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Bill Oakley

May 07, 2023

This article is about the television writer. For the comic book artist, see Bill Oakley (comics). For the fictional character, see Bill Oakley (Better Call Saul).

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 School; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon. He worked on several short-term media projects, including writing for the variety show Sunday Best, but was then unemployed for a long period.

Bill Oakley
Oakley in 2008
BornWilliam Lloyd Oakley
(1966-02-27) February 27, 1966 (age 57)
Westminster, Maryland, U.S.
OccupationTelevision writer
Period1988–present
GenreComedy
SpouseRachel Pulido
Children3

Oakley and Weinstein eventually penned a spec script for Seinfeld, 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)", "Bart vs. Australia" and "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", the two were appointed executive producers and showrunners 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", winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for their work.

After they left The Simpsons, Oakley and Weinstein created Mission Hill. The show was plagued by promotional issues and was swiftly canceled. They worked as consulting producers on Futurama, 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. He has since written for The Cleveland Show and Portlandia, without Weinstein. He also served as co-executive producer and writer on Portlandia, sharing a Writers Guild of America Award with his fellow writers in 2013. In 2018, Oakley reunited with Weinstein as co-executive producer on Disenchantment, Matt Groening's animated series for Netflix. Oakley is married to fellow writer Rachel Pulido.

Early life

William Lloyd Oakley was born on February 27, 1966, in Westminster, Maryland, and raised on a farm in Union Bridge, Maryland.[1][2][3] He was a fan of Mad magazine from an early age, which helped shape his comic sensibility.[2] He attended St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., where he met and became best friends with Josh Weinstein in the eighth grade. The two created the school humor magazine The Alban Antic in 1983.[1][4] Such would be the length of their partnership; the two often finish each other's sentences.[5] Oakley later attended Harvard University, where he wrote for and served as Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon,[2] working on the famous 1986 USA Today parody issue.[6] He graduated in 1988 after studying American history.[1][7]

Career

Oakley did not land a job on a major comedy series, as previous Harvard graduates who wrote for the Lampoon had done, despite writing numerous spec scripts for shows such as Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman; he thus moved back home.[1][8] There, he worked in publicity, doing promotion for America's Most Wanted.[8] In their free time, Oakley and Weinstein wrote for local comedy groups, such as Gross National Product.[1] In 1989, they moved to New York City after being hired to write for a game show on Ha!, before writing for a variety show on the network featuring Denis Leary.[8] The two also wrote for the National Lampoon and Spy.[4] An editor of Spy was hired by NBC to run the variety show Sunday Best, and took Oakley and Weinstein to Los Angeles with him in 1991. When the show was canceled after three episodes, they were unemployed for a lengthy period, and Oakley lived on unemployment benefits.[6][8] He later considered applying to join the United States Foreign Service.[1]

The Simpsons

Well, we were pretty freaking dedicated, I guess. We were Simpsons nerds of the first order and were huge fans before we even got hired. It was basically the equivalent of getting hired on SNL in 1978. The entire original staff was there. The only "new guys" were Conan and us. We lived and breathed that show from 1992–1997.

 — Oakley on his and Weinstein's dedication to the show.[9]

As a writer

After changing their agent,[1] they wrote a spec script for Seinfeld, which was well received. Amongst those who liked it were Al Jean and Mike Reiss, showrunners of The Simpsons. 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.[8] The episode aired as part of season four.[8][10] Their Seinfeld script and The Simpsons episode caught the attention of Diane English, 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.[8][11] They began as story editors.[12] 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.[8] They wrote their scripts together, working side by side at a computer.[8] 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.[13]

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 were the only writers working on the show and spent a month mapping out most of the season's episodes.[11] Oakley and Weinstein wrote several episodes for season five, penning the "Terror at 5½ Feet" segment of "Treehouse of Horror IV",[14] "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)",[15] "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy",[16] the show's 100th episode "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song"[17] and "Lady Bouvier's Lover".[18] For season six they wrote "Sideshow Bob Roberts", basing much of the episode on the Watergate scandal, in which they had a great interest.[19] They also wrote "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy",[20] and "Bart vs. Australia". The writing staff wanted to do an episode in which the Simpsons family traveled to a foreign country; they selected Australia because they thought that everyone in Australia had a good sense of humor and "would get the jokes",[21] with the episode being intentionally inaccurate.[22] 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.[23] The pair wrote the two-part episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", which was initially proposed by series creator Matt Groening.[24] 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.[25] Mirkin suggested Maggie because he felt it was funnier and wanted the culprit to be a family member.[26] 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.[27]

As showrunner

Oakley and Weinstein were appointed executive producers 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.[11] 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 storyboards 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.[8] 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.[8] 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.[28] They wanted to produce Treehouse of Horror episodes, episodes about Sideshow Bob, Itchy & Scratchy and several "format-bending" episodes such as "22 Short Films About Springfield", for which Oakley wrote the Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers scene, the latter being his favorite character.[29] Oakley wrote the scene in one afternoon and the finished product resembles almost exactly its first draft.[30] The scene is frequently cited as one of the show's greatest moments and decades later would become a pervasive Internet meme.[31][32][30] Writing for Forbes in 2021, Dani Di Placido stated that the scene "serves as a nostalgic reminder of the show’s best years, when a single scene between two side-characters proved so memorable that fans were still quoting it, decades later, and so malleable that it can mutate into one of the internet’s most enduring memes."[33] Oakley stated in 2021 he believed it was the most famous thing he had written and one of his favorites.[30]

