Josh Weinstein
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Josh Weinstein (born May 5, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
''. Weinstein and
Bill Oakley William Lloyd Oakley (born February 27, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans Sc ...
became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans School; Weinstein then attended
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
and was
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of the ''
Stanford Chaparral The ''Stanford Chaparral'' (also known as the ''Chappie'') is a humor magazine published by students of Stanford University since 1899. History The ''Stanford Chaparral'' was established in 1899 by Bristow Adams. Published for more than 112 ye ...
''. He worked on several short-term media projects, including writing for the variety show ''Sunday Best'', but was then unemployed for a long period. Weinstein and Oakley eventually penned a
spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...
for ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...
'', after which they wrote " Marge Gets a Job", an episode of ''The Simpsons''. Subsequently, the two were hired to write for the show on a permanent basis in 1992. After they wrote episodes such as "
$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling) #REDIRECT $pringfield (or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling) {{R from move ...
", "
Bart vs. Australia "Bart vs. Australia" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 19, 1995. In the episode, Bart is indicted fo ...
" and " Who Shot Mr. Burns?", the two were appointed
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...
s and
showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...
s for the seventh and eighth seasons of the show. They attempted to include several emotional episodes focusing on the Simpson family, as well as several high-concept episodes such as " Homer's Enemy", " Two Bad Neighbors" and "
The Principal and the Pauper "The Principal and the Pauper" is the second episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 28, 1997. In the episode, Seymour Skinner ...
", winning three
Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for their work. After they left ''The Simpsons'', Oakley and Weinstein created '' Mission Hill''. The show was and was swiftly canceled. They worked as consulting producers on ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...
'', then created '' The Mullets'' in 2003. The two wrote several unsuccessful TV pilots, and were due to serve as showrunners on '' Sit Down, Shut Up'' in 2009. Oakley left the project over a contract dispute, but Weinstein remained until it was canceled. He co-produced and wrote for ''Futurama'' again during its Comedy Central revival, winning an Emmy in 2011. Since 2013, Weinstein has served as showrunner for the
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7–16 ...
series ''
Strange Hill High ''Strange Hill High'' is a British children's puppet-animated series for CBBC. The show is a co-production between CBBC, FremantleMedia and Factory. Out of the many writers, it was noted that Josh Weinstein (who worked on ''The Simpsons'' and ...
'', and in 2015, '' Danger Mouse''. He has also served as a writer for season two of ''
Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines ( Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel ( Kristen Schaal) ...
'', co-writing nine of the season's episodes. In 2018, Weinstein co-developed the Netflix animated series ''
Disenchantment In social science, disenchantment (german: Entzauberung) is the cultural rationalization and devaluation of religion apparent in modern society. The term was borrowed from Friedrich Schiller by Max Weber to describe the character of a modern ...
'' with creator
Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
, of which he and Oakley are currently serving as co-showrunners. Weinstein is married to journalist Lisa Simmons.


Early life

Weinstein was born and raised in Washington, D.C. to Rosa and Harris Weinstein. His mother is the director of the Himmelfarb Mobile University which provides education for the elderly, while his father is a lawyer for
Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as ...
. He has a brother, Jacob, and a sister, Teme. Weinstein attended St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., where he met and became best friends with
Bill Oakley William Lloyd Oakley (born February 27, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans Sc ...
in the eighth grade. The two created the school humor magazine ''The Alban Antic'' in 1983. He later attended
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
, where he served as
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of the ''
Stanford Chaparral The ''Stanford Chaparral'' (also known as the ''Chappie'') is a humor magazine published by students of Stanford University since 1899. History The ''Stanford Chaparral'' was established in 1899 by Bristow Adams. Published for more than 112 ye ...
''. Weinstein is an honorary member of the ''
Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates ...
'' as he worked on some of ''Lampoon'''s parody publications with Oakley over the summers between course years.


