Mike Scully
Encyclopedia
Mike Scully is an American
television writer and producer
. He is known for his work as executive producer
and showrunner of the animated
sitcom The Simpsons
from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts
and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever
at school and dropped out of college, going on to work in a series of jobs. Eventually, in 1986, he moved to Los Angeles
where he worked as a stand-up comic and wrote for Yakov Smirnoff
.
He went on to write for several television sitcoms before 1993 when he was hired to write for The Simpsons. There, he wrote twelve episodes, including "Lisa on Ice
" and "Team Homer
". He became showrunner from season 9
to season 12
; Scully won three Primetime Emmy Awards, but his tenure has been criticized as a period of decline in the show's quality. Scully still works on the show and also co-wrote 2007's The Simpsons Movie
. He co-created The Pitts
and Complete Savages
as well as working on Everybody Loves Raymond
and Parks and Recreation
. He is currently working on the animated television version of Napoleon Dynamite
, which he co-created. Scully is married to fellow writer Julie Thacker
.
in Springfield, Massachusetts
and grew up in the Merrick section of West Springfield
. His father Richard was a salesman and owned a dry cleaning business, his mother Geraldine worked for the Baystate Medical Center
once Scully and his brothers were old enough to be left at home alone. As a child he "hoped to be a musician or a hockey player." At Main Street Elementary School, with the encouragement of his teacher James Doyle, he developed an interest in writing, serving as editor for his school newspaper. He graduated from West Springfield High School
in 1974, having been voted "Most Likely Not to Live Up to Potential" by his classmates, and dropped out of Holyoke Community College
after one day because he did not know what direction he wanted to take his life. He took up work in the clothing department at Steiger's department store, as a janitor
at the Baystate Medical Center and also as a driving instructor. He commented: "I think if I had actually succeeded at college and gotten a degree in accounting or something, I might have given up too quickly on writing. Having no marketable job skills was a tremendous incentive to keep trying to succeed as a writer." He realized "there probably wasn't going to be a career in riding around with my friends listening to Foghat
," so Scully decided he "definitely wanted to break into comedy" even though he "really had no reason to believe [he] could succeed." Regardless, he moved to Los Angeles, California
in 1982.
and developed his joke writing skills by performing himself at amateur stand-up comedy nights. He purchased scripts from a variety of half-hour comedy shows, including Taxi
, to train himself to write them and had numerous speculative scripts rejected. Scully started "bouncing around Hollywood working on some of the lousiest sitcoms in history." He served on the writing staff of The Royal Family
, Out of This World
, Top of the Heap
and What a Country!, where he did audience warm-up, a role he also performed on Grand
.
In 1993, David Mirkin
hired Scully to write for The Simpsons
, as a replacement for the departing Conan O'Brien
, after reading some of his sample scripts. He began as a writer and producer for the show during its fifth season
and wrote the episodes "Lisa's Rival
", "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds
" and "Lisa on Ice
" which aired in season six
. "Lisa's Rival" was his first episode; he wrote the script, but the original concept was conceived by O'Brien. Similarly, he wrote the script for "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds", which was based on an idea by Al Jean
and Mike Reiss
. "Lisa on Ice" was inspired by Scully's love of ice hockey
and featured many experiences from his childhood, as was "Marge Be Not Proud
" (which he wrote for season seven
) which was based "one of the most traumatic moments" of his life, when he was caught shoplifting aged twelve. He jokingly told Variety
that "It's great to be paid for reliving the horrors of your life." He also wrote "Team Homer
" and "Lisa's Date with Density
". Scully noted: "I wrote a lot of Lisa
's shows. I have five daughters, so I like Lisa a lot. I like Homer, too. Homer comes very naturally to me: I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. A lot of my favorite episodes are the ones when Homer and Lisa are in conflict with each other... They're very human, I think that's their appeal." He became showrunner in 1997, serving until 2001 (seasons 9–12), making him the first person to run the show for more than two seasons. As showrunner and executive producer, Scully said his aim was to "not wreck the show", and he headed up the writing staff and oversaw all aspects of the show's production. During his time as showrunner he was credited with writing or co-writing five episodes: "Treehouse of Horror VIII
" ("The HΩmega Man" segment), "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
", "Beyond Blunderdome
", "Behind the Laughter
" and "The Parent Rap
". He also returned in season 14
to write and executive produce
the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
", and co-wrote and co-produced The Simpsons Movie
in 2007. Scully was popular with the staff members, many of whom praised his organization and management skills. Writer Tom Martin
said he was "quite possibly the best boss I've ever worked for" and "a great manager of people" while Don Payne commented that for Scully "it was really important that we kept decent hours".
