Is 'Family Guy' Bringing Back Brian?

Family Guy shocked and angered its fans by killing off Brian in its Nov. 24 episode. The cartoon dog voiced by Seth MacFarlane passed away after he was gruesomely hit by a car while playing with Stewie. The show quickly replaced Brian with another dog, this one voiced by The Sopranos' Tony Sirico.

Despite the show's claims that Brian's death would be permanent, I didn't quite believe that Brian was gone forever. In addition to it being a cartoon death, there was also the fact that Maya Rudolph had already been announced as an upcoming guest star who would voice a character who Brian becomes involved with.

On Friday, Entertainment Weekly reported that —yup — Brian will be back. According to EW, Brian will return in the Dec. 15 episode, noting the episode's synopsis is: "Stewie devises a master plan to get the one and only thing he wants for Christmas."

Well, this was a dumb stunt, Family Guy. The show didn't even kill off Brian in a touching way, choosing to make it brutal and crass. At least when The Simpsons kills off a character it means something.