Career

Weinstein did not land a job on a major comedy series, despite writing numerous spec scripts for shows such as ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...
'' and ''
Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production compa ...
''; he moved back home to Washington, D.C. There, he worked as a copywriter for an advertising agency, writing print adverts for such clients as
IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been ...
. In their free time, Oakley and Weinstein wrote for local comedy groups, such as Gross National Product. In 1989, they moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
after being hired to write for a game show on Ha!, before writing for a variety show on the network featuring
Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song "Asshole") and throu ...
. The two also wrote for the '' National Lampoon'' and '' Spy''. An editor of ''Spy'' was hired by
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
to run the variety show '' Sunday Best'', and took Oakley and Weinstein to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
with him in 1991. When the show was canceled after three episodes, they were unemployed for a lengthy period.


''The Simpsons''


As a writer

After changing their
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, they wrote a spec script for ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...
'', which was well received. Amongst those who liked it were
Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...
and
Mike Reiss Michael L. Reiss ( '; born ) is an American television comedy writer and author. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series ''The Simpsons'' and co-created the animated series '' The Critic''. He created and wrote ...
,
showrunners A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...
of ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
''. There were no openings on the staff at the time, but Oakley and Weinstein were hired to write the episode " Marge Gets a Job", based on an idea by
Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' ( ...
. The episode aired as part of season four. Their ''Seinfeld'' script and ''The Simpsons'' episode caught the attention of
Diane English Diane English (born May 18, 1948) is an American screenwriter, producer and director, best known for creating the television show ''Murphy Brown'' and writing and directing the 2008 feature film '' The Women''. Early life English was born in Buf ...
, and they were offered a job on a sitcom. Before they accepted this job, they were told that Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky were leaving ''The Simpsons'', and then joined the writing staff on a permanent basis in 1992, in the third season of that show.Oakley, Bill & Weinstein, Josh. (2006). Easter egg Commentary for "Lisa the Simpson", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. They began as
story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". In live action television, a story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits scripts, pitches stories, and report ...
s. They were initially quiet and felt "intimidated", being in the same room as "10 of the greatest minds in comedy", but eventually started pitching jokes with confidence. They wrote their scripts together, working side by side at a computer. Their first episode as staff writers was " Marge in Chains", an existing idea that they were assigned. The first draft of the script was based on research about women in prison conducted by Oakley and Weinstein, making it "slightly more realistic" than the final version of the episode, in which many realistic elements were replaced. After season four, most of the original staff left the show. Before David Mirkin arrived to take over as showrunner for season five, Oakley, Weinstein, O'Brien and
Dan McGrath Dan McGrath is an American television writer, educator and stage director. He is known primarily for his work as a writer/producer for several TV series including ''The Simpsons'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''King of the Hill'', ''Gravity Falls'' ...
were the only writers working on the show and spent a month mapping out most of the season's episodes. Oakley and Weinstein wrote several episodes for season five, penning the "Terror at 5½ Feet" segment of "
Treehouse of Horror IV "Treehouse of Horror IV" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and the fourth episode in the ''Treehouse of Horror'' series of Halloween specials. It originally aired on the Fox netw ...
", "
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", "
Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 95th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 1994. L ...
", the show's 100th episode " Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" and "
Lady Bouvier's Lover "Lady Bouvier's Lover" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 12, 1994. In the episode, Abe S ...
". For season six they wrote " Sideshow Bob Roberts", basing much of the episode on the
Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...
, in which they had a great interest, as well as "
Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on December 4, 1994. In the episode, Homer and Mar ...
" and "
Bart vs. Australia "Bart vs. Australia" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 19, 1995. In the episode, Bart is indicted fo ...
". For "Bart vs. Australia", the writing staff wanted to produce an episode in which the Simpsons family traveled to a foreign country; they selected
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
because they thought that everyone in Australia had a good sense of humor and "would get the jokes", with the episode being intentionally inaccurate. The episode proved somewhat controversial; some Australian fans said the episode was a mockery of their country. Shortly after it had aired, the ''Simpsons'' staff received over a hundred letters from Australians who were insulted by the episode. The pair wrote the two-part episode " Who Shot Mr. Burns?", which was initially proposed by series creator
Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
. While deciding who the culprit was, Oakley and Weinstein pitched Barney Gumble because he was a character that could go to jail and it could change the dynamic of the show. Mirkin suggested Maggie because he felt it was funnier and wanted the culprit to be a family member. Oakley and Weinstein were initially unsure about having Maggie as the culprit, and it was decided that the episode would end with Maggie shifting her eyes and making it look like it was not a complete accident.