Scully won five Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The Simpsons, while Entertainment Weekly
cited "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" as the show's 22nd best episode. Robert Canning of IGN
also gave the episode a positive review, something he also did for "Behind the Laughter" and "Trilogy of Error
", which aired during season 12. He called the latter: "one extremely enjoyable misadventure. The Simpsons may have peaked in the '90s, but that doesn't mean the eight years since haven't delivered their share of quality episodes. This was one of them." Despite this, Scully's tenure as showrunner of The Simpsons has been the subject of criticism from the show's fans. John Ortved wrote "Scully's episodes excel when compared to what The Simpsons airs nowadays, but he was the man at the helm when the ship turned towards the iceberg." The BBC
noted "the common consensus is that The Simpsons' golden era ended after season nine
", while an op-ed in Slate
by Chris Suellentrop argued The Simpsons changed from a realistic show about family life into a typical cartoon during Scully's years: "Under Scully's tenure, The Simpsons became, well, a cartoon...Episodes that once would have ended with Homer and Marge bicycling into the sunset
(perhaps while Bart
gagged in the background) now end with Homer blowing a tranquilizer dart into Marge's neck
." The Simpsons under Scully has been negatively labelled as a "gag-heavy, Homer-centric incarnation" by Jon Bonné of MSNBC
, while some fans have bemoaned the transformation in Homer's character during the era, from sweet and sincere to "a boorish, self-aggrandizing oaf", dubbing him "Jerkass Homer". Martin said that he does not understand the criticism against Scully and that he thinks the criticism "bothered [Scully], and still bothers him, but he managed to not get worked up over it." Ortved noted in his book that it is hard to tell how much of the decline is Scully's fault, and that blaming a single show runner for lowering the quality of the show "is unfair." When asked in 2007 how the series' longevity is sustained, Scully joked, "Lower your quality standards. Once you've done that you can go on forever."
He was a writer and co-executive producer on Everybody Loves Raymond
for part of season seven and all of season eight, winning an Emmy for his work. Scully co-created (with wife Julie Thacker
) The Pitts
for Fox and Complete Savages
for ABC
, which was produced by Mel Gibson
. The Pitts was a sitcom about a family suffering from bad luck. Thacker stated the show was designed "as a companion piece for The Simpsons. It had a very cartoony feel to it. We always knew the initial audience for the show would be 12-year-olds to start, and then when families saw that the writing was very Simpsons-like, because many of the writers were from The Simpsons, [we thought] families would start to watch it together." It was canceled after six episodes; Scully and Thacker laid the blame for this on the show's timeslot, 9:30 P.M., which was too late for the target audience. Complete Savages, which Thacker and Scully wrote with the "Simpsons sensibility" of layered jokes, was canceled in January 2005 due to low ratings and network anger at Scully and Thacker's decision to write to TV critics in what the Hartford Courant labelled "unsanctioned promoting". A fan of NRBQ
, Scully produced, with Thacker, a documentary about the band in 2003 entitled NRBQ: Rock 'n' Roll's Best Kept Secret; Scully employed the group as the "unofficial house band" of The Simpsons during his tenure as showrunner. Scully also created a pilot for Fox called Schimmel in 2000, starring Robert Schimmel
, which was dropped after Schimmel was diagnosed with cancer. Scully still works on The Simpsons as a consultant producer and served in the same role on the NBC
series Parks and Recreation
. He wrote the Parks and Recreation episodes "Ron and Tammy
" in 2009, and "The Possum
" in 2010. Scully also had a cameo role in the episode "Eagleton
" as a speaker at the Pawnee community meeting. Scully is currently co-producing and co-writing an animated TV version
of Napoleon Dynamite
.
and has five daughters. His brother Brian Scully
is also a comedy writer and he has a second brother called Neil, who is an ice hockey
writer. His mother died in 1985. Scully was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Westfield State College
in 2008. He also walked a picket line during the 2007–2008 WGA strike while on crutches. Scully was given a lifetime achievement award by the WGA West in 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television writer and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
. He is known for his work as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
and showrunner of the animated
Cartoon series
A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same characters and a basic theme...
sitcom The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts
West Springfield, Massachusetts
The Town of West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,391 at the 2010 census...
and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever
Underachiever
An underachiever is a person and especially a student who fails to achieve his or her potential or does not do as well as expected.Of particular interest is academic underachievement...
at school and dropped out of college, going on to work in a series of jobs. Eventually, in 1986, he moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where he worked as a stand-up comic and wrote for Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis , better known as Yakov Smirnoff, is a Ukrainian-born American comedian, painter and teacher. He was popular in the 1980s for comedy performances in which he used irony and word play to contrast life under the Communist regime in his native Soviet Union with life in the...
