Chapter 7

The Next Iteration of Adult Animation

The Simpsons was a total gamechanger in TV animation. Not only did it prove unequivocally that an animated show could score high ratings in primetime, it became the longest running, primetime, scripted series in TV history (it premiered in 1989 on Fox, and has already been picked up through 2017). Creator Matt Groening, with assists from uber-writer/producers James L. Brooks and the late, great Sam Simon, conjured up a groundbreaking, hilarious, colorfully dysfunctional family comedy that paved the way for every adult animated sitcom in its wake: from Mike Judge’s King of the Hill, to Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy, American Dad!, and The Cleveland Show, to Loren Bouchard’s Bob’s Burgers on Fox, not ...

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