'Family Guy' Shocking Death: RIP Brian

by uInterviewNovember 25, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

Family Guy shocked fans by killing off a major character in Sunday, Nov. 24’s episode, when Brian was hit by a car and killed.

Brian, the dog most commonly seen by Stewie’s side throughout the eleven seasons of the popular animated comedy series, was killed in “Life of Brian.” The episode began with Stewie getting rid of his time travel machine, meaning that the genius baby has no way of going back in time and saving his best friend’s life.

Fans of Brian can take comfort in the fact that Brian is being replaced by a new dog, Vinny, voiced by The Sopranos’ Tony Sirico.

“Where Brian was sort of a match for Stewie intellectually, Vinny is a good match for Stewie because he doesn’t let Stewie get away with any crap. He’ll call Stewie out on his B.S. freely,” Family Guy executive producer Steve Callaghan told E! Online.

"You're not supposed to lose your best friend at my age. You're not suppose to lose him ever!" – Stewie #familyguy

— Family Guy (@FamilyGuyonFOX) November 25, 2013

Though show creator, and voice of Brian, Seth MacFarlane has yet to comment on the drastic plot twist, ‘Seth MacFarlane lost respect’ was trending on Twitter, as was '#BringBackBrian' and many fans are publicly swearing off a Brian-less Family Guy.

Despite the strong and viral reaction from fans after Sunday’s episode, Callaghan remains optimistic that the character death won’t affect viewership. When asked if he was concerned about backlash from fans, Callaghan responded, “I’m not, only because our fans are smart enough and have been loyal to our show for long enough, to know that they can trust us. We always make choices that always work to the greatest benefit of the series.”