.
He went on to write for several television sitcoms before 1993 when he was hired to write for The Simpsons. There, he wrote twelve episodes, including "Lisa on Ice
Lisa on Ice
"Lisa on Ice" is the eighth television episode of The Simpsons sixth season. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on November 13, 1994. In the episode, Principal Skinner hands out academic alerts to the Springfield Elementary students, and Lisa discovers that she is in peril of...
" and "Team Homer
Team Homer
"Team Homer" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 7, 1996. In the episode, Homer starts a bowling team with Moe, Apu, and Otto. When Mr. Burns discovers the team was funded with his money, he insists on joining...
". He became showrunner from season 9
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
to season 12
The Simpsons (season 12)
The Simpsons 12th season began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI".The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully. The season features three episodes that were produced for the...
; Scully won three Primetime Emmy Awards, but his tenure has been criticized as a period of decline in the show's quality. Scully still works on the show and also co-wrote 2007's The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
. He co-created The Pitts
The Pitts
The Pitts was a short-lived FOX sitcom that aired 7 half-hour episodes between March and April 2003. It is about a family and their bad luck. It was a satire on typical American sitcoms with over-the-top sight gags.-Premise:...
and Complete Savages
Complete Savages
Complete Savages is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 2004 to June 2005. It was part of ABC's final TGIF comedy line-up. The show was created by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker and executive produced by Mel Gibson...
as well as working on Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
and Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
. He is currently working on the animated television version of Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite (TV series)
Napoleon Dynamite is an upcoming American animated television sitcom based on the 2004 cult film of the same name, to be broadcast on Fox. The show will be overseen by the film's director Jared Hess, his wife Jerusha, and veteran television writer/producer Mike Scully...
, which he co-created. Scully is married to fellow writer Julie Thacker
Julie Thacker
Julie Thacker is an American television writer. She has written for The Simpsons, and along with her husband The Simpsons writer and producer Mike Scully she has co-created The Pitts and Complete Savages.-The Simpsons episodes:...
.
Early life
Scully was born October 2, 1956 at Springfield HospitalBaystate Medical Center
Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, is the largest of four hospitals for Baystate Health. BMC, the leading health facility in western Massachusetts, is:...
in Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
and grew up in the Merrick section of West Springfield
West Springfield, Massachusetts
The Town of West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,391 at the 2010 census...
. His father Richard was a salesman and owned a dry cleaning business, his mother Geraldine worked for the Baystate Medical Center
Baystate Medical Center
Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, is the largest of four hospitals for Baystate Health. BMC, the leading health facility in western Massachusetts, is:...
once Scully and his brothers were old enough to be left at home alone. As a child he "hoped to be a musician or a hockey player." At Main Street Elementary School, with the encouragement of his teacher James Doyle, he developed an interest in writing, serving as editor for his school newspaper. He graduated from West Springfield High School
West Springfield High School (Massachusetts)
West Springfield High School is the city of West Springfield's high school. It is located near West Springfield Middle School and John R. Fausey Elementary, one of the city's five elementary schools. The school's mascot is the terrier. The high school houses many different sports teams, whose motto...
in 1974, having been voted "Most Likely Not to Live Up to Potential" by his classmates, and dropped out of Holyoke Community College
Holyoke Community College
Holyoke Community College is a state-funded public two-year community college located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It offers associate degrees as well as a transfer program for students to earn credits for transfer to other colleges...
after one day because he did not know what direction he wanted to take his life. He took up work in the clothing department at Steiger's department store, as a janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
at the Baystate Medical Center and also as a driving instructor. He commented: "I think if I had actually succeeded at college and gotten a degree in accounting or something, I might have given up too quickly on writing. Having no marketable job skills was a tremendous incentive to keep trying to succeed as a writer." He realized "there probably wasn't going to be a career in riding around with my friends listening to Foghat
Foghat
Foghat are a British rock band that had their peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. Their style can be described as "blues-rock," or boogie-rock dominated by electric and electric slide guitar. The band has achieved five gold records...
