--- title: "Brian Griffin's House of Payne (S08E15) | familyguy.co.uk" canonical: "https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e15-brian-griffins-house-of-payne/" updatedDate: 2026-09-06 author: Alex Moss description: "Brian Griffin's House of Payne: Family Guy season 8 episode 15 (S08E15), first aired 28 March 2010. Writer and director credits." --- # Brian Griffin's House of Payne Episode 15 of Family Guy season 8 (S08E15), the 141st Family Guy episode overall. Written by Spencer Porter and directed by Jerry Langford. First broadcast on 28 March 2010. ## Story Stewie finds an old television script of Brian's in the basement and leaves it on the kitchen table. Lois reads it, likes it and urges Brian to take it to the networks. CBS responds well, but the producers cast James Woods over Elijah Wood and turn the drama into a sitcom with a studio audience, a chimpanzee and a new title. Told to accept the changes or be sacked, Brian objects and walks out. Meanwhile Chris reads Meg's diary, and in the chase that follows the two knock Stewie down the stairs, leaving him unconscious with a head wound. Peter helps them hide it, then throws Stewie behind Lois's car to shift the blame before agreeing that the baby should go to hospital. ## Production and reception - Nielsen figures put the first broadcast at 7.27 million homes, with a 3.7 rating among viewers aged 18 to 49, ahead of The Simpsons, Sons of Tucson and The Cleveland Show. ([Wikipedia: Brian Griffin's House of Payne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Griffin's_House_of_Payne)) - The opening space sequence was started by the Korean studios that normally animate the series, then handed to Atmosphere Visual Effects in Vancouver, which was on a break during the 2010 Winter Olympics. ([Wikipedia: Brian Griffin's House of Payne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Griffin's_House_of_Payne)) - James Woods returned for his fourth appearance as himself. Danielle Panabaker, who had played his daughter in Shark, voiced his fictional daughter. ([Wikipedia: Brian Griffin's House of Payne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Griffin's_House_of_Payne)) - Spencer Porter wrote his first episode for the series, having worked as a writing assistant to Seth MacFarlane. Elijah Wood, Charlie Sheen and Rob Lotterstein guest starred. ([Wikipedia: Brian Griffin's House of Payne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Griffin's_House_of_Payne)) - Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club found the plot about the pilot process funny but uninspired, and Ramsey Isler of IGN thought the half hour would have worked better on the Stewie storyline alone. ([Wikipedia: Brian Griffin's House of Payne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Griffin's_House_of_Payne)) ## Facts | Fact | Detail | | --- | --- | | Season | 8 | | Episode | 15 of 21 | | Overall | No. 141 | | Code | S08E15 | | First aired | 28 March 2010 | | Directed by | Jerry Langford | | Written by | Spencer Porter | | Production code | 7ACX13 | | Source | Wikipedia: Family Guy season 8 | | Wikidata | Q4035411 | | IMDb | tt1606931 | | Verification | Checked against Wikidata and IMDb: title, date, numbering and credits agree | | US viewers | 7.27 million | ## Voices | Voice | Characters | | --- | --- | | Seth MacFarlane | Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin | | Alex Borstein | Lois Griffin, Female CBS Executive | | Seth Green | Chris Griffin | | Mila Kunis | Meg Griffin | | Mike Henry | Executive #1 | | Jennifer Birmingham Lee | Actress | | Ralph Garman | Executive #2 | | Mark Hentemann | Boat Passenger | | Rob Lotterstein | Rob the Director | | Danielle Panabaker | Hillary | 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 - Jennifer Birmingham - Rob Lotterstein as himself - Danielle Panabaker as Woods' daughter, Hillary - Charlie Sheen as himself, Charlie Sheen - Elijah Wood as himself, Elijah Wood - James Woods as himself, James Woods - Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson - Jennifer Tilly as Bonnie Swanson - John Viener as Todd Goldstein ## Links - Season: [8](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/season-8/) - Source: [Wikipedia: Family Guy season 8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Guy_season_8) - Wikidata: [Q4035411](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4035411) - IMDb: [tt1606931](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606931/) - US viewers: [7.27 million](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Griffin's_House_of_Payne) ## Navigation - Previous: [S08E14 Peter-assment](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e14-peter-assment/) - Next: [S08E16 April in Quahog](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e16-april-in-quahog/) - Season hub: [Season 8](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/season-8/) - All episodes: [Family Guy episode guide](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/) ## Season 8: episode 15 of 21 - S08E01 [Road to the Multiverse](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e01-road-to-the-multiverse/) - S08E02 [Family Goy](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e02-family-goy/) - S08E03 [Spies Reminiscent of Us](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e03-spies-reminiscent-of-us/) - S08E04 [Brian's Got a Brand New Bag](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e04-brians-got-a-brand-new-bag/) - S08E05 [Hannah Banana](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e05-hannah-banana/) - S08E06 [Quagmire's Baby](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e06-quagmires-baby/) - S08E07 [Jerome Is the New Black](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e07-jerome-is-the-new-black/) - S08E08 [Dog Gone](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e08-dog-gone/) - S08E09 [Business Guy](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e09-business-guy/) - S08E10 [Big Man on Hippocampus](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e10-big-man-on-hippocampus/) - S08E11 [Dial Meg for Murder](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e11-dial-meg-for-murder/) - S08E12 [Extra Large Medium](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e12-extra-large-medium/) - S08E13 [Go, Stewie, Go!](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e13-go-stewie-go/) - S08E14 [Peter-assment](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e14-peter-assment/) - S08E15 Brian Griffin's House of Payne (this entry) - S08E16 [April in Quahog](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e16-april-in-quahog/) - S08E17 [Brian & Stewie](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e17-brian-and-stewie/) - S08E18 [Quagmire's Dad](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e18-quagmires-dad/) - S08E19 [The Splendid Source](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e19-the-splendid-source/) - S08E20 [Something, Something, Something, Dark Side](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e20-something-something-something-dark-side/) - S08E21 [Partial Terms of Endearment](https://familyguy.co.uk/episodes/s08e21-partial-terms-of-endearment/) --- Unofficial fan resource. 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