Vinny is coming back for Family Guy’s 14th season!

There are some cool guest stars coming like Kate McKinnon and Ed O’Neill whom are voicing extensions of the various families on Spooner street, and while EW definitely harped on those, I think the prospect that Vinny is returning to Family Guy is way more exciting.

For those that don’t recall, Vinny (voiced by Tony Sirico) was the stand-in dog for the Griffins after Brian got ran over with a car. Ensuing episodes would see Stewie fix the issue guaranteeing the return of his dog, but it isn’t like Vinny got entirely ret-conned neither. Quite the opposite this season, as EW is reporting that Vinny will indeed be back in some capacity on Family Guy’s 14th season, but right now it’s unclear in what capacity. Fortunately, we aren’t killing off Brian again to get to him, so it seems as though the producers have something else in mind for the former Griffins dog.

I actually think Vinny would be a great candidate for a permanent return. The current crop of Family Guy characters need a breath of fresh air. Even with the return of Cleveland Brown last season, the majority of Family Guy episodes these days seem rather uninspired and certainly lack Seth MacFarlane’s trademark flair that the fans sorely miss. Vinny could help in giving us some more original fare.

Family Guy returns this Sunday Night on FOX @ 9 pm ET/PT, check your local listings.