," so Scully decided he "definitely wanted to break into comedy" even though he "really had no reason to believe [he] could succeed." Regardless, he moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1982.
Career
In California, Scully worked in a tuxedo store. He also got a job writing jokes for comedian Yakov SmirnoffYakov Smirnoff
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis , better known as Yakov Smirnoff, is a Ukrainian-born American comedian, painter and teacher. He was popular in the 1980s for comedy performances in which he used irony and word play to contrast life under the Communist regime in his native Soviet Union with life in the...
and developed his joke writing skills by performing himself at amateur stand-up comedy nights. He purchased scripts from a variety of half-hour comedy shows, including Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
, to train himself to write them and had numerous speculative scripts rejected. Scully started "bouncing around Hollywood working on some of the lousiest sitcoms in history." He served on the writing staff of The Royal Family
The Royal Family (TV series)
The Royal Family is an American sitcom starring Redd Foxx and Della Reese. The series was created and produced by Eddie Murphy , who had previously worked with Redd Foxx and Della Reese in the 1989 film Harlem Nights. It ran for one season on CBS from 1991-1992...
, Out of This World
Out of This World (TV series)
Out Of This World is an American fantasy sitcom about a teenage girl who is half alien, which gives her unique supernatural powers. It first aired in U.S. syndication on September 17, 1987 and ended on May 25, 1991. It was first broadcast in the UK on the ITV network on April 9, 1990, usually at...
, Top of the Heap
Top of the Heap
Top of the Heap is a 1991 Fox television sitcom that was spun off from Married... with Children. Though it lasted seven episodes, it was nonetheless the most successful of three attempted Married...With Children spin-offs during the main series' run. The pilot was episode 20 of the 5th season of...
and What a Country!, where he did audience warm-up, a role he also performed on Grand
Grand (TV series)
Grand was a half-hour situation comedy that aired on the NBC network in 1990. The series featured an ensemble cast including Pamela Reed, Bonnie Hunt, Michael McKean, John Randolph, Andrew Lauer, John Neville, Joel Murray and Sara Rue. It was created by Michael Leeson, executive produced by...
.
In 1993, David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
hired Scully to write for The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, as a replacement for the departing Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
, after reading some of his sample scripts. He began as a writer and producer for the show during its fifth season
The Simpsons (season 5)
The Simpsons fifth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993 and May 19, 1994. The show runner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs...
and wrote the episodes "Lisa's Rival
Lisa's Rival
"Lisa's Rival" is the second episode of The Simpsons sixth season, and originally aired September 11, 1994. It was the first episode to be written by Mike Scully, and was directed by Mark Kirkland. Winona Ryder guest stars as Allison Taylor, a new student at Springfield Elementary School...
", "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds
Two Dozen and One Greyhounds
"Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" is the 20th episode of The Simpsons sixth season and originally aired on April 9, 1995. The episode was written by Mike Scully and directed by Bob Anderson. Frank Welker guest stars as Santa's Little Helper and various other dogs. In the episode, Santa's Little Helper...
" and "Lisa on Ice
Lisa on Ice
"Lisa on Ice" is the eighth television episode of The Simpsons sixth season. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on November 13, 1994. In the episode, Principal Skinner hands out academic alerts to the Springfield Elementary students, and Lisa discovers that she is in peril of...
" which aired in season six
The Simpsons (season 6)
The Simpsons sixth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994 and May 21, 1995 and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
. "Lisa's Rival" was his first episode; he wrote the script, but the original concept was conceived by O'Brien. Similarly, he wrote the script for "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds", which was based on an idea by Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
and Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
. "Lisa on Ice" was inspired by Scully's love of ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and featured many experiences from his childhood, as was "Marge Be Not Proud
Marge Be Not Proud
"Marge Be Not Proud" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1995. In the episode, Marge refuses to buy Bart the new video game Bonestorm, so he steals it from a local discount store...
" (which he wrote for season seven
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
) which was based "one of the most traumatic moments" of his life, when he was caught shoplifting aged twelve. He jokingly told Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
that "It's great to be paid for reliving the horrors of your life." He also wrote "Team Homer
Team Homer
"Team Homer" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 7, 1996. In the episode, Homer starts a bowling team with Moe, Apu, and Otto. When Mr. Burns discovers the team was funded with his money, he insists on joining...
