Summary of Icons Unearthed: The Simpsons | The Origin

00:00:00 - 00:45:00

The Simpsons was created as an alternative to traditional family sitcoms. The show was originally conceived as a series of short animated films, but it eventually evolved into a full-fledged half-hour sitcom. The show became a hit thanks to its subversive humor and distinctive animation style.

• 00:00:00 Garth Ancier was the head of current comedy programming at NBC in the 1980s, and during this time, the family sitcom was dominant. Ancier believed that most television shows were versions of extended families, which is why he put so much emphasis on the Cosby Show. However, the show's formula - a bumbling dad who knows everything and his largely moralistic family - was not unique at the time and was replicated by other sitcoms.
• 00:05:00 In 1986, Rupert Murdoch and Barry Diller founded Fox Broadcasting Corporation, a new network that quickly became known as "Fox." Rob Kenneally, then 26 and a programming executive at 20th Century Fox, became head of Fox's new network division. Kenneally's first task was to fill programming slate with shows that would grab people by the throats and drag them over to Fox's alternative network. However, few people wanted to work at Fox, and the only writers who came across his desk were Ron Leavitt and Michael Moye, who had already written and produced a successful show, The Jeffersons. Although relatively young, Leavitt and Moye had a sick sensibility that appealed to Kenneally, and the pilot they pitched, On the Front Is the Title--We Don't Know What To Call This, fit Garth Ancier's philosophy of television shows as versions of extended families.
• 00:10:00 The Simpsons was created as an irreverent, offensive sitcom that was shot in front of a live strip club audience. It became a hit, and its popularity led to the development of other shows on the network that were controversial and noisy. The show became known for its subversive humor, which pissed off its fans. However, Married with Children's success made executives at Fox realize that the only way to make the network successful was to produce family-friendly sitcoms. James L. Brooks, one of the most famous and respected television producers of the time, was lured back to television to develop the project for the new show.
• 00:15:00 The Simpsons was created by producer Ken Estin and writer Matt Groening, who used Life in Hell as inspiration. However, Groening's original idea for the show was much different, and he only pitched it after he was pushed to do so by Estin.
• 00:20:00 In 1987, Matt Groening's hastily-drawn family looked destined to remain a doodle, but with The Tracey Ullman Show about to go into production and still needing interstitials, executives were determined not to lose Matt Groening. One day, James L. Brooks and Richard Sakai were prepared to make a simple concession - that Matt would draw any characters and his sense of humor - but Richard did go back to Fox, said he was willing to take what Matt would sell to them, and The Simpsons was born. With scripts in hand for some cartoon bumpers, James L. Brooks set out to find an animation studio to bring these stories to life. Klasky Csupo, a small Hollywood studio, was finally settled on and brought along two of their CalArts friends, Wes Archer and David Silverman. But after a year on the job, they all found themselves out of work. Bill left CalArts to go animate on the John Cusack movie One Crazy Summer, bringing along his CalArts friends Wes Archer and David Silverman. But after a year on that job, they all found themselves out of work. Tracey Ullman, a fan of The Tracey Ullman Show, called
• 00:25:00 The Simpsons, a popular animated show on Fox, was created by Matt Groening and originally consisted of crude, poorly drawn storyboards. In order to animate the show, the team had to figure out how to do it with Matt's crude drawings. Eventually, the distinctive color scheme of The Simpsons was born when Gyorgyi Kovacs-Peluce, a Hungarian designer, designed the show's color scheme.
• 00:30:00 In the early days of "The Simpsons," creator Matt Groening made the decision to have the characters' color be yellow, which he thought was universal and would help unite them. However, the story of how this color choice was made is a little more complicated than that. The blue magazine that provided the inspiration for the yellow color says that it was Matt's idea, while Matt himself has said that he just wanted them all to be the regular, suburban, you know, but they're yellow. The second season saw the departure of key creative player Bill Oakley, who pursued other opportunities. Despite this, the producers kept going with the weekly turnaround and kept cranking through the episodes. Despite the grueling work and the lack of freedom, the Simpsons continued to be a hit with audiences. Bill's departure led to the creation of Roger Rabbit and eventually led to Matt's own departure from the show.
• 00:35:00 The Simpsons shorts were created by Wes Archer and David Silverman, who were assisted by Matt Groening. The team became better at capturing Matt Groening's unique style, and Brooks began to give the team more notes. Season three of the shorts saw the team begin to consider making the show into a full half-hour. However, their boss, Barry Diller, was not convinced, and the show remained a supporting player on the network. In order to get the show attention, the team screened the shorts as an animated trailer for a movie.
• 00:40:00 The Simpsons was originally conceived as short animated segments for "The Bart Simpson Show". When Jim Brooks' film deal with Fox needed to be renewed, the show became part of it. After a long countdown, the show finally launched in December 1988 with the help of a showrunner, Sam Simon, and a team of new executives.
• 00:45:00 The Simpsons began as a series of short animated films created by TV veteran Sam Simon and his writing partners, Al Jean and Mike Reiss. Fox executives were uncertain about whether or not there would be an audience for a show about a dysfunctional family, but the trio succeeded in creating one of the longest-running sitcoms in history.