The Real Reason Family Guy Killed Brian

The veil of mystery surrounding Brian's death didn't get pulled back until after it was already undone. Two episodes after his demise, the Griffins' dog was brought back to life thanks to some creative timeline massaging, courtesy of Stewie, during the events of season 12's "Christmas Guy."

"And thus endeth our warm, fuzzy holiday lesson: Never take those you love for granted, for they can be gone in a flash," wrote series creator and star Seth MacFarlane in a since-deleted tweet. And just like that, we were all better people.

More than that, MacFarlane wanted to stir the pot after a long primetime tenure. According to Business Insider, he went into detail at a press event not long after he straight up murdered a cartoon dog. Brian's death "reminded people this is still a show where anything can happen despite the fact it's been on for a while," he explained. "We were all very surprised, in a good way, that people still cared enough about that character to be that angry."

Luckily for fans, "Family Guy" has already been renewed for two more seasons, with the smart money on further renewals down the road. Brian should have a good, long life ahead of him. There's no way they'd kill him again, right?