" and "Lisa's Date with Density
Lisa's Date with Density
"Lisa's Date with Density" is the seventh episode of the animated television series The Simpsons eighth season, which originally aired December 15, 1996. It was written by Mike Scully, and directed by Susie Dietter...
". Scully noted: "I wrote a lot of Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
's shows. I have five daughters, so I like Lisa a lot. I like Homer, too. Homer comes very naturally to me: I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. A lot of my favorite episodes are the ones when Homer and Lisa are in conflict with each other... They're very human, I think that's their appeal." He became showrunner in 1997, serving until 2001 (seasons 9–12), making him the first person to run the show for more than two seasons. As showrunner and executive producer, Scully said his aim was to "not wreck the show", and he headed up the writing staff and oversaw all aspects of the show's production. During his time as showrunner he was credited with writing or co-writing five episodes: "Treehouse of Horror VIII
Treehouse of Horror VIII
"Treehouse of Horror VIII" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons ninth season and first aired on the Fox network on October 26, 1997. In the eighth annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode, Homer Simpson is the last man left alive when a neutron bomb destroys Springfield until a gang of mutants come...
" ("The HΩmega Man" segment), "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, just after Super Bowl XXXIII. In the episode, while buying new tires for his car, Homer meets a travel agent called Wally Kogen...
", "Beyond Blunderdome
Beyond Blunderdome
"Beyond Blunderdome" is the 11th season premiere of The Simpsons, and the last episode produced for the tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1999. Homer test drives an electric car because it will get him a gift. The gift is that Homer and Marge get...
", "Behind the Laughter
Behind the Laughter
"Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 21, 2000. In the episode, which is a parody of the VH1 series Behind the Music, the Simpson family are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their...
" and "The Parent Rap
The Parent Rap
“The Parent Rap” is the second episode and official premiere of the thirteenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 11, 2001. In the episode, Bart and his father, Homer, are sentenced by the cruel judge Constance Harm to be tethered to each...
". He also returned in season 14
The Simpsons (season 14)
The fourteenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between November 3, 2002 and May 18, 2003. The show runner for the fourteenth production season was Al Jean, who executive produced 21 of 22 episodes. The other...
to write and executive produce
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
"How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" is the second episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode was first broadcast on November 10, 2002. It was intended to be the season premiere, but "Treehouse of Horror XIII" was moved ahead for Halloween. This episode was heavily promoted due to its...
", and co-wrote and co-produced The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
in 2007. Scully was popular with the staff members, many of whom praised his organization and management skills. Writer Tom Martin
Tom Martin (writer)
Tom Martin is an American television writer. He grew up in Southern California and attended Rolling Hills High School and Indio High School. He graduated from University of California, Irvine in 1987 with degrees in Economics and Political Science. While at UC Irvine he ran on the Track and Cross...
said he was "quite possibly the best boss I've ever worked for" and "a great manager of people" while Don Payne commented that for Scully "it was really important that we kept decent hours".
Scully won five Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The Simpsons, while Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
cited "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" as the show's 22nd best episode. Robert Canning of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
also gave the episode a positive review, something he also did for "Behind the Laughter" and "Trilogy of Error
Trilogy of Error
"Trilogy of Error" is the eighteenth episode of the twelfth season, and the 266th overall, of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was originally aired on April 29, 2001 by the Fox Broadcasting Company...
", which aired during season 12. He called the latter: "one extremely enjoyable misadventure. The Simpsons may have peaked in the '90s, but that doesn't mean the eight years since haven't delivered their share of quality episodes. This was one of them." Despite this, Scully's tenure as showrunner of The Simpsons has been the subject of criticism from the show's fans. John Ortved wrote "Scully's episodes excel when compared to what The Simpsons airs nowadays, but he was the man at the helm when the ship turned towards the iceberg." The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
noted "the common consensus is that The Simpsons
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
", while an op-ed in Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
by Chris Suellentrop argued The Simpsons changed from a realistic show about family life into a typical cartoon during Scully's years: "Under Scully's tenure, The Simpsons became, well, a cartoon...Episodes that once would have ended with Homer and Marge bicycling into the sunset
Duffless
"Duffless" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season and originally aired on the Fox network on February 18, 1993. After getting arrested for drunk driving, Homer tries to remain sober, at Marge's request. Meanwhile, Lisa attempts to prove that Bart is dumber than a hamster after he...
(perhaps while Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
gagged in the background) now end with Homer blowing a tranquilizer dart into Marge's neck
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 14, 2000. After a failed marriage attempt with Otto, Becky stays with the Simpson family...