They aimed for "at least two episodes per season that 'pushed the envelope', [and] expanded the definition of what an episode could be."[8] This was a style they employed for both seasons they produced.[34] Season eight featured several episodes in which focus was given to secondary characters and in which new issues were explored, such as divorce.[34] 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, Donald Sutherland, Kirk Douglas and Lawrence Tierney.[35] 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,[2] focusing on stories with real emotions and situations, as well as some off-the-wall episodes.[8] Season three was their basis for Homer: "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."[9]

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.[36] 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.[36] "Homer's Enemy" explores the comic possibilities of a realistic character with a strong work ethic placed alongside Homer in a work environment. In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; in some scenes, his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted.[36][37] By the close of the episode, Grimes, a hard working and persevering "real American hero,"[37] is relegated to the role of antagonist; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious.[37] Oakley says the episode was "hyper-meta" 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."[9] 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 [on NoHomers.net] about 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."[8] When the episode was first broadcast, many fans felt it was too dark, unfunny and that Homer was portrayed as overly bad-mannered.[38] 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."[36] Weinstein 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.[36]

 
Oakley (left) along with Weinstein, Mike Reiss and Jeff Martin in 1994.

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.[39] 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.[40] Oakley stresses that "it's not a political attack, it's a personal attack!", and instead of criticizing Bush for his policies, the episode 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.[41]

Oakley 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.[11] 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."[8] Such was the network's limited input that, when an executive suggested the staff introduce a new character to live with the Simpsons so as to "liven up the show",[42] 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.[43] The episode, which marked the point at which The Simpsons surpassed The Flintstones for the number of episodes produced for an animated series,[44] 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."[45] 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". 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".[46]

Leaving the show

Oakley and Weinstein stood down as showrunners after season eight because they "didn't want to break [the show]." Oakley said: "We always said we'd never do a joke that we'd done before."[1] They felt the showrunner should not stay for more than two seasons.[11] Due to the pressures of having to work on two seasons at once (writing season eight, while 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,[34] and that towards the end, they were "treading water".[2] As they were working on post-production of season eight, they were credited as consulting producers for season nine, which was in its initial writing stages.[8] Oakley stated that they contributed "somewhere between 0 and .0001%" of the season, only attending the table readings of the scripts.[8]

They produced three episodes held over from season eight, which aired as part of season nine: "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson",[47] "The Principal and the Pauper" and "Lisa the Simpson". "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, Chris Turner describes "The Principal and the Pauper" as the "broadcast that marked [the] abrupt plunge" from The Simpsons' "Golden Age", which he says began in the middle of the show's third season. He calls the episode "[one of] the weakest episodes in Simpsons history".[48] As such, Oakley considers it the most controversial episode from his tenure as executive producer. He and Weinstein 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"). They describe the ending of the episode as an attempt to reset the continuity and allow fans to consider the episode on its own.[49] "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.[50]

Awards and critical reaction

Oakley won three Emmys for his work on The Simpsons, and shared them with the other producers.[51] When Oakley was the showrunner and executive producer, "Homer's Phobia" won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less) in 1997.[51] 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. Oakley later expressed regret about not submitting an episode with a more emotionally driven plot, such as "Mother Simpson".[52] In 1996, during season seven, the show received a Peabody Award.[53] Oakley shared the awards for "Lisa's Wedding" and "Trash of the Titans" in 1995 and 1998 respectively.[51][54][55] Oakley and Weinstein themselves were nominated, along with the show's composer Alf Clausen, for the Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics for writing "Señor Burns" from "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)".[51]

Many of the episodes by Oakley and Weinstein are considered amongst the show's best. For example, in 2003, Entertainment Weekly 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" 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.[56] 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".[57] A. O. Scott described their era as "reach[ing] a pinnacle of zany self-reference with "22 Short Films About Springfield" and "Simpsons Spin-off Showcase"."[58] The two are popular amongst the show's fans,[9] 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.[2][11] In 2005 and 2006, they participated in two question-and-answer sessions on the fan message board NoHomers.net.[8][34]

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 for a fall 1999 debut.[8][59] 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.[1] The network was impressed and initially ordered 13 episodes; they ordered five more once the first was completed.[8] 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. [But] this 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."[1] 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 upfronts, was poorly received. Oakley and Weinstein had been informed that the upfronts did not matter.[1] 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, "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; and earned a positive write-up in Variety.[1] Furthermore, the show was forced to change from its originally planned title of The Downtowners due to its closeness to an MTV show.[1] 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 came out with its fall preview, and we're not even in it."[1] 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.[9]

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,[1] and aired in front of The Wayans Bros., The Jamie Foxx Show and The Steve Harvey Show, all shows with which Oakley felt it was "incompatible".[8] The show's poor reviews and ratings of an average of 1.8 million led to its swift cancellation.[9][59] Oakley concluded that the pair had been "very naive" with regard to producing the show,[1] 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."[9] The 13 completed episodes were later aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block and the show garnered a worldwide cult following. After lobbying from Oakley and Weinstein, the WB eventually released the series on DVD.[4][8][59]

