Editing Josh Weinstein

{{short description|American television writer and producer}}
{{other people||Joshua Weinstein (disambiguation)}}
{{For|the ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' writer, actor and puppeteer|J. Elvis Weinstein}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox writer
| image       = Josh Weinstein - Salford Media Festival 2013-2-cropped.jpg
| name        = Josh Weinstein
| caption     = Weinstein in 2013
| birth_name  = 
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1966|5|5}} 
| birth_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| occupation  = [[Screenwriting|Television writer]], [[television producer|producer]]
| period      = 1988–present
| genre       = Comedy
| spouse      = {{marriage|Lisa Simmons|1995}}
| children    = 2
}}
'''Josh Weinstein''' (born May 5, 1966)<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=Joshstrangehill |number=1389978393895075849 |title=I turn 55 today on 5/5 (and was born 5/5/66) All signs point to... I'm old!}}</ref> is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. Weinstein and [[Bill Oakley]] became best friends and writing partners at [[St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)|St. Albans School]]; Weinstein then attended [[Stanford University]] and was [[editor-in-chief]] of the ''[[Stanford Chaparral]]''. He worked on several short-term media projects, including writing for the variety show ''Sunday Best'', but was then unemployed for a long period.

Weinstein and Oakley eventually penned a [[spec script]] 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 producer]]s and [[showrunner]]s for the [[The Simpsons season 7|seventh]] and [[The Simpsons season 8|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 (TV series)|Mission Hill]]''. They worked as [[consultants|consulting producers]] on ''[[Futurama]]'', then created ''[[The Mullets (TV series)|The Mullets]]'' in 2003. The two wrote several unsuccessful TV pilots, and were due to serve as showrunners on ''[[Sit Down, Shut Up (2009 TV series)|Sit Down, Shut Up]]'' in 2009. Oakley left the project over a contract dispute, but Weinstein remained until it was canceled. He co-produced and wrote for ''Futurama'' again during its [[Comedy Central]] revival, winning an Emmy in 2011. Since 2013, Weinstein has served as showrunner for the [[CBBC (TV channel)|CBBC]] series ''[[Strange Hill High]]'', and in 2015, ''[[Danger Mouse (2015 TV series)|Danger Mouse]]''. He has also served as a writer for season two of ''[[Gravity Falls]]'', co-writing nine of the season's episodes. In 2018, Weinstein co-developed the Netflix animated series ''[[Disenchantment (TV series)|Disenchantment]]'' with creator [[Matt Groening]], of which he and Groening served as co-showrunners. Weinstein is married to journalist Lisa Simmons.

==Early life==
Weinstein was born and raised in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=phobia/> to [[Jewish]] parents Rosa and Harris Weinstein. His mother is the director of the Himmelfarb Mobile University which provides education for the elderly, while his father is a lawyer for [[Covington & Burling]].<ref name=marry>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/02/style/weddings-lisa-simmons-joshua-weinstein.html|title=Weddings; Lisa Simmons, Joshua Weinstein|work=[[New York Times]]|date=1995-07-02|access-date=2010-08-04}}</ref> He has a brother, Jacob, and a sister, Teme.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/25595/|title=Harris Weinstein '56, SM '58|year=2010|author=McCluskey, Eileen|work=[[Technology Review]]|access-date=2011-06-11}}</ref> Weinstein attended [[St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)|St. Albans School]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], where he met and became best friends with [[Bill Oakley]] in the eighth grade. The two created the school humor magazine ''The Alban Antic'' in 1983.<ref name=morph>{{cite news|url=http://www.morphizm.com/features/adult_billjosh.html|title=A Lesson On The Concept of "Relatability": Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, Mission Hill|author=Fu, Sandra|work=Morphizm|access-date=2010-07-29|date=2003-03-11}}</ref><ref name=mh/> He later attended [[Stanford University]],<ref name=crim2/> where he served as [[editor-in-chief]] of the ''[[Stanford Chaparral]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Campus Humor Loses In Student Balloting Vote Against Magazine Funding Is No Joke|author=Philp, Tom|work=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|date=1987-05-13|page=Extra – 12}}</ref> Weinstein is an honorary member of the ''[[Harvard Lampoon]]'' as he worked on some of ''Lampoon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s parody publications with Oakley over the summers between course years.<ref name=crim2>{{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article/1996/5/20/homer-paloozafrom-a-harvard-perspective-pthe-glowing/|title=Homer-palooza...from a Harvard perspective|author=Rehling, William E.|access-date=2010-07-29|date=1996-05-20|work=The Harvard Crimson|archive-date=2011-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807185140/http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article/1996/5/20/homer-paloozafrom-a-harvard-perspective-pthe-glowing/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career==
Weinstein did not land a job on a major comedy series, despite writing numerous [[spec scripts]] for shows such as ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' and ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]''; he moved back home to Washington, D.C.<ref name=mh/> There, he worked as a copywriter for an advertising agency, writing print adverts for such clients as [[IKEA]].<ref name="NoHomers"/> In their free time, Oakley and Weinstein wrote for local comedy groups, such as Gross National Product.<ref name=mh/> In 1989, they moved to [[New York City]] after being hired to write for a game show on [[Ha! (TV channel)|Ha!]], before writing for a variety show on the network featuring [[Denis Leary]].<ref name="NoHomers"/> The two also wrote for the ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]'' and ''[[Spy (magazine)|Spy]]''.<ref name=morph/> An editor of ''Spy'' was hired by [[NBC]] to run the variety show ''Sunday Best'', and took Oakley and Weinstein to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] with him in 1991. When the show was canceled after three episodes, they were unemployed for a lengthy period.<ref name="NoHomers"/>

