Seth Macfarlane shocked fans in season 12's latest episode, titled 'Life Of Brian'.

'Brian Griffin', who has been a prominent character in 'Family Guy' for every season, was killed off when the canine was hit by a speeding car.

Following this was an onslaught of criticism by the show's fans who couldn't believe MacFarlane would kill off such a major and popular star.

The outraged viewers were even more agitated when a replacement dog named 'Vinnie' was introduced.

They even started a petition on Change.org which requested 'Brian' to be brought back from the dead and it ended with over 128,000 supporters.

Fans of the animated sitcom could finally breathe a sigh of relief after 'Brian' was resurrected several episodes later, thanks to 'Stewie's time machine.

Seth finally addressed the backlash the show's creative team received following the initial death of the family's canine companion.

"It surprised all of us," MacFarlane said to a small group of reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour on Monday (Jan 13th), via E!News.

"We were all very surprised, in a good way, that people still cared enough about that character to be that angry. We thought it would create a little bit of a stir, but the rage wasn't something we counted on."

MacFarlane also thought the 'Life of Brian' episode did its job, as it improved ratings and shows it still holds the power to shock the auidence.

"It did what it was designed to do - it reminded people this is still a show where anything that can happen despite the fact it's been on for a while," he said.

If there are still any concerned fans, the 40 year-old reiterates it was a one-time thing...for now, "Do it again? No. We already did it! No, who knows? Season 25, we'll see," he concluded.

Family Guy
'Stewie' and 'Brian's' hilarious partnership isn't going to break anytime soon