From 2001 to 2002, the two served as consulting producers on Futurama. 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".[8] They produced The Mullets for UPN in 2003.[60] Oakley and Weinstein have written and produced several television pilots. These include a CBS dramedy entitled 22 Birthdays, Business Class, a comedy for NBC about two traveling salesmen, The Funkhousers, an off-the-wall comedy for ABC about a close-knit family which was directed by Frank Oz and The Ruling Class for Fox, about a high school class who all got along, regardless of their social group.[8][61][62] They have written two feature film screenplays: The Optimist for New Line Cinema, in which Seann William Scott was slated to star as a man born with no unhappiness gene,[63] and Ruprecht, a Santa Claus-related comedy for Disney.[64]

Along with Weinstein, Oakley was to serve as an executive producer on the Fox television series Sit Down, Shut Up in 2009.[65] Oakley ended his involvement with the show due to a contract dispute between the staff and Sony Pictures. Sony refused to offer a contract which operated under the complete terms of the Writers Guild of America. Weinstein continued working on the show.[66] His two subsequent projects have been without Weinstein. In late 2009, NBC commissioned a pilot for Oakley's sitcom about "the youngest judge in a circuit courthouse."[67] He wrote the 2010 episode of The Cleveland Show "Gone with the Wind".[68] Amongst other projects, Oakley planned a live-action show where the characters are all robots, which would be made by the same people who produce the children's show Yo Gabba Gabba!.[2] Oakley began writing for the sketch comedy show Portlandia in its second season. He became a co-executive producer from the show's third season, co-writing every episode with Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and Jonathan Krisel.[69][70] He and his fellow writers shared the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series in 2013.[71][72] Oakley and Weinstein teamed up again to co-write and co-executive produce 22 Birthdays, the failed pilot they originally produced for CBS, as a pilot for Bravo. It was slated to air in 2013.[73] Oakley subsequently worked on as a co-executive producer on the Matt Groening-created series Disenchantment.[74]

Since 2018, Oakley has regularly produced short reviews of various fast food items from restaurants across the US, uploading them to his Instagram channel.[75] This led The Wrap to christen him "the Gordon Ramsay of fast food".[74] He created the annual Steamie Awards to credit what he felt were the best items he reviewed each year in various categories.[76]

In 2022, Audible released Oakley's original sci-fi comedy Space: 1969, starring Natasha Lyonne and a full cast. [77]

Personal life

Oakley and his wife Rachel Pulido[78] have two daughters Mary and Bitsy,[4] and a son named James.[79] He and his family live in Portland, Oregon.[2]

Pulido graduated from Harvard, where she was a writer for the Harvard Lampoon. She wrote for The Simpsons and Mission Hill and was the only Hispanic staff writer in the twenty-year history of The Simpsons.[80] She is of Mexican heritage.[81] Pulido wrote the episode "Grade School Confidential",[82] and the Bumblebee Man segment of "22 Short Films About Springfield".[79]