As showrunner

Oakley and Weinstein were appointed
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...
s and showrunners of the seventh and eighth seasons. They were chosen partly because they had been with the show since the third season and understood many of its dynamics. The showrunner is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the show's production. Each episode takes ten months to produce, so the showrunner must "oversee many different episodes in different stages of production all at the same time", with roles including head writer, making notes on the
storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in t ...
s and working with the voice actors, animators, editors and composers. Oakley and Weinstein often set two script-rewriting rooms in motion at the same time, delegating leadership in the rooms to writers such as Steve Tompkins and David Cohen. Mirkin, who had suggested that the two take over, remained on the show in an advisory capacity, helping Oakley and Weinstein with technical aspects of the show such as editing and sound mixing. When they took over the series, they wanted many of the episodes to be realistic ones that focused more on the five members of the Simpson family and explored their feelings and emotions towards each other. They wanted to produce '' Treehouse of Horror'' episodes, episodes about
Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a sel ...
, Itchy & Scratchy and several "format-bending" episodes such as "
22 Short Films About Springfield "22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 1996.. It was written by ...
", for which Weinstein wrote the scene featuring Comic Book Guy and
Milhouse Van Houten Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class ...
. They aimed for "at least two episodes per season that 'pushed the envelope', ndexpanded the definition of what an episode could be". This was a style they employed for both seasons they produced. Season eight featured several episodes in which focus was given to secondary characters and in which new issues were explored, such as divorce. Their preferred choice of guest stars were those with unique and interesting voices, and several of their guest stars were "old grizzled men with distinctive voices" such as
R. Lee Ermey Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and U.S. Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film ''Full Metal Jacket'', which earned him a Golden Globe ...
,
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...
,
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. D ...
and Lawrence Tierney. Oakley considered season three to be the single greatest comedic season of television ever produced and so attempted to recreate the feel of that season for the two he ran, focusing on stories with real emotions and situations, as well as some off-the-wall episodes. Season three was their basis for
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
: "We liked Homer the way he was in the second and third seasons. That was what we consciously used as our model. Dimwitted, loving, hyper-enthusiastic, creatively goofy, parody of the American father – drawn with real emotions, though admittedly amplified. This was exemplified in " Mother Simpson", " Lisa the Iconoclast", " Diddly-Dum-Doodly", and a couple others. In some of the less reality-based episodes, i.e. the Beer Baron one – usually Swartzwelder's, we'd treat this stricture with a certain amount of latitude." One of their most notable episodes was " Homer's Enemy", an episode designed to "push the envelope conceptually". The idea for "Homer's Enemy" was first conceived by Oakley who thought that Homer should have an enemy. This evolved into the concept of a "real world" co-worker who would either love or hate Homer. The writers chose the latter as they thought it would have funnier results. The result was the character of Frank Grimes, a man who has had to work hard all his life with nothing to show for it and is dismayed and embittered by Homer's success and comfort in spite of his inherent laziness and ignorance. "Homer's Enemy" explores the comic possibilities of a realistic character with a strong
work ethic Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. It is a set of values centered on importance of work and manifested by determination o ...
placed alongside Homer in a work environment. In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; however, in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted. By the close of the episode, Grimes, a hard working and persevering "real American hero," is relegated to the role of antagonist; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious. Oakley says the episode was "hyper-