." The Simpsons under Scully has been negatively labelled as a "gag-heavy, Homer-centric incarnation" by Jon Bonné of MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, while some fans have bemoaned the transformation in Homer's character during the era, from sweet and sincere to "a boorish, self-aggrandizing oaf", dubbing him "Jerkass Homer". Martin said that he does not understand the criticism against Scully and that he thinks the criticism "bothered [Scully], and still bothers him, but he managed to not get worked up over it." Ortved noted in his book that it is hard to tell how much of the decline is Scully's fault, and that blaming a single show runner for lowering the quality of the show "is unfair." When asked in 2007 how the series' longevity is sustained, Scully joked, "Lower your quality standards. Once you've done that you can go on forever."
He was a writer and co-executive producer on Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
for part of season seven and all of season eight, winning an Emmy for his work. Scully co-created (with wife Julie Thacker
Julie Thacker
Julie Thacker is an American television writer. She has written for The Simpsons, and along with her husband The Simpsons writer and producer Mike Scully she has co-created The Pitts and Complete Savages.-The Simpsons episodes:...
) The Pitts
The Pitts
The Pitts was a short-lived FOX sitcom that aired 7 half-hour episodes between March and April 2003. It is about a family and their bad luck. It was a satire on typical American sitcoms with over-the-top sight gags.-Premise:...
for Fox and Complete Savages
Complete Savages
Complete Savages is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 2004 to June 2005. It was part of ABC's final TGIF comedy line-up. The show was created by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker and executive produced by Mel Gibson...
for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, which was produced by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
. The Pitts was a sitcom about a family suffering from bad luck. Thacker stated the show was designed "as a companion piece for The Simpsons. It had a very cartoony feel to it. We always knew the initial audience for the show would be 12-year-olds to start, and then when families saw that the writing was very Simpsons-like, because many of the writers were from The Simpsons, [we thought] families would start to watch it together." It was canceled after six episodes; Scully and Thacker laid the blame for this on the show's timeslot, 9:30 P.M., which was too late for the target audience. Complete Savages, which Thacker and Scully wrote with the "Simpsons sensibility" of layered jokes, was canceled in January 2005 due to low ratings and network anger at Scully and Thacker's decision to write to TV critics in what the Hartford Courant labelled "unsanctioned promoting". A fan of NRBQ
NRBQ
NRBQ is an American rock band founded in 1967. It is known for its live performances, containing a high degree of spontaneity and levity, and blending rock, pop, jazz, blues and Tin Pan Alley styles. Its best known line-up is the 1974–1994 quartet of pianist Terry Adams, bassist Joey Spampinato,...
, Scully produced, with Thacker, a documentary about the band in 2003 entitled NRBQ: Rock 'n' Roll's Best Kept Secret; Scully employed the group as the "unofficial house band" of The Simpsons during his tenure as showrunner. Scully also created a pilot for Fox called Schimmel in 2000, starring Robert Schimmel
Robert Schimmel
Robert George "Bob" Schimmel was an American stand-up comedian whose material was often X-rated and controversial. He was perhaps best known for his comedy albums and his appearances on HBO and The Howard Stern Show...
, which was dropped after Schimmel was diagnosed with cancer. Scully still works on The Simpsons as a consultant producer and served in the same role on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
. He wrote the Parks and Recreation episodes "Ron and Tammy
Ron and Tammy
"Ron and Tammy" is the eighth episode of the second season of Parks and Recreation, and the fourteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on November 5, 2009. In the episode, the library department tries to take control of a vacant lot where Leslie plans...
" in 2009, and "The Possum
The Possum
"The Possum" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 24th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 11, 2010...
" in 2010. Scully also had a cameo role in the episode "Eagleton
Eagleton (Parks and Recreation)
"Eagleton" is the twelfth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 42nd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 5, 2011...
" as a speaker at the Pawnee community meeting. Scully is currently co-producing and co-writing an animated TV version
Napoleon Dynamite (TV series)
Napoleon Dynamite is an upcoming American animated television sitcom based on the 2004 cult film of the same name, to be broadcast on Fox. The show will be overseen by the film's director Jared Hess, his wife Jerusha, and veteran television writer/producer Mike Scully...
of Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 comedy film co-written and directed by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess and stars Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite. The film was Jared Hess' first full-length feature and is partially adapted from his earlier short film, Peluca....
.
