Brian Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom Family Guy. He is one of the main characters of the series and a member of the Griffin family. Created, designed, and voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is an anthropomorphic white labrador retriever who is Stewie Griffin's best friend and comic foil with the ability to speak, drive, and stand on two legs.
Brian first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the episode "Death Has a Shadow" on January 31, 1999. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company, based on The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve, two shorts made by MacFarlane featuring a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. These two characters were redesigned and renamed Peter and Brian, but they retained the same voices and personalities.
Brian has been featured in many items of merchandise for Family Guy, and he is considered to be one of the series' biggest merchandising characters. He has also made crossover appearances in the other MacFarlane-produced series, such as American Dad! and The Cleveland Show.
As a character, Brian was initially very well received by critics, although reception in later years has been mixed. When Brian was killed off in the season 12 episode "Life of Brian", the events of the episode received substantial attention from the media and elicited strongly negative reactions from fans of the series. Brian subsequently returned two episodes later, in "Christmas Guy", after Stewie, his best friend, traveled back in time to save him.
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