meta Meta (from the Greek μετά, '' meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending". In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or end ...
" and focused on "parodying to some degree the Homer we don't like. That's one of the things that episode is supposed to illustrate — "Homer gone wrong". Although, I would argue that in "Homer's Enemy" he's not even really even all that excessively stupid or immature, actually." Weinstein said: "We wanted to do an episode where the thinking was "What if a real life, normal person had to enter Homer's universe and deal with him?" I know this episode is controversial and divisive, but I just love it. It really feels like what would happen if a real, somewhat humorless human had to deal with Homer. There was some talk n NoHomers.netabout the ending—we just did that because (a) it's really funny and shocking, (2) we like the lesson of "sometimes, you just can't win"—the whole Frank Grimes episode is a study in frustration and hence Homer has the last laugh and (3) we wanted to show that in real life, being Homer Simpson could be really dangerous and life-threatening, as Frank Grimes sadly learned." When the episode was first broadcast, many fans felt it was too dark, unfunny and that Homer was portrayed as overly bad-mannered. On the DVD commentary, Weinstein considers this episode one of the most controversial of the seasons he ran, as it involves sharp observational humor which many fans "didn't get". Weinstein also talks about a "generation gap"—the episode was originally panned by viewers, but has since become a favorite among fans who grew up with the show. Other episodes included " Two Bad Neighbors", which sees Homer meet former President George H. W. Bush, a reference to the show's feud with the Bushes in the early 1990s. Weinstein said that the episode is often misunderstood. Many audiences expected a political satire, while the writers made special effort to keep the parody apolitical. Oakley stresses that "it's not a political attack, it's a personal attack!", and instead of criticizing Bush for his policies, the episode instead pokes fun at his "crotchetiness". Oakley described the episode as a companion piece to "Homer's Enemy", in that a character is juxtaposed alongside Homer and does not get along with him. They considered working on the show to be similar to working in a bubble due to the lack of interference from the Fox network's executives, as is commonplace on other shows. This allowed them to produce any episodes they wanted, as Weinstein commented: "The great thing about ''The Simpsons'' is that we pretty much were able to get away with everything, so there weren't any episodes we really wanted to do that we couldn't do. Even the crazy high-concept ones like "Two Bad Neighbors" and "Homer's Enemy" we managed to put on the air because honestly there were no network execs there to stop us." Such was the network's limited input, when an executive suggested the staff introduce a new character to live with the Simpsons so as to "liven up the show", the staff rejected the idea and instead created the episode " The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", inserting the one-time character Roy, with no explanation as to who he was, or why he was living with the family, as a reference to the executive's proposal. The episode, which marked the point at which ''The Simpsons'' surpassed ''
The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...
'' for the number of episodes produced for an
animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...
, was named by the BBC as one of the ten most memorable episodes of the show. They noted "the writers used the opportunity to pay tribute to the art of animation and rail against network interference in their show." The intrusion of the network censors was limited: the normal procedure is for an episode's script to be sent to the censor and then faxed back with a list of lines and words that should be substituted, causing limited problems as often the offending lines are removed or changed for comedic purposes after animation. The episode " Homer's Phobia" drew the censor's objections. Its script came back with two pages of notes about almost every single line. The censors stated that they did not like the use of the word " gay", or the discussion of homosexuality at all, and closed with a paragraph which stated that "the topic and substance of this episode are unacceptable for
broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...
". The censor problems ultimately came to nothing when the episode came back from animation in South Korea, the then-Fox president had just been fired and replaced, with the censors being replaced as well. The new censors sent back merely one line: "acceptable for broadcast".