Personal life
He is married to Julie ThackerJulie Thacker
Julie Thacker is an American television writer. She has written for The Simpsons, and along with her husband The Simpsons writer and producer Mike Scully she has co-created The Pitts and Complete Savages.-The Simpsons episodes:...
and has five daughters. His brother Brian Scully
Brian Scully
Brian Scully is an American television writer and producer.Scully initially worked as a TV salesman before eventually getting a job writing on Out of This World...
is also a comedy writer and he has a second brother called Neil, who is an ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
writer. His mother died in 1985. Scully was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Westfield State College
Westfield State College
Westfield State University is a comprehensive, coeducational, four-year public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1838 by noted educator and social reformer Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender and economic class...
in 2008. He also walked a picket line during the 2007–2008 WGA strike while on crutches. Scully was given a lifetime achievement award by the WGA West in 2010.
Credits
- What a Country! (1986–1987) – writer
- Out of This WorldOut of This World (TV series)Out Of This World is an American fantasy sitcom about a teenage girl who is half alien, which gives her unique supernatural powers. It first aired in U.S. syndication on September 17, 1987 and ended on May 25, 1991. It was first broadcast in the UK on the ITV network on April 9, 1990, usually at...
(1987–1991) – supervising producer, writer- "Baby Talk"
- "Mosquito Man: The Motion Picture"
- "Blast from the Past"
- "Evie's Two Dads"
- "Evie Goes to Hollywood"
- "Whose House Is It, Anyway?"
- "Evie's Driver's License"
- "The Rocks That Couldn't Roll"
- "My Mother the Con"
- "Goodbye, Mr. Chris"
- "New Kid on the Block"
- "Come Fly with Evie"
- "Would You Buy a Used Car from This Dude?"
- "Mayor Evie"
- GrandGrand (TV series)Grand was a half-hour situation comedy that aired on the NBC network in 1990. The series featured an ensemble cast including Pamela Reed, Bonnie Hunt, Michael McKean, John Randolph, Andrew Lauer, John Neville, Joel Murray and Sara Rue. It was created by Michael Leeson, executive produced by...
– writer- "Lady Luck"
- Top of the HeapTop of the HeapTop of the Heap is a 1991 Fox television sitcom that was spun off from Married... with Children. Though it lasted seven episodes, it was nonetheless the most successful of three attempted Married...With Children spin-offs during the main series' run. The pilot was episode 20 of the 5th season of...
(1991) – writer- "The Agony and the Agony"
- "The Marrying Guy"
- The Royal FamilyThe Royal Family (TV series)The Royal Family is an American sitcom starring Redd Foxx and Della Reese. The series was created and produced by Eddie Murphy , who had previously worked with Redd Foxx and Della Reese in the 1989 film Harlem Nights. It ran for one season on CBS from 1991-1992...
(1992) – writer- "Cocoa in Charge"
- The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
(1993–present) – writer, producer, executive producer, showrunner, consulting producer- "Lisa's RivalLisa's Rival"Lisa's Rival" is the second episode of The Simpsons sixth season, and originally aired September 11, 1994. It was the first episode to be written by Mike Scully, and was directed by Mark Kirkland. Winona Ryder guest stars as Allison Taylor, a new student at Springfield Elementary School...
" - "Lisa on IceLisa on Ice"Lisa on Ice" is the eighth television episode of The Simpsons sixth season. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on November 13, 1994. In the episode, Principal Skinner hands out academic alerts to the Springfield Elementary students, and Lisa discovers that she is in peril of...
" - "Two Dozen and One GreyhoundsTwo Dozen and One Greyhounds"Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" is the 20th episode of The Simpsons sixth season and originally aired on April 9, 1995. The episode was written by Mike Scully and directed by Bob Anderson. Frank Welker guest stars as Santa's Little Helper and various other dogs. In the episode, Santa's Little Helper...
" - "Marge Be Not ProudMarge Be Not Proud"Marge Be Not Proud" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1995. In the episode, Marge refuses to buy Bart the new video game Bonestorm, so he steals it from a local discount store...
" - "Team HomerTeam Homer"Team Homer" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 7, 1996. In the episode, Homer starts a bowling team with Moe, Apu, and Otto. When Mr. Burns discovers the team was funded with his money, he insists on joining...
" - "Lisa's Date with DensityLisa's Date with Density"Lisa's Date with Density" is the seventh episode of the animated television series The Simpsons eighth season, which originally aired December 15, 1996. It was written by Mike Scully, and directed by Susie Dietter...