Credits

Episodes listed are those Oakley has been credited as writing or co-writing

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Waxman, Sharon (1999-10-07). "That's Show Buzz – For the Guys Behind 'Mission Hill,' a Long, Hard Climb". The Washington Post. p. Style C1.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oakley, Bill (2010-02-14). Outlook Portland (Interview). Interviewed by Rick Emerson. Portland: KRCW-TV. {{cite interview}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ Bill Oakley Interview « The Boar The Boar Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  4. ^ a b c d Fu, Sandra (2003-03-11). "A Lesson On The Concept of "Relatability": Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, Mission Hill". Morphizm. from the original on 8 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  5. ^ Belcher, Walt (1996-07-22). "'Simpsons' writers plan busy season". The Tampa Tribune. p. 4.
  6. ^ a b Hallett, Victoria C. (1999-09-17). . The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  7. ^ Rehling, William E. (1996-05-20). . The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on 2 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "Ask Bill & Josh". NoHomers.net. 2005-11-02. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g . Springfield Weekly. Archived from the original on 2007-11-30. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  10. ^ Oakley, Bill (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Marge Gets a Job" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Oakley, Bill & Weinstein, Josh. (2006). Easter egg Commentary for "Lisa the Simpson", in The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  12. ^ "Joshing around". Sunday Herald Sun. 2006-04-02. p. F03.
  13. ^ Oakley, Bill. (2004). DVD Commentary for "Marge in Chains", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  14. ^ Oakley, Bill (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Fifth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror 4" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  15. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "$pringfield". BBC. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  16. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy". BBC. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  17. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song". BBC. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  18. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Lady Bouvier's Lover". BBC. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  19. ^ Oakley, Bill (2005). The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  20. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy". BBC. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  21. ^ Weinstein, Josh (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart vs. Australia" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  22. ^ Mirkin, David (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart vs. Australia" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  23. ^ Oakley, Bill (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart vs. Australia" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  24. ^ Oakley, Bill (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  25. ^ Weinstein, Josh (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  26. ^ Mirkin, David (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  27. ^ Oakley, Bill (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  28. ^ Oakley, Bill (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  29. ^ Oakley, Bill (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Homer the Smithers" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  30. ^ a b c Parker, Ryan (April 14, 2021). "'Steamed Hams' at 25: 'Simpsons' Cast and Crew Attempt to Decipher Classic Moment's Extraordinary Cult Following". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  31. ^ "'Simpsons' Unkillable 'Steamed Hams' Meme Explained". 28 August 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  32. ^ "How a 20-year-old 'Simpsons' joke about steamed hams became a huge meme". The Daily Dot. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  33. ^ Di Placido, Dani (2021-04-14). "25 Years Later, 'Steamed Hams' Remains The Greatest Meme 'The Simpsons' Ever Inspired". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  34. ^ a b c d "Ask Bill and Josh 2 Q&A Thread". NoHomers.net. 2006-01-08. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
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  53. ^ (PDF). Peabody.uga.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
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  76. ^ Wright, Megh (27 December 2018). "Behold the Steamie Awards, the First Annual Fast-Food Awards Show". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
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May 07, 2023
bill, oakley, this, article, about, television, writer, comic, book, artist, comics, fictional, character, better, call, saul, been, suggested, that, this, article, merged, with, rachel, pulido, discuss, proposed, since, april, 2023, william, lloyd, oakley, bo. This article is about the television writer For the comic book artist see Bill Oakley comics For the fictional character see Bill Oakley Better Call Saul It has been suggested that this article be merged with Rachel Pulido Discuss Proposed since April 2023 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 School Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon He worked on several short term media projects including writing for the variety show Sunday Best but was then unemployed for a long period Bill OakleyOakley in 2008BornWilliam Lloyd Oakley 1966 02 27 February 27 1966 age 57 Westminster Maryland U S OccupationTelevision writerPeriod1988 presentGenreComedySpouseRachel PulidoChildren3Oakley and Weinstein eventually penned a spec script for Seinfeld 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 Bart vs Australia and Who Shot Mr Burns the two were appointed executive producers and showrunners 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 winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for their work After they left The Simpsons Oakley and Weinstein created Mission Hill The show was plagued by promotional issues and was swiftly canceled They worked as consulting producers on Futurama 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 He has since written for The Cleveland Show and Portlandia without Weinstein He also served as co executive producer and writer on Portlandia sharing a Writers Guild of America Award with his fellow writers in 2013 In 2018 Oakley reunited with Weinstein as co executive producer on Disenchantment Matt Groening s animated series for Netflix Oakley is married to fellow writer Rachel Pulido Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 The Simpsons 2 1 1 As a writer 2 1 2 As showrunner 