It’s always been extremely difficult to get a television show greenlit on a major network. Creatives seemingly need to jump through endless hoops and pass all sorts of tests, and in the end, it can all come down to the personal whims of some executive.
It’s hard to believe that a show like “The Simpsons,” which has been around for more than 30 years at this point, also at one point struggled just to get made. While these days it seems like anytime show creator Matt Groening sneezes two more seasons of the show appear, bringing the first 13 episodes of the series to life took a lot of convincing on the part of the show’s creators.
It’s hard to believe that a show like “The Simpsons,” which has been around for more than 30 years at this point, also at one point struggled just to get made. While these days it seems like anytime show creator Matt Groening sneezes two more seasons of the show appear, bringing the first 13 episodes of the series to life took a lot of convincing on the part of the show’s creators.
A different tactical plan
‘A little white lie’
Barry Diller had another important role to play in “The Simpsons.” In a TV Guide story from October 2000 (via Fortune) Matt Groening said that the inspirations for Mr. Burns’ personality were oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller and the “It’s a Wonderful Life” character Henry Potter. But according to supervising director David Silverman, Burns’ actual appearance was based on Diller.
Diller himself apparently didn’t pick up on this; when asked if Mr. Burns was based on him in a SiriusXM interview, he said, “No! I bear no resemblance to Mr. Burns. Physically, emotionally, intellectually, [or] morally.”