" - "Treehouse of Horror VIIITreehouse of Horror VIII"Treehouse of Horror VIII" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons ninth season and first aired on the Fox network on October 26, 1997. In the eighth annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode, Homer Simpson is the last man left alive when a neutron bomb destroys Springfield until a gang of mutants come...
" ("The HΩmega Man") - "Sunday, Cruddy SundaySunday, Cruddy Sunday"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, just after Super Bowl XXXIII. In the episode, while buying new tires for his car, Homer meets a travel agent called Wally Kogen...
" (with Tom MartinTom Martin (writer)Tom Martin is an American television writer. He grew up in Southern California and attended Rolling Hills High School and Indio High School. He graduated from University of California, Irvine in 1987 with degrees in Economics and Political Science. While at UC Irvine he ran on the Track and Cross...
, George MeyerGeorge MeyerGeorge A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
and Brian ScullyBrian ScullyBrian Scully is an American television writer and producer.Scully initially worked as a TV salesman before eventually getting a job writing on Out of This World...
) - "Beyond BlunderdomeBeyond Blunderdome"Beyond Blunderdome" is the 11th season premiere of The Simpsons, and the last episode produced for the tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1999. Homer test drives an electric car because it will get him a gift. The gift is that Homer and Marge get...
" - "Behind the LaughterBehind the Laughter"Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 21, 2000. In the episode, which is a parody of the VH1 series Behind the Music, the Simpson family are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their...
" (with Tim LongTim LongTim Long is a comedy writer born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Tim calls Exeter, Ontario, Canada his home town and has written for The Simpsons, Politically Incorrect, Spy Magazine and The Late Show with David Letterman. Currently credited as a consulting producer on The Simpsons, Long was - until...
, George MeyerGeorge MeyerGeorge A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
and Matt SelmanMatt SelmanMatthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
) - "The Parent RapThe Parent Rap“The Parent Rap” is the second episode and official premiere of the thirteenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 11, 2001. In the episode, Bart and his father, Homer, are sentenced by the cruel judge Constance Harm to be tethered to each...
" (with George MeyerGeorge MeyerGeorge A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
) - "How I Spent My Strummer VacationHow I Spent My Strummer Vacation"How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" is the second episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode was first broadcast on November 10, 2002. It was intended to be the season premiere, but "Treehouse of Horror XIII" was moved ahead for Halloween. This episode was heavily promoted due to its...
"
- "Lisa's Rival
- The Preston Episodes (1995) - writer
- "The Halloween Episode" (with Julie ThackerJulie ThackerJulie Thacker is an American television writer. She has written for The Simpsons, and along with her husband The Simpsons writer and producer Mike Scully she has co-created The Pitts and Complete Savages.-The Simpsons episodes:...
)
- "The Halloween Episode" (with Julie Thacker
- Schimmel (2000) – creator, producer
- The PittsThe PittsThe Pitts was a short-lived FOX sitcom that aired 7 half-hour episodes between March and April 2003. It is about a family and their bad luck. It was a satire on typical American sitcoms with over-the-top sight gags.-Premise:...
(2003) – creator, executive producer, writer - Everybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
(2003–2004) – co-executive producer, writer- "Fun with Debra"
- "Party Dress"
- "Blabbermouths"
- "Angry Sex"
- Complete SavagesComplete SavagesComplete Savages is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 2004 to June 2005. It was part of ABC's final TGIF comedy line-up. The show was created by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker and executive produced by Mel Gibson...
(2004–2005) – creator, executive producer, writer- "Pilot"
- "Free Lily"
- "Thanksgiving with the Savages"
- "Saving Old Lady Riley"
- The Simpsons MovieThe Simpsons MovieThe Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
(2007) – producer and writer - Parks and RecreationParks and RecreationParks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
(2009–2010) – consulting producer and writer- "Ron and TammyRon and Tammy"Ron and Tammy" is the eighth episode of the second season of Parks and Recreation, and the fourteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on November 5, 2009. In the episode, the library department tries to take control of a vacant lot where Leslie plans...
" - "The PossumThe Possum"The Possum" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the 24th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 11, 2010...
"
- "Ron and Tammy
- Napoleon DynamiteNapoleon Dynamite (TV series)Napoleon Dynamite is an upcoming American animated television sitcom based on the 2004 cult film of the same name, to be broadcast on Fox. The show will be overseen by the film's director Jared Hess, his wife Jerusha, and veteran television writer/producer Mike Scully...
(2012) – co-creator, producer, writer