Season 6 · Episode 11 · First aired 27 April 2008
The Former Life of Brian
Episode 11 of Family Guy season 6 (S06E11), the 109th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Steve Callaghan and directed by Pete Michels. First broadcast on 27 April 2008.
Story
Brian visits his former girlfriend Tracy Flannigan and learns that he is the father of her teenage son, Dylan. The boy proves unruly, and Brian complains to Peter and Lois, who urge him to take responsibility. Tracy then drops Dylan at the Griffins' house for Brian to raise. Dylan wrecks the place and is hostile to everyone, including the Evil Monkey in Chris's closet, and Brian decides to throw him out. When Dylan tries to leave with Brian's cannabis, the two discover a shared taste for the drug and bond over it. Brian apologises for his absence and they reconcile. Dylan soon straightens out, but Brian becomes self-righteous about fatherhood. Uncomfortable, Peter persuades Tracy to take Dylan back. Dylan chooses to go, intending to help his mother as Brian helped him, and father and son part.
Production and reception
- Steve Callaghan wrote the episode, his second of the season after "Lois Kills Stewie", and Pete Michels directed it, having earlier directed "Padre de Familia". Wikipedia, The Former Life of Brian
- Harvey Fierstein voiced Tracy, and Seth Green voiced Dylan in the character's first appearance; Chace Crawford, Erinn Hayes and Max Burkholder also guest starred. Wikipedia, The Former Life of Brian
- The first broadcast was watched by 8.42 million households and earned a 4.3 rating and 10 share among adults aged 18 to 49. Wikipedia, The Former Life of Brian
- Ahsan Haque of IGN rated it 8.3 out of 10 and Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club gave it a C+; the Parents Television Council named it Worst TV Show of the Week. Wikipedia, The Former Life of Brian
Voices
| Voice | Characters |
|---|---|
| Seth MacFarlane | Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin |
| Alex Borstein | Lois Griffin, Pink Panther's Wife, Old Lady |
| Seth Green | Chris Griffin, Dylan Flannigan, Matthew McConaughey |
| Mila Kunis | Meg Griffin |
| Mike Henry | Cleveland Brown, John Herbert, Mexican Priest |
| Max Burkholder | Kid in Audience |
| Steve Callaghan | Sonny the Cocoa Puffs Bird |
| Chace Crawford | Paul |
| Harvey Fierstein | Tracy Flannigan |
| Erinn Hayes | Attractive Mom |
Principal voice credits as recorded by IMDb, which lists up to ten credits per episode, so recurring characters can be missing here. Guest voices below come from Wikipedia and TVmaze.
Guest voices
- Harvey Fierstein as Tracy, Tracy Flannigan
- Chace Crawford as Paul
- Erinn Hayes as Attractive Mom, Jared's Mom
- Max Burkholder as Kid in Audience, Kid
- Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson
- Seth Green as Dylan Flannigan
Season 6: episode 11 of 12
- E1Blue Harvest
- E2Movin' Out (Brian's Song)
- E3Believe It or Not, Joe's Walking on Air
- E4Stewie Kills Lois
- E5Lois Kills Stewie
- E6Padre de Familia
- E7Peter's Daughter
- E8McStroke
- E9Back to the Woods
- E10Play It Again, Brian
- E11The Former Life of BrianYou are here
- E12Long John Peter
SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 6 and the episode's article (CC BY-SA 4.0). Spotted an error? See corrections.
Provenance
Facts only- Data refreshed
- 6 September 2026
- Verification
- Checked against Wikidata and IMDb: title, date, numbering and credits agree
- Licence
- Facts are not copyrightable. Source text on Wikipedia is CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikidata is CC0; IMDb data is used for verification under its non-commercial terms.
- Note
- The story summary and notes were written for this site from the sources listed, by Claude in Claude Code on 2026-09-08, awaiting editorial review. Facts only; no dialogue is reproduced. Voice credits: Information courtesy of IMDb (https://www.imdb.com). Used with permission. Guest cast data from TVmaze (https://www.tvmaze.com), CC BY-SA.