2 1 3 Leaving the show 2 1 4 Awards and critical reaction 2 2 Mission Hill and other work 3 Personal life 4 Credits 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksEarly life EditWilliam Lloyd Oakley was born on February 27 1966 in Westminster Maryland and raised on a farm in Union Bridge Maryland 1 2 3 He was a fan of Mad magazine from an early age which helped shape his comic sensibility 2 He attended St Albans School in Washington D C where he met and became best friends with Josh Weinstein in the eighth grade The two created the school humor magazine The Alban Antic in 1983 1 4 Such would be the length of their partnership the two often finish each other s sentences 5 Oakley later attended Harvard University where he wrote for and served as Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon 2 working on the famous 1986 USA Today parody issue 6 He graduated in 1988 after studying American history 1 7 Career EditOakley did not land a job on a major comedy series as previous Harvard graduates who wrote for the Lampoon had done despite writing numerous spec scripts for shows such as Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman he thus moved back home 1 8 There he worked in publicity doing promotion for America s Most Wanted 8 In their free time Oakley and Weinstein wrote for local comedy groups such as Gross National Product 1 In 1989 they moved to New York City after being hired to write for a game show on Ha before writing for a variety show on the network featuring Denis Leary 8 The two also wrote for the National Lampoon and Spy 4 An editor of Spy was hired by NBC to run the variety show Sunday Best and took Oakley and Weinstein to Los Angeles with him in 1991 When the show was canceled after three episodes they were unemployed for a lengthy period and Oakley lived on unemployment benefits 6 8 He later considered applying to join the United States Foreign Service 1 The Simpsons Edit Well we were pretty freaking dedicated I guess We were Simpsons nerds of the first order and were huge fans before we even got hired It was basically the equivalent of getting hired on SNL in 1978 The entire original staff was there The only new guys were Conan and us We lived and breathed that show from 1992 1997 Oakley on his and Weinstein s dedication to the show 9 As a writer Edit After changing their agent 1 they wrote a spec script for Seinfeld which was well received Amongst those who liked it were Al Jean and Mike Reiss showrunners of The Simpsons 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 8 The episode aired as part of season four 8 10 Their Seinfeld script and The Simpsons episode caught the attention of Diane English 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 8 11 They began as story editors 12 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 8 They wrote their scripts together working side by side at a computer 8 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 13 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 were the only writers working on the show and spent a month mapping out most of the season s episodes 11 Oakley and Weinstein wrote several episodes for season five penning the Terror at 5 Feet segment of Treehouse of Horror IV 14 pringfield Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling 15 Lisa vs Malibu Stacy 16 the show s 100th episode Sweet Seymour Skinner s Baadasssss Song 17 and Lady Bouvier s Lover 18 For season six they wrote Sideshow Bob Roberts basing much of the episode on the Watergate scandal in which they had a great interest 19 They also wrote Grampa vs Sexual Inadequacy 20 and Bart vs Australia The writing staff wanted to do an episode in which the Simpsons family traveled to a foreign country they selected Australia because they thought that everyone in Australia had a good sense of humor and would get the jokes 21 with the episode being intentionally inaccurate 22 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 23 The pair wrote the two part episode Who Shot Mr Burns which was initially proposed by series creator Matt Groening 24 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 25 Mirkin suggested Maggie because he felt it was funnier and wanted the culprit to be a family member 26 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 27 As showrunner Edit Oakley and Weinstein were appointed executive producers 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 11 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 storyboards 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 8 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 8 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 28 They wanted to produce Treehouse of Horror episodes episodes about Sideshow Bob Itchy amp Scratchy and several format bending episodes such as 22 Short Films About Springfield for which Oakley wrote the Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers scene the latter being his favorite character 29 Oakley wrote the scene in one afternoon and the finished product resembles almost exactly its first draft 30 The scene is frequently cited as one of the show s greatest moments and decades later would become a pervasive Internet meme 31 32 30 Writing for Forbes in 2021 Dani Di Placido stated that the scene serves as a nostalgic reminder of the show s best years when a single scene between two side characters proved so memorable that fans were still quoting it decades later and so malleable that it can mutate into one of the internet s most enduring memes 33 Oakley stated in 2021 he believed it was the most famous thing he had written and one of his favorites 30 They aimed for at least two episodes per season that pushed the envelope and expanded the definition of what an episode could be 8 This was a style they employed for both seasons they produced 34 Season eight featured several episodes in which focus was given to secondary characters and in which new issues were explored such as divorce 34 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 Donald Sutherland Kirk Douglas and Lawrence Tierney 35 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 2 focusing on stories with real emotions and situations as well as some off the wall episodes 8 Season three was their basis for Homer 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 9 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 36 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 36 Homer s Enemy explores the comic possibilities of a realistic character with a strong work ethic placed alongside Homer in a work environment In the episode Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted 36 37 By the close of the episode Grimes a hard working and persevering real American hero 37 is relegated to the role of antagonist the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious 37 Oakley says the episode was hyper meta 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 9 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 