Why Family Guy Killed Off Brian (& Quickly Brought Him Back)

Family Guy is ready to return for the start of Season 23 later this month, and it’s likely that they will never attempt one of the biggest stunts in the animated series ever again…killing off the family dog, Brian Griffin. Family Guy is not really a show that cares about maintaining a canon from episode to episode as at any given moment Peter is willing to do whatever he wants, only to reset everything back to the status quo by the end. It’s a series that takes so many chances over the years, but there’s one shot it took that fans still remember to this day.

In the Season 12 episode, “Life of Brian,” Family Guy decided to kill off Brian Griffin. It was a huge event episode that really struck a chord with fans, and received some of the biggest buzz around for the series at the time. It was a death that stuck around for a bit too and notably changed the season for the next few episodes as Brian was even replaced by a brand new character, Vinny. So why did the creative team decide to kill off Brian only to bring him back to life a few episodes later? It was simply because they could.

Why Did Family Guy Kill Off Brian?

In “Life of Brian,” Brian and Stewie are getting ready to play a game of hockey in the street. But when Stewie goes back inside for his kneepads, Brian is struck by a car and dies later in the hospital. Shortly before this happens, Stewie reveals that he destroyed his time machine because he was tired of everything going wrong every time they used it. Which meant that he couldn’t go back and undo Brian’s death, and it was the most permanent change seen in Family Guy‘s main cast. While the series has killed characters before like Peter’s old boss Mr. Weed in early seasons, this was the first time a member of the core cast was in actual danger.

As for why they did it, Family Guy series creator Seth MacFarlane stated in an interview (as transcribed by Rolling Stone) shortly after that ultimately it was a move that not only was meant to boost ratings, but also got fans to realize anything can happen, “It did what it was designed to do…It reminded people this is still a show where anything can happen despite the fact it’s been on for awhile.” But hilariously enough, those behind the scenes weren’t expecting to get as angry of a response as they did after killing off Brian.

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Why Did Family Guy Bring Brian Back?

Ultimately while Family Guy did stir things up by killing off Brian, he was really only dead for about three episodes before returning in Season 12’s “Christmas Guy” when Stewie is able to use a time machine a different timeline version of himself had. It turns out that it really caused a stir with fans at the time as MacFarlane also stated that the team was surprised at just how angry fans got, “We were all very surprised, in a good way, that people still cared enough about that character to be that angry,” MacFarlane stated. “We thought it would create a little bit of a stir, but the rage wasn’t something we counted on.”

What likely didn’t help in these matters was the controversial replacement for Brian that made his death seemed all that more permanent. Shortly after Brian’s death, Peter and the family adopted Vinny (voiced by Tony Sirico) and he joined the family for a couple of episodes. It changed the dynamic for the Griffin Family, but was ultimately wiped out from the timeline when Stewie went back to undo Brian’s death. He did get his own happy ending later on, however, in the Season 15 episode “The Boys in the Band” as he’s Brian’s replacement for Olivia’s children’s band. It’s a whole thing.

At the end of day, Family Guy killed off Brian to really just prove they could. It was the biggest experiment in the series’ long history, and continues to be a big moment fans have loved as a result. It might have brought out a ton of anger at the time, but it’s one of those moments that just seems like quintessential to the show at this point. It hasn’t really gone all out like this in many years, but with Season 23 coming soon, that could be changing sooner than expected.

How did you feel about Brian Griffin dying in Family Guy all those years ago? How do you feel about the reversal? Do you wish Vinny would have stuck around longer? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!