Leaving the show

Oakley and Weinstein stood down as showrunners after season eight because they "didn't want to break
he show He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
. Oakley said: "We always said we'd never do a joke that we'd done before." They felt the showrunner should not stay for more than two seasons. Due to the pressures of having to work on two seasons at once (writing season eight, whilst doing post-production of season seven), Oakley said that at least two episodes from season eight would ideally have been rewritten, had there been sufficient time, and that towards the end, they were "treading water". As they were working on
post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. Th ...
of season eight, they were credited as consulting producers for season nine, which was in its initial writing stages. Oakley stated that they contributed "somewhere between 0 and .0001%" of the season, only attending the table readings of the scripts. They produced three episodes held over from season eight, which aired as part of season nine: "
The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" is the first episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on September 21, 1997, as the 179 ...
", "
The Principal and the Pauper "The Principal and the Pauper" is the second episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 28, 1997. In the episode, Seymour Skinner ...
" and "
Lisa the Simpson "Lisa the Simpson" is the seventeenth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 8, 1998. In the episode, Lisa fears that she may b ...
". "The Principal and the Pauper" was negatively received due to the sudden revelation that long-time character Seymour Skinner was actually an imposter. For example, in his book ''
Planet Simpson ''Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation'', also abbreviated to ''Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation'', is a non-fiction book about ''The Simpsons'', written by Chris Turner ...
'', Chris Turner describes "The Principal and the Pauper" as the "broadcast that marked heabrupt plunge" from ''The Simpsons''' "Golden Age", which he says began in the middle of the show's third season. He calls the episode " ne ofthe weakest episodes in ''Simpsons'' history". As such, they consider it the most controversial episode from their tenure as executive producers. He and Oakley advise viewers to treat "The Principal and the Pauper" as an "experiment". They surmise that the negative reception was partly due to the fact that it was not immediately apparent to viewers that this was such an episode (as opposed to, for example, "
The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 11, 1997. The episo ...
"). They describe the ending of the episode as an attempt to reset the continuity and allow fans to consider the episode on its own. "Lisa the Simpson" was their final involvement with the show. The duo wanted to end on a good note—Weinstein stated that the episode "was meant to embody the humor, depth, and emotions of ''The Simpsons'',"—and they were pleased with the result.


Awards and critical reaction

Weinstein won three
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s for his work on ''The Simpsons'', and shared them with the other producers. When Weinstein was the showrunner and executive producer, "Homer's Phobia" won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less) in 1997. The previous year, " Treehouse of Horror VI" was submitted for the award. The staff felt the 3D animation sequence "Homer³" would have given it the edge. The episode eventually lost to ''
Pinky and the Brain ''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and the fourth col ...
''. Oakley later expressed regret about not submitting an episode with a more emotionally driven plot, such as " Mother Simpson". In 1996, during season seven, the show received a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
. Weinstein shared the awards for "
Lisa's Wedding "Lisa's Wedding" is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 19, 1995.Trash of the Titans "Trash of the Titans" is the twenty-second episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The 200th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 26 ...
" in 1995 and 1998 respectively. Oakley and Weinstein themselves were nominated, along with the show's composer
Alf Clausen Alf Heiberg Clausen (born March 28, 1941) is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of ''The Simpsons'', for which he was the sole composer between 1990 and 2017. Clausen has scored or or ...
, for the Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics for writing "Señor Burns" from "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)". Many of the episodes by Oakley and Weinstein are considered amongst the show's best. For example, in 2003, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' included six episodes they produced ("Homer's Phobia", " A Fish Called Selma", "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson", "22 Short Films About Springfield", "
The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 11, 1997. The episo ...
" and "The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show") and one episode they wrote ("Who Shot Mr. Burns?") as part of their list of the show's 25 best episodes. Robert Canning of IGN said the episode " You Only Move Twice" from season eight "may well be the greatest ''Simpsons'' episode of all time. In my book, it's at least tied," with " Marge vs. the Monorail".
A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
described their era as "reach nga pinnacle of zany self-reference with "22 Short Films About Springfield" and "Simpsons Spin-off Showcase"." Weinstein considers the line "Too crazy for Boy's Town, too much of a boy for Crazy Town", from the episode " Treehouse of Horror VII" to be his favorite joke contribution to the show. The two are popular amongst the show's fans, and in the early days of the Internet, Oakley read and participated in fan discussion of the show on newsgroups such as
alt.tv.simpsons alt.tv.simpsons (called "a.t.s." by regular readers) is a usenet newsgroup dedicated to discussing the American television program ''The Simpsons''. Created in 1990, the newsgroup became a popular community in the early 1990s, and continues to ...
. In 2005 and 2006, they participated in two question-and-answer sessions on the fan
message board An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...
NoHomers.net.


