Brian Writes a Bestseller

Receiving hundreds of packages in the mail containing unsold copies of his failed novel Faster Than the Speed of Love, Brian gives up his ambitions of becoming a writer.

While reflecting on his fame during dinner, Brian notices Renée Zellweger at the front of the restaurant; after angrily berating Stewie for not booking their table there, he punishes him by refusing to give him a lift to their hotel.

Two hours prior to his appearance, after continuing to verbally abuse Stewie for minor inconveniences, Brian is then informed that Hitchens cannot attend, and that Arianna Huffington and Dana Gould will serve as replacement panelists.

While on the show, Maher, Huffington and Gould begin to criticize Brian's book, stating that it fails to meet the expectations of the public and is pretentious, repetitive, unhelpful, banal and manipulative.

The episode featured a live-action sequence on the set of the HBO talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, with the animated Brian Griffin superimposed on the panel.

"Brian Writes a Bestseller" was broadcast on November 21, 2010, as a part of an animated television night on Fox, and was preceded by The Simpsons, and Family Guy creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane's spin-off, The Cleveland Show, and followed by an episode of American Dad!.

It was watched by 6.59 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, despite airing simultaneously with the 38th Annual American Music Awards on ABC, Undercover Boss on CBS and Sunday Night Football on NBC.

[5] Jason Hughes of TV Squad praised the episode's satire of self-help books, saying: "Wrapping the message in humor is a clever way to maybe get people to think about it".