Season 14 · Episode 1 · First aired 27 September 2015
Pilling Them Softly
Episode 1 of Family Guy season 14 (S14E01), the 250th Family Guy episode overall. Written by Hayes Davenport and directed by Jerry Langford. First broadcast on 27 September 2015.
Story
Stewie's teacher reports an attention problem, Dr Hartman prescribes medication for it, and the pills leave Stewie in a stupor. Brian objects, then tries them himself and turns relentlessly hyperactive, working up a science fantasy franchise of his own with a two thousand page treatment and a diorama to match. He and Stewie pitch it to George R. R. Martin at a convention in Hartford, Connecticut, who dismisses it, and both give up the pills. Quagmire, meanwhile, is handed a cooking programme on Channel 5 on condition that Peter appears with him. Peter's behaviour gets him sacked, the channel gives him a show of his own, and the pair are set against each other in a cook-off. Peter throws it by eating his own dish, and Quagmire drops the programme to keep the peace.
Production and reception
- Seth MacFarlane, who created the series, took an Emmy in the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance category for this episode. Wikipedia, Pilling Them Softly
- The title plays on that of the 2012 film Killing Them Softly. Wikipedia, Pilling Them Softly
- The first broadcast drew 2.87 million viewers, placing it fourth among Fox's programmes that night. Wikipedia, Pilling Them Softly
- Jesse Schedeen of IGN scored it 7.9 out of 10, praising the send-ups of Iron Chef and of George R. R. Martin and calling the season opener promising. Wikipedia, Pilling Them Softly
Voices
| Voice | Characters |
|---|---|
| Seth MacFarlane | Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin |
| Alex Borstein | Lois Griffin |
| Seth Green | Chris Griffin |
| Mila Kunis | Meg Griffin |
| Mike Henry | Cleveland Brown |
| Jon Daly | Javier Bardem |
| Sanaa Lathan | Donna Tubbs |
| Rachael MacFarlane | Miss Tammy |
| Kevin Michael Richardson | Jerome |
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
- Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson
- Adam West as Mayor Adam West
- Mike Henry as Bruce the Performance Artist
- Jeff Bergman as John Goodman
- Alex Borstein as Deborah Kerr
Season 14: episode 1 of 20
- E1Pilling Them SoftlyYou are here
- E2Papa Has a Rollin' Son
- E3Guy, Robot
- E4Peternormal Activity
- E5Peter, Chris & Brian
- E6Peter's Sister
- E7Hot Pocket-Dial
- E8Brokeback Swanson
- E9A Shot in the Dark
- E10Candy, Quahog Marshmallow
- E11The Peanut Butter Kid
- E12Scammed Yankees
- E13An App a Day
- E14Underage Peter
- E15A Lot Going on Upstairs
- E16The Heartbreak Dog
- E17Take a Letter
- E18The New Adventures of Old Tom
- E19Run, Chris, Run
- E20Road to India
SourceFacts from Wikipedia: Family Guy season 14 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.