''Mission Hill'' and other work

After Oakley and Weinstein left ''The Simpsons'', they created '' Mission Hill'' in 1997, a show about a hip, lazy, 24-year-old cartoonist named Andy French, and sold it to
The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
for a fall 1999 debut. They pitched the show in 1998 "as an animated series for young adults with a sophisticated, '''Simpsons'''-style sensibility." They aimed to make the show about realistic issues affecting young adults, which were too mature for ''The Simpsons''. The network was impressed and initially ordered 13 episodes; they ordered five more once the first was completed. Oakley explained: "The audience we're going for is one that's sophisticated, that likes high and low humor, that's very savvy in animation. utthis show is definitely a case where a lot of people don't get it. It's not setup, setup, setup, punch line. It's observational humor. It's jokes told in a weird way, in the background or with a bizarre sound effect." The show was plagued by "public relations" difficulties, which meant it was "tarnished" from the start. A badly edited two-minute promotional video for the show, sent to advertisers in April 1999 for the annual
upfront ''UpFront'' is a current affairs discussion, debate and analysis programme on Al Jazeera English. The show premiered on 4 September 2015 shortly after Al Jazeera moved into their new Washington D.C. hub. The show has a politics focus although othe ...
s, was poorly received. Oakley and Weinstein had been informed that the upfronts did not matter. Similarly, because no episodes were finished in time, journalists were not able to see anything of the show at the network's schedule presentation in July. Subsequently, as Weinstein commented to the ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'', "for seven months, the only impression people had of the show was based on a two-minute tape that looked terrible. Six major publications panned it before they even saw it." The pilot garnered largely negative reviews from publications such as ''
The Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...
''; and earned a positive write-up in ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''. Furthermore, the show was forced to change from its originally planned title of ''The Downtowners'' due to its closeness to an
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
show. All of these factors combined to ensure the show received little attention, and the WB ran only a few commercials for it. Weinstein stated: "I don't know exactly why America doesn't know about this show. It's like ''
Teen People ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the l ...
'' came out with its fall preview, and we're not even in it." ''Mission Hill'' came at a time when the TV schedules were already saturated with animated shows; some of the response could be chalked up to its genre. The show was put out on a Friday, a night on which the WB had never broadcast before, at 8:00 pm, a time Oakley felt was inappropriate, and aired in front of '' The Wayans Bros.'', ''
The Jamie Foxx Show ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on The WB from August 28, 1996, to January 14, 2001. The series stars Jamie Foxx, Garcelle Beauvais, Christopher B. Duncan, Ellia English, and Garrett Morris. Although the show was not ...
'' and '' The Steve Harvey Show'', all shows with which Oakley felt it was "incompatible". The show's poor reviews and ratings of an average of 1.8 million led to its swift cancellation. Oakley concluded that the pair had been "very naive" with regard to producing the show, and that it "would've been better on cable anyway because it would never have appealed to a broad enough audience due to the subject matter". The 13 completed episodes were later aired on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
's
adult swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
block and the show garnered a worldwide cult following. After lobbying from Oakley and Weinstein, the WB eventually released the series on DVD. From 2001 to 2002, the two served as consulting producers on ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...
''. They worked for two-and-a-half days a week, contributing jokes and helping with stories. They worked most substantially on the episodes " That's Lobstertainment!" and " Roswell That Ends Well". They produced '' The Mullets'' for UPN in 2003. Oakley and Weinstein have written and produced several
television pilots A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
. These include a CBS
dramedy Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
entitled ''22 Birthdays'', ''Business Class'', a comedy for
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
about two traveling salesmen, ''The Funkhousers'', an off-the-wall comedy for ABC about a close-knit family which was directed by
Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...
and ''The Ruling Class'' for Fox, about a high school class who all got along, regardless of their social group. They have written two feature film screenplays: ''The Optimist'' for
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...
