Season 11 · Episode 10 · First aired 13 January 2013
Brian's Play
Episode 10 of Family Guy season 11 (S11E10), the 198th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Gary Janetti and directed by Joseph Lee. First broadcast on 13 January 2013.
Story
Brian's play A Passing Fancy is a hit in Quahog and he becomes insufferable about it. Stewie then hands him a play of his own, An American Marriage, which Brian sees straight away is the better piece; he tells Stewie it is bad and buries the script, but Stewie digs it up and tells him his writing leans on cliche and copying. Brian sinks into depression, and Stewie makes him act as escort on a trip to New York, where established playwrights dismiss his work. Brian admits he hoped for success because his life will be far shorter than the rest of the family's, and Stewie tells him to write from his heart. Stewie then spoils his own opening night to cheer Brian up.
Production and reception
- It took a 3.2 rating and 6.01 million viewers, the most watched title on the Fox animation line-up that night. Wikipedia, Brian's Play
- Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club graded it A-, describing it as the series at its most self-aware and honest about its own place, with the usual cutaways adding little to the main strand. Wikipedia, Brian's Play
- Carter Dotson of TV Fanatic rated it 4 out of 5, saying the emotions were tangled enough that he struggled to settle on a view of the half-hour. Wikipedia, Brian's Play
Voices
| Voice | Characters |
|---|---|
| Seth MacFarlane | Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin |
| Alex Borstein | Lois Griffin |
| Seth Green | Chris Griffin |
| Mila Kunis | Meg Griffin |
| Mike Henry | Consuela |
| Alan Bennett | Alan Bennett |
| Lucas Grabeel | Seymour Krelborn |
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
- Alan Bennett as himself, Alan Bennett
- Lucas Grabeel as Seymour Krelboyne, Anthony
- Jackson Rathbone as Stanley Kowalski
- Adam West as Mayor Adam West
- Mike Henry as Consuela
- Alex Borstein as Allison
- John Viener as Randall Even Battencourt
Season 11: episode 10 of 22
- E1Into Fat Air
- E2Ratings Guy
- E3The Old Man and the Big 'C'
- E4Yug Ylimaf
- E5Joe's Revenge
- E6Lois Comes Out of Her Shell
- E7Friends Without Benefits
- E8Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
- E9Space Cadet
- E10Brian's PlayYou are here
- E11The Giggity Wife
- E12Valentine's Day in Quahog
- E13Chris Cross
- E14Call Girl
- E15Turban Cowboy
- E1612 and a Half Angry Men
- E17Bigfat
- E18Total Recall
- E19Save the Clam
- E20Farmer Guy
- E21Roads to Vegas
- E22No Country Club for Old Men
SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 11 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.