===''The Simpsons''===
{|class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:28em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
|style="text-align: left;"|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 ''[[Saturday Night Live|SNL]]'' in 1978. The entire original staff was there. The only "new guys" were [[Conan O'Brien|Conan]] and us. We lived and breathed that show from 1992–1997.
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|— Oakley on his and Weinstein's dedication to the show.<ref name=duff/>
|}

====As a writer====
After changing their [[Literary agent|agent]],<ref name=mh/> Oakley and Weinstein 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]].<ref name="NoHomers"/> The episode aired as part of [[The Simpsons season 4|season four]].<ref name="NoHomers"/><ref>{{cite video|people=Oakley, Bill|date=2004|title=The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Marge Gets a Job"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> 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 [[The Simpsons season 3|third season]] of that show.<ref name="NoHomers"/><ref name=simp>Oakley, Bill & Weinstein, Josh. (2006). Easter egg Commentary for "Lisa the Simpson", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> They began as [[story editor]]s.<ref>{{cite news|title=Joshing around|work=[[Sunday Herald Sun]]|date=2006-04-02|page=F03}}</ref> 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.<ref name="NoHomers"/> They wrote their scripts together, working side by side at a computer.<ref name="NoHomers"/> 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.<ref>Oakley, Bill. (2004). DVD Commentary for "Marge in Chains", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref>

[[File:Josh Weinstein.jpg|thumb|150px|Weinstein in 1994]]
After season four, most of the original staff left the show. Before [[David Mirkin]] arrived to take over as showrunner for [[The Simpsons season 5|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.<ref name=simp/> Oakley and Weinstein wrote several episodes for season five, penning the "Terror at 5½ Feet" segment of "[[Treehouse of Horror IV]]",<ref>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2004|title=The Simpsons The Complete Fifth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror IV"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> "[[$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season5/page10.shtml|title=$pringfield|year=2000|publisher=[[BBC]]|author1=Martyn, Warren |author2=Wood, Adrian |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> "[[Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season5/page14.shtml|title=Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy|year=2000|publisher=[[BBC]]|author1=Martyn, Warren |author2=Wood, Adrian |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> the show's 100th episode "[[Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season5/page19.shtml|title=Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song|year=2000|publisher=[[BBC]]|author1=Martyn, Warren |author2=Wood, Adrian |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> and "[[Lady Bouvier's Lover]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season5/page21.shtml|title=Lady Bouvier's Lover|year=2000|publisher=[[BBC]]|author1=Martyn, Warren |author2=Wood, Adrian |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> For [[The Simpsons season 6|season six]] they wrote "[[Sideshow Bob Roberts]]", basing much of the episode on the [[Watergate scandal]], in which they had a great interest,<ref>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2005|title=The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> as well as "[[Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy]]" and "[[Bart vs. Australia]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season6/page10.shtml|title=Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy|year=2000|publisher=[[BBC]]|author1=Martyn, Warren |author2=Wood, Adrian |access-date=2010-07-29}}</ref> For "Bart vs. Australia", the writing staff wanted to produce an episode in which the Simpsons family traveled to a foreign country; they selected [[Australia]] because they thought that everyone in Australia had a good sense of humor and "would get the jokes",<ref>{{cite video | people=Weinstein, Josh|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart vs. Australia"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> with the episode being intentionally inaccurate.<ref>{{cite video | people=Mirkin, David|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart vs. Australia"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart vs. Australia"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The pair wrote the two-part episode "[[Who Shot Mr. Burns?]]", which was initially proposed by series creator [[Matt Groening]].<ref>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite video | people=Weinstein, Josh|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Mirkin suggested [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] because he felt it was funnier and wanted the culprit to be a family member.<ref>{{cite video | people=Mirkin, David|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

====As showrunner====
Oakley and Weinstein were appointed [[executive producer]]s and showrunners of the [[The Simpsons season 7|seventh]] and [[The Simpsons season 8|eighth]] seasons. They were chosen partly because they had been with the show since the third season and understood many of its dynamics.<ref name=simp/> The showrunner is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the show's production. Each episode takes ten months to produce, so the showrunner must "oversee many different episodes in different stages of production all at the same time", with roles including head writer, making notes on the [[storyboard]]s and working with the voice actors, animators, editors and composers. Oakley and Weinstein often set two script-rewriting rooms in motion at the same time, delegating leadership in the rooms to writers such as [[Steve Tompkins]] and [[David X. Cohen|David Cohen]].<ref name="NoHomers"/> 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.<ref name="NoHomers"/> 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.<ref>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> They wanted to produce ''[[Treehouse of Horror (series)|Treehouse of Horror]]'' episodes, episodes about [[Sideshow Bob]], [[The Itchy & Scratchy Show|Itchy & Scratchy]] and several "format-bending" episodes such as "[[22 Short Films About Springfield]]", for which Weinstein wrote the scene featuring [[Comic Book Guy]] and [[Milhouse Van Houten]].<ref>{{cite video | people=Weinstein, Josh|date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> They aimed for "at least two episodes per season that 'pushed the envelope', [and] expanded the definition of what an episode could be".<ref name="NoHomers"/> This was a style they employed for both seasons they produced.<ref name="nohomers2