 Critical responses to the episode were mostly positive. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 22.01 million homes during its original airing in the United States. "Death Has a Shadow" was written by Seth MacFarlane and directed by Peter Shin, and featured a guest performance from Pat Summerall as well as various recurring guest voices from the series. In the tenth season episode "Back to the Pilot", which premiered on November 13, 2011, Brian and Stewie go back in time to "Death Has a Shadow".