, in which
Seann William Scott Seann William Scott (born October 3, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Steve Stifler in the '' American Pie'' franchise, and also for his role as Doug Glatt in both '' Goon'' and '' Goon: Last of the Enforcers''. He has al ...
was slated to star as a man born with no unhappiness gene, and ''Ruprecht'', a
Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
-related comedy for
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
. Weinstein was due to serve with Oakley as an executive producer on the Fox animated television series '' Sit Down, Shut Up'' in 2009, which was created by
Mitchell Hurwitz Mitchell Donald "Mitch" Hurwitz (born May 29, 1963) is an American television writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the television sitcom '' Arrested Development'' as well as the co-creator of '' The Ellen Show''. He is ...
. The show, which was based on an Australian program, featured cartoon characters on live-action backgrounds. However, Oakley ended his involvement with the show due to a contract dispute between the staff and
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...
. Sony refused to offer a contract which operated under the complete terms of the
Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...
. Weinstein continued working on the show, before it was canceled after 13 episodes. Weinstein returned to ''Futurama'', following its revival on Comedy Central in 2010, and served as a writer and co-executive producer on its sixth and seventh seasons. He wrote the episodes "
That Darn Katz! "That Darn Katz!" is the eighth episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series '' Futurama'', and the 96th episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central on August 5, 2010. In the episode, Amy's rejected ...
", "
Law and Oracle "Law and Oracle" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom, '' Futurama'', originally broadcast on July 7, 2011, on Comedy Central. In the episode, Fry leaves his job as a delivery boy at Planet Express and applies for ...
", "
All the Presidents' Heads "All the Presidents' Heads" is the twenty-third episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom ''Futurama'', and originally aired July 28, 2011 on Comedy Central. Plot Fry goes to his night job at the Head Museum where he feeds the preserved ...
", "
A Farewell to Arms ''A Farewell to Arms'' is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant () in the a ...
", "
Viva Mars Vegas "Viva Mars Vegas" is the twelfth episode of the seventh season of the animated sitcom '' Futurama''. It originally aired on Comedy Central on August 22, 2012. The episode was written by Josh Weinstein and directed by Frank Marino. Its opening se ...
" and T.: The Terrestrial. Weinstein shared another Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for the ''Futurama'' episode "
The Late Philip J. Fry "The Late Philip J. Fry" is the seventh episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series '' Futurama'', and the 95th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central on July 29, 2010. In the episode, F ...
" in 2011, being nominated again the following year for "
The Tip of the Zoidberg "The Tip of the Zoidberg" is the eighteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom ''Futurama''. It aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 18, 2011. A pivotal episode, it reveals Dr. Zoidberg's backstory. This episo ...
". Individually, he received an
Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally de ...
nomination for Writing in a Television Production for the episode "All the Presidents' Heads" in 2011, and a
Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility ...
nomination for Outstanding Animation for writing "A Farewell to Arms" in 2013. In 2013, Weinstein co-created, produced and wrote the animated comedy-mystery series ''
Strange Hill High ''Strange Hill High'' is a British children's puppet-animated series for CBBC. The show is a co-production between CBBC, FremantleMedia and Factory. Out of the many writers, it was noted that Josh Weinstein (who worked on ''The Simpsons'' and ...
'' for British children's channel
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7–16 ...
. For the series, Weinstein imported the role of the showrunner and the writer's room, used routinely on American television shows like ''The Simpsons'', but uncommon on British television. The show uses the animation technique hypervynorama, a mix of puppetry and CGI. Weinstein will also team up with Oakley again to co-write and co-executive produce ''22 Birthdays'', the failed pilot they originally produced for CBS, as a pilot for Bravo.
Doug Liman Douglas Eric Liman (; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), ''Jumper'' (2008), '' Ed ...
and Dave Bartis will also be co-executive producers. In August 2022, Weinstein appeared in an episode of Rate My Takeaway where he enjoyed a burger and fries over a chat with the host Danny Malin. Weinstein was a long time fan of the Youtube channel and when Malin was on a tour of the US they arranged the meet up.


