Eleven years prior to facing accusations of murdering his parents, a young and reserved Nick Reiner made his entrance into the Family Guy production office, accompanied by his well-known father.

At the age of 21 and fresh from rehab, Nick was hopeful that a career in the entertainment industry, a family tradition, might offer him a fresh start.

Rob Reiner, a ‘nepo baby’ in his own right, had carved out his place in Hollywood following in the footsteps of his father, Carl Reiner. Known for his iconic roles in sitcoms like All in the Family and directing classics such as When Harry Met Sally, Rob leveraged his connections to secure his son a position on the popular animated series.

In a candid conversation with the Daily Mail, a former coworker recounted how Rob made an earnest appeal to Family Guy’s executive producer: ‘Hey, my son’s coming out of rehab and getting back on his feet, and I want to find him a job.’

Nick was brought on as an intern with minimal responsibilities, according to our source, who noted, ‘This was clearly a favor for Rob, and I assume there were certain conditions attached. While I was hustling, Nick would mostly be present, but he was a pleasure to have around.’

The former production assistant said Nick got along with his colleagues and although he had ‘introverted energy’ and was quiet, they also found him funny – in a ‘dark-humored’ sort of way – and interesting, as he was transparent about his hardships.

Rob Reiner is pictured with his son Nick (right), who has been charged with the murder of his father and mother Michele

Rob got Nick, seen here hiding under a desk, an internship at Family Guy in 2014 to try and get him on the right track

Nick, now 32, had struggled with addiction since his teenage years and ended up going to rehab 18 times. He had been homeless for periods, but now lived in his parents Rob and Michele Reiner’s guesthouse at their lavish Brentwood, California, estate.

He has an older brother Jake, 34, and younger sister Romy, 27, but our source said: ‘It felt like he was the black sheep of his very perfect Hollywood family, so from a very young age, he started using drugs.

‘He had so many resources available to him. The idea that he couldn’t get any money is crazy. The idea that he would be willing to be homeless instead of going home to his beautiful mansion was crazy to me.’

The drug use also led to debauchery, such as stealing $200 from his father to lose his virginity to a prostitute, and destructive fits of rage. 

However, as the former Family Guy staffer recalled, in 2014, Nick was trying to turn his life around and ‘figure out what it was like to be sober’. 

‘He was in a really cool spot in that he was trying to come out of it and really figure out who he was,’ the source said.

Nick leaned on his new colleagues for support, who encouraged him to pursue a career in stand-up and comedy writing.

‘To me, it felt like, here’s this dude who didn’t have any direction. All of a sudden, he’s like, why don’t I dabble in comedy? I think what was happening was that he was sort of using that as a therapeutic outlet for his sobriety,’ the source said.

Much as with the job at Family Guy, Nick was able to easily book sets at big comedic venues, per our source, given his ‘pedigree’.  

‘He wouldn’t have been able to get these spots that he got [at comedy venues], unless he had his dad’s influence and he wouldn’t have his job at Family Guy if he didn’t have his dad’s influence,’ the source said. ‘That’s what I keep coming back to is that Rob was trying to see his son succeed.’

Rob was so involved in his son’s recovery, in fact, that he would drop Nick off and pick him up from his internship every single day, our source added.

‘It was very admirable that Rob was so connected with Nick’s recovery and trying to help him, the source said. ‘The way that I piece it together was that Rob and his mom [Michele] were trying to get him out of this terrible hole that he was in.’ 

And so, armed with the encouragement of his father, Nick took the stage at famous comedy venues around Hollywood for about five minutes a time, while delivering punchy lines that poked fun at his deepest darkest secrets.

‘He was sort of grasping with how hard addiction and sobriety was, so I think one of the main jokes he co-wrote was: “If you want to live forever, try to do a year sober so it’ll feel like eternity”,’ the former colleague said. 

A similar line eventually made it into the 2016 film Being Charlie, a movie that father-son duo Rob and Nick made together and admitted had been inspired by their real-life relationship.

Aside from his stand-up sets, Nick also shared his dark humor in comedic videos online.

In a resurfaced YouTube skit from 2016 that the Daily Mail has obtained, Nick jokes with dark humor that he works out ‘like ISIS’ fighters; quips, ‘F**k Donald Trump. No, he’s my man, he’s my man’; and says, in response to a loud barking dog, ‘I’m going to go kill that f**king dog.’

Nick’s sister Romy also makes a brief appearance in the video, sat beside him while puffing on a cigarette. 

The skit takes an eerie turn, however, when drug use seemingly takes place on camera. In one scene, someone is seen snorting a white powder that looks like cocaine.

In a resurfaced YouTube skit from 2016 that the Daily Mail has obtained, Nick jokes with dark humor that he works out ‘like ISIS’ fighters

Nick’s sister Romy also makes a brief appearance in the video, sat beside him while puffing on a cigarette 

The skit takes an eerie turn, however, when drug use seemingly takes place on camera. In one scene, someone is seen snorting a white powder that looks like cocaine.

Nick leaned on his Family Guy colleagues for support, who encouraged him to pursue a career in stand-up and comedy writing

Nick’s comedy career never really took off, and at age 32, he was still living at home with his parents. His mental health continued to decline and Rob, 78, and Michele, 70, were ‘at their wits end,’ a longtime family friend told the Daily Mail.

‘It was very difficult. Rob and Michele did everything, everything, everything in their power to help Nick,’ the second source added.

On Saturday night, Rob and Michele brought Nick with them to Conan O’Brien’s holiday party because they reportedly ‘wanted to keep an eye on him,’ as he had been exhibiting erratic behavior in recent weeks.

However, Nick stood out like a sore thumb at the starry bash, reportedly getting into a tense disagreement with actor Bill Hader and loudly fighting with his father.

After the Reiners got home later that night, tragedy struck.

Prosecutors claim Nick killed both his parents. Sources told the Daily Mail that he allegedly slit their throats in bed in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Nick has since has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Multiple insiders have said that when news broke that two people had been found dead in Rob’s home, they suspected Nick had done it.

However, the former Family Guy colleague – who met Nick at a brief time in his life in when it seemed his future could have gone in a very different direction – did not.

‘When I heard the news that there were two bodies found dead in Rob Reiner’s house, I instantly was going to hop on to Instagram and send Nick a DM, like, “Oh my gosh, if you need anything let me know”,’ the source said.

‘Then, all of a sudden, I heard that Nick had been detained. [He] was definitely someone who had a troubled past but also it’s wild.’