Northern Virginia and their three housemates: Father, husband, CIA Agent, Republican, and breadwinner Stan Smith; his wife and homemaker/housewife, Francine Smith; their college-aged daughter, Hayley Smith; and their high-school-aged son, Steve Smith. Outside of the Smith family, there are three additional main characters, including Hayley's boyfriend turned husband, Jeff Fischer; the family's man-in-a-goldfish-body pet, Klaus; and Roger, the alien, who is "full of masquerades, brazenness, and shocking antics".