Personal life

Weinstein married Lisa Simmons, a West Coast editor of ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
'', in a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
ceremony in 1995. They have two children, twins Molly and Simon, born in 1999.


Credits

*''Sunday Best'' (1991) – writer *''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'' (1992–1998) – writer, producer, story editor, supervising producer, consulting producer, executive producer, showrunner (all episodes with
Bill Oakley William Lloyd Oakley (born February 27, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans Sc ...
) **" Marge Gets a Job" **" Marge in Chains" **"
Treehouse of Horror IV "Treehouse of Horror IV" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and the fourth episode in the ''Treehouse of Horror'' series of Halloween specials. It originally aired on the Fox netw ...
" ("Terror at 5½ Feet" segment) **"
$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling) #REDIRECT $pringfield (or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling) {{R from move ...
" **"
Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 95th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 1994. L ...
" **" Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" **"
Lady Bouvier's Lover "Lady Bouvier's Lover" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 12, 1994. In the episode, Abe S ...
" **" Sideshow Bob Roberts" **"
Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on December 4, 1994. In the episode, Homer and Mar ...
" **"
Bart vs. Australia "Bart vs. Australia" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 19, 1995. In the episode, Bart is indicted fo ...
" **" Who Shot Mr. Burns?" (parts 1 & 2) **"
22 Short Films About Springfield "22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 1996.. It was written by ...
" (Milhouse and Comic Book Guy scenes) *'' Mission Hill'' (1999–2002) – creator, writer, executive producer, voice of Toby Mundorf **" Pilot" (with Oakley) *''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...
'' (2001–2002, 2010–2013) – consulting producer, executive producer, writer **"
That Darn Katz! "That Darn Katz!" is the eighth episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series '' Futurama'', and the 96th episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central on August 5, 2010. In the episode, Amy's rejected ...
" **"
Law and Oracle "Law and Oracle" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom, '' Futurama'', originally broadcast on July 7, 2011, on Comedy Central. In the episode, Fry leaves his job as a delivery boy at Planet Express and applies for ...
" **"
All the Presidents' Heads "All the Presidents' Heads" is the twenty-third episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom ''Futurama'', and originally aired July 28, 2011 on Comedy Central. Plot Fry goes to his night job at the Head Museum where he feeds the preserved ...
" **"
A Farewell to Arms ''A Farewell to Arms'' is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant () in the a ...
" **"
Viva Mars Vegas "Viva Mars Vegas" is the twelfth episode of the seventh season of the animated sitcom '' Futurama''. It originally aired on Comedy Central on August 22, 2012. The episode was written by Josh Weinstein and directed by Frank Marino. Its opening se ...
" **" T.: The Terrestrial" *''The Funkhousers'' (2001) – writer *''Ruling Class'' (2002) – writer *'' The Mullets'' (2003) – creator, executive producer *''22 Birthdays'' (2005) – writer *''Business Class'' (2007) – creator, writer *'' Sit Down, Shut Up'' (2009) – executive producer, writer **"High School Musical Musical" *''
Strange Hill High ''Strange Hill High'' is a British children's puppet-animated series for CBBC. The show is a co-production between CBBC, FremantleMedia and Factory. Out of the many writers, it was noted that Josh Weinstein (who worked on ''The Simpsons'' and ...
'' (2013–14) – creator, showrunner, writer *'' The Awesomes'' (2013) – writer *''
Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines ( Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel ( Kristen Schaal) ...
'' (2014–2016) – writer **"The Love God" **"
Not What He Seems "Not What He Seems" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''Gravity Falls'', created by Alex Hirsch. The episode was written by Shion Takeuchi, Josh Weinstein, Jeff Rowe, Matt Chapman, and Hirs ...
" **" A Tale of Two Stans" **"Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons" **"The Stanchurian Candidate" **"Roadside Attraction" **"Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future" **"Weirdmageddon Part 1" **" Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls" *'' Danger Mouse'' (2016) – writer *''
Disenchantment In social science, disenchantment (german: Entzauberung) is the cultural rationalization and devaluation of religion apparent in modern society. The term was borrowed from Friedrich Schiller by Max Weber to describe the character of a modern ...
'' (2018–present) – writer, showrunner, executive producer **" A Princess, an Elf and a Demon Walk into a Bar" **"Tiabeanie Falls" **"Freak Out!" **"The Pitter-Patter of Little Feet" **"Bean Falls Apart"


References

Bibliography *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Josh American television producers American television writers Jewish American writers American male television writers Stanford University alumni St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni Emmy Award winners Peabody Award winners 1966 births Living people Screenwriters from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American Jews Jewish American comedy writers