on NoHomers net about 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 8 When the episode was first broadcast many fans felt it was too dark unfunny and that Homer was portrayed as overly bad mannered 38 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 36 Weinstein 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 36 Oakley left along with Weinstein Mike Reiss and Jeff Martin in 1994 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 39 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 40 Oakley stresses that it s not a political attack it s a personal attack and instead of criticizing Bush for his policies the episode 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 41 Oakley 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 11 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 8 Such was the network s limited input that when an executive suggested the staff introduce a new character to live with the Simpsons so as to liven up the show 42 the staff rejected the idea and instead created the episode The Itchy amp Scratchy amp 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 43 The episode which marked the point at which The Simpsons surpassed The Flintstones for the number of episodes produced for an animated series 44 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 45 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 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 46 Leaving the show Edit Oakley and Weinstein stood down as showrunners after season eight because they didn t want to break the show Oakley said We always said we d never do a joke that we d done before 1 They felt the showrunner should not stay for more than two seasons 11 Due to the pressures of having to work on two seasons at once writing season eight while 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 34 and that towards the end they were treading water 2 As they were working on post production of season eight they were credited as consulting producers for season nine which was in its initial writing stages 8 Oakley stated that they contributed somewhere between 0 and 0001 of the season only attending the table readings of the scripts 8 They produced three episodes held over from season eight which aired as part of season nine The City of New York vs Homer Simpson 47 The Principal and the Pauper and Lisa the Simpson 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 Chris Turner describes The Principal and the Pauper as the broadcast that marked the abrupt plunge from The Simpsons Golden Age which he says began in the middle of the show s third season He calls the episode one of the weakest episodes in Simpsons history 48 As such Oakley considers it the most controversial episode from his tenure as executive producer He and Weinstein 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 They describe the ending of the episode as an attempt to reset the continuity and allow fans to consider the episode on its own 49 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 50 Awards and critical reaction Edit Oakley won three Emmys for his work on The Simpsons and shared them with the other producers 51 When Oakley was the showrunner and executive producer Homer s Phobia won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program For Programming One Hour or Less in 1997 51 The previous year Treehouse of Horror VI was submitted for the award The staff felt the 3D animation sequence Homer would have given it the edge The episode eventually lost to Pinky and the Brain Oakley later expressed regret about not submitting an episode with a more emotionally driven plot such as Mother Simpson 52 In 1996 during season seven the show received a Peabody Award 53 Oakley shared the awards for Lisa s Wedding and Trash of the Titans in 1995 and 1998 respectively 51 54 55 Oakley and Weinstein themselves were nominated along with the show s composer Alf Clausen for the Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics for writing Senor Burns from Who Shot Mr Burns Part Two 51 Many of the episodes by Oakley and Weinstein are considered amongst the show s best For example in 2003 Entertainment Weekly 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 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 56 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 57 A O Scott described their era as reach ing a pinnacle of zany self reference with 22 Short Films About Springfield and Simpsons Spin off Showcase 58 The two are popular amongst the show s fans 9 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 2 11 In 2005 and 2006 they participated in two question and answer sessions on the fan message board NoHomers net 8 34 Mission Hill and other work Edit 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 for a fall 1999 debut 8 59 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 1 The network was impressed and initially ordered 13 episodes they ordered five more once the first was completed 8 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 But this 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 1 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 upfronts was poorly received Oakley and Weinstein had been informed that the upfronts did not matter 1 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 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 and earned a positive write up in Variety 1 Furthermore the show was forced to change from its originally planned title of The Downtowners due to its closeness to an MTV show 1 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 came out with its fall preview and we re not even in it 1 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 9 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 1 and aired in front of The Wayans Bros The Jamie Foxx Show and The Steve Harvey Show all shows with which Oakley felt it was incompatible 8 The show s poor reviews and ratings of an average of 1 8 million led to its swift cancellation 9 59 Oakley concluded that the pair had been very naive with regard to producing the show 1 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 9 The 13 completed episodes were later aired on Cartoon Network s Adult Swim block and the show garnered a worldwide cult following After lobbying from Oakley and Weinstein the WB eventually released the series on DVD 4 8 59 From 2001 to 2002 the two served as consulting producers on Futurama 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 8 They produced The Mullets for UPN in 2003 60 Oakley and Weinstein have written and produced several television pilots These include a CBS dramedy entitled 22 Birthdays Business Class a comedy for NBC about two traveling salesmen The Funkhousers an off the wall comedy for ABC about a close knit family which was directed by Frank Oz and The Ruling Class for Fox about a high school class who all got along regardless of their social group 8 61 62 They have written two feature film screenplays The Optimist for New Line Cinema in which Seann William Scott was slated to star as a man born with no unhappiness gene 63 and Ruprecht a Santa Claus related comedy for Disney 64 Along with Weinstein Oakley was to serve as an executive producer on the Fox television series Sit Down Shut Up in 2009 65 Oakley ended his involvement with the show due to a contract dispute between the staff and Sony Pictures Sony refused to offer a contract which operated under the complete terms of the Writers Guild of America Weinstein continued working on the show 66 His two subsequent projects have been without Weinstein In late 2009 NBC commissioned a pilot for Oakley s sitcom about the youngest judge in a circuit courthouse 67 He wrote the 2010 episode of The Cleveland Show Gone with the Wind 68 Amongst other projects Oakley planned a live action show where the characters are all robots which would be made by the same people who produce the children s show Yo Gabba Gabba 2 Oakley began writing for the sketch comedy show Portlandia in its second season He became a co executive producer from the show s third season co writing every episode with Fred Armisen Carrie Brownstein and Jonathan Krisel 69 70 He and his fellow writers shared the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing Comedy Variety Including Talk Series in 2013 71 72 Oakley and Weinstein teamed up again to co write and co executive produce 22 Birthdays the failed pilot they originally produced for CBS as a pilot for Bravo It was slated to air in 2013 73 Oakley subsequently worked on as a co executive producer on the Matt Groening created series Disenchantment 74 Since 2018 Oakley has regularly produced short reviews of various fast food items from restaurants across the US uploading them to his Instagram channel 75 This led The Wrap to christen him the Gordon Ramsay of fast food 74 He created the annual Steamie Awards to credit what he felt were the best items he reviewed each year in various categories 76 In 2022 Audible released Oakley s original sci fi comedy Space 1969 starring Natasha Lyonne and a full cast 77 Personal life EditOakley and his wife Rachel Pulido 78 have two daughters Mary and Bitsy 4 and a son named James 79 He and his family live in Portland Oregon 2 Pulido graduated from Harvard where she was a writer for the Harvard Lampoon She wrote for The Simpsons and Mission Hill and was the only Hispanic staff writer in the twenty year history of The Simpsons 80 She is of Mexican heritage 81 Pulido wrote the episode Grade School Confidential 82 and the Bumblebee Man segment of 22 Short Films About Springfield 79 Credits EditEpisodes listed are those Oakley has been credited as writing or co writingSunday Best 1991 writer The Simpsons 1992 98 writer producer story editor supervising producer consulting producer executive producer showrunner all episodes with Josh Weinstein Marge Gets a Job 1992 Marge in Chains 1993 Treehouse of Horror IV Terror at 5 Feet segment 1993 pringfield Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling 1993 Lisa vs Malibu Stacy 1994 Sweet Seymour Skinner s Baadasssss Song 1994 Lady Bouvier s Lover 1994 Sideshow Bob Roberts 1994 Grampa vs Sexual Inadequacy 1994 Bart vs Australia 1995 Who Shot Mr Burns Parts 1 amp 2 1995 22 Short Films About Springfield Skinner and Chalmers scene 1996 Mission Hill 1999 02 creator writer executive producer voice of George Bang Pilot Futurama 2001 02 consulting producer season 3 only Ruling Class 2001 writer The Funkhousers 2002 writer The Mullets 2003 creator executive producer 22 Birthdays 2005 writer Business Class 2007 creator writer The Cleveland Show 2010 12 writer Gone with the Wind American Prankster All You Can Eat story with Assem Batra Regular Show 2010 writer Just Set Up the Chairs Caffeinated Concert Tickets Rigby s Body Portlandia 2012 13 writer consulting producer With Fred Armisen Carrie Brownstein and Jonathan Krisel Oakley co wrote Brunch Village and all of Season 3 Disenchantment 2018 19 writer co executive producer Dreamland Falls In Her Own Write Close Enough 2020 22 writer executive producer season 3 100 No Stress Day References Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Waxman Sharon 1999 10 07 That s Show Buzz For the Guys Behind Mission Hill a Long Hard Climb The Washington Post p Style C1 a b c d e f g h Oakley Bill 2010 02 14 Outlook Portland Interview Interviewed by Rick Emerson Portland KRCW TV a href Template Cite interview html title Template Cite interview cite interview a Missing or empty title help Bill Oakley Interview The Boar The Boar Retrieved 2014 10 25 a b c d Fu Sandra 2003 03 11 A Lesson On The Concept of Relatability Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein Mission Hill Morphizm Archived from the original on 8 September 2010 Retrieved 2010 07 29 Belcher Walt 1996 07 22 Simpsons writers plan busy season The Tampa Tribune p 4 a b Hallett Victoria C 1999 09 17 The Comedy Connection The Harvard Crimson Archived from the original on 2011 07 17 Retrieved 2010 07 28 Rehling William E 1996 05 20 Homer palooza from a Harvard perspective The Harvard Crimson Archived from the original on 2 August 2010 Retrieved 2010 07 29 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Ask Bill amp Josh NoHomers net 2005 11 02 Retrieved 2010 07 31 a b c d e f g Oakley Weinstein Interview Springfield Weekly Archived from the original on 2007 11 30 Retrieved 2010 07 06 Oakley Bill 2004 The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD commentary for the episode Marge Gets a Job DVD 20th Century Fox a b c d e f Oakley Bill amp Weinstein Josh 2006 Easter egg Commentary for Lisa the Simpson in The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD 20th Century Fox Joshing around Sunday Herald Sun 2006 04 02 p F03 Oakley Bill 2004 DVD Commentary for Marge in Chains in The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD 20th Century Fox Oakley Bill 2004 The Simpsons The Complete Fifth Season DVD commentary for the episode Treehouse of Horror 4 DVD 20th Century Fox Martyn Warren Wood Adrian 2000 pringfield BBC Retrieved 2010 07 29 Martyn Warren Wood Adrian 2000 Lisa vs Malibu Stacy BBC Retrieved 2010 07 29 Martyn Warren Wood Adrian 2000 Sweet Seymour Skinner s Baadasssss Song BBC Retrieved 2010 07 29 Martyn Warren Wood Adrian 2000 Lady Bouvier s Lover BBC Retrieved 2010 07 29 Oakley Bill 2005 The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode Sideshow Bob Roberts DVD 20th Century Fox Martyn Warren Wood Adrian 2000 Grampa vs Sexual Inadequacy BBC Retrieved 2010 07 29 Weinstein Josh 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode Bart vs Australia DVD 20th Century Fox Mirkin David 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode Bart vs Australia DVD 20th Century Fox Oakley Bill 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode Bart vs Australia DVD 20th Century Fox Oakley Bill 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode Who Shot Mr Burns Part One DVD 20th Century Fox Weinstein Josh 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode Who Shot Mr Burns Part Two DVD 20th Century Fox Mirkin David 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode Who Shot Mr Burns Part Two DVD 20th Century Fox Oakley Bill 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode Who Shot Mr Burns Part Two DVD 20th Century Fox Oakley Bill 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode Home Sweet Homediddly Dum Doodily DVD 20th Century Fox Oakley Bill 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode Homer the Smithers DVD 20th Century Fox a b c Parker Ryan April 14 2021 Steamed Hams at 25 Simpsons Cast and Crew Attempt to Decipher Classic Moment s Extraordinary Cult Following The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved January 21 2022 Simpsons Unkillable Steamed Hams Meme Explained 28 August 2018 Retrieved 2019 07 19 How a 20 year old Simpsons joke about steamed hams became a huge meme The Daily Dot 17 January 2018 Retrieved 2019 07 19 Di Placido Dani 2021 04 14 25 Years Later Steamed Hams Remains The Greatest Meme The Simpsons Ever Inspired Forbes Retrieved 2022 03 19 a b c d Ask Bill and Josh 2 Q amp A Thread NoHomers net 2006 01 08 Retrieved 2010 07 26 Oakley Bill 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode Marge Be Not Proud DVD 20th Century Fox a b c d e Weinstein Josh 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode Homer s Enemy DVD 20th Century Fox a b c Turner 2004 pp 99 106 Reardon Jim 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode Homer s Enemy DVD 20th Century Fox Brooks James L 2004 Bush vs Simpsons in The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD 20th Century Fox Weinstein Josh 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode Two Bad Neighbors DVD 20th Century Fox Oakley Bill 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode Two Bad Neighbors DVD 20th Century Fox Groening Matt 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode The Itchy amp Scratchy amp Poochie Show DVD 20th Century Fox Smith Yeardley 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode The Itchy amp Scratchy amp Poochie Show DVD 20th Century Fox McCampbell Marlene 1997 12 26 1997 Timeline Entertainment Weekly Retrieved 2007 03 13 The Simpsons 10 classic episodes BBC News 2010 01 14 Retrieved 2010 01 15 Oakley Bill 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode Homer s Phobia DVD 20th Century Fox Oakley Bill 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode The City of New York vs Homer Simpson DVD 20th Century Fox Turner 2004 pp 41 42 Oakley Bill Weinstein Josh 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD Commentary for the episode The Principal and the Pauper DVD 20th Century Fox Oakley Bill 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode Lisa the Simpson DVD 20th Century Fox a b c d Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search Emmys org Archived from the original on 15 February 2009 Retrieved 2009 02 10 Oakley Bill 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode Mother Simpson DVD 20th Century Fox George Foster Peabody Award Winners PDF Peabody uga edu Archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 26 Retrieved 2010 07 26 Mirkin David 2005 The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode Lisa s Wedding DVD 20th Century Fox Emmy winners in full BBC News 1998 09 14 Retrieved 2007 03 01 The Family Dynamic Entertainment Weekly 2003 01 29 Archived from the original on 2007 01 16 Retrieved 2010 07 26 Canning Robert 2009 08 04 The Simpsons Flashback You Only Move Twice Review IGN Retrieved 2010 07 14 Scott A O 2001 11 04 How The Simpsons Survives The New York Times Retrieved 2012 04 11 a b c Rizzo Francis 2005 11 29 Mission Hill The Complete Series DVD Talk McDaniel Mike 2003 07 25 Prime Time from LA UPN Gets Fresh Lineup Network goes after younger viewers with a family comedy and a lot of bad hair Houston Chronicle p 10 Speakers Portland Creative Conference Archived from the original on 2010 01 06 Retrieved 2010 07 23 NBC Books Mark Valley in Business Class Zap2it 2007 02 08 Archived from the original on 2011 05 22 Retrieved 2010 07 23 Seann William Scott to Star in The Optimist for New Line Cinema Time Warner 2005 01 12 Retrieved 2010 07 23 Kit Borys 2004 03 29 Disney s Ruprecht coming to town The Hollywood Reporter Littleton Cynthia Schneider Michael 2008 05 11 Fox greenlights Fringe Variety Retrieved 2010 07 31 Schneider Michael 2008 07 16 Bill Oakley exits Sit Down Shut Up Variety Retrieved 2008 07 28 NBC Teaming Up with Adam Carolla and Don Cheadle Movieweb 2009 10 23 Retrieved 2010 07 23 Gone With The Wind The Big Cartoon Database Retrieved 2010 07 23 Reeve Elspeth 2011 08 16 Rick Perry Looks Like Many People Apparently The Atlantic Wire Retrieved 2011 08 21 Oakley Bill 2012 05 31 Pleased to announce that I have been promoted to Co Executive Producer of Portlandia Twitter Retrieved 2012 05 31 Locker Melissa 2013 02 19 Portlandia won the Writers Guild Award for Best Variety Comedy Show IFC Archived from the original on 2013 02 22 Retrieved 2013 03 05 2013 Writers Guild Awards Winners Announced Writers Guild of America 2013 02 17 Archived from the original on 2013 02 27 Retrieved 2013 03 03 Siegel Tatiana 2012 04 04 Oakley and Weinstein team up for 22 Birthdays Chicago Tribune Retrieved 2012 04 16 a b Burch Sean 27 August 2018 Simpsons Writer Turns Instagram Into a Paradise of Fast Food Reviews The Wrap Retrieved 2022 03 19 Wright Megh 2018 07 03 Nothing Is More American Than Simpsons Writer Bill Oakley s Fast Food Reviews Vulture Retrieved 2022 03 19 Wright Megh 27 December 2018 Behold the Steamie Awards the First Annual Fast Food Awards Show Vulture Retrieved 2022 03 19 Bill Oakley s Space 1969 is an Absurd Rewarding Sci Fi Romp Oakley Bill 2004 The Simpsons The Complete Fifth Season DVD commentary for the episode Lisa vs Malibu Stacy DVD 20th Century Fox a b Oakley Bill 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode 22 Short Films About Springfield DVD 20th Century Fox Ortved John 2009 The Simpsons An Uncensored Unauthorized History 1st ed Faber and Faber p 95 ISBN 978 0 86547 988 3 OCLC 317928899 Lawrence Lightfoot Sara Jessica Hoffmann Davis 1997 The Art and Science of Portraiture San Francisco Jossey Bass p 149 ISBN 0 7879 1064 3 OCLC 243895831 Pulido Rachel 2006 The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode Grade School Confidential DVD 20th Century Fox Bibliography EditTurner Chris 2004 Planet Simpson How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation Foreword by Douglas Coupland 1st ed Toronto Random House Canada ISBN 978 0 679 31318 2 OCLC 55682258 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bill Oakley Bill Oakley on Twitter Bill Oakley at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bill Oakley amp oldid 1152809783, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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