There was a shocking surprise in store for Family Guy viewers in the US last night (Nov 24).
Warning! Major Spoiler Alert!
In the Family Guide episode that aired last night in the US, entitled The Life of Brian, the talking dog, voiced by show creator Seth McFarlane was hit by a car and killed.
Yes, Stewie's best friend and Peter's partner in crime is no more, and fans of the show all over the world have taken to Twitter to express their grief online/
Executive producer Steve Callaghan told E! Online that the decision to kill off Brian was discussed with writers as "a fun way to shake things up".
"As soon as this idea came up, we started talking about what the next couple episodes could be and we got very excited about the way this change will affect the family dynamics and the characters," he explained.
"It seemed more in the realm of a reality that a dog would get hit by a car, than if one of the kids died," Callaghan added. "As much as we love Brian, and as much as everyone loves their pets, we felt it would be more traumatic to lose one of the kids, rather than the family pet."
Also in the episode, after the Griffin family bid farewell to Brian, they decided to buy a new dog called Vinny - a rougher canine companion voiced by former Sopranos actor Tony Sirico.
Callaghan said of Vinny: "Oh they're very different. Brian was very smart and studious and intellectual, and Vinny is just a lot more of a rough around the edges.
"Vinny is a really good match for Stewie. 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 c***. He'll call Stewie out on his B.S. freely."
Reassuring fans about saying goodbye to Brian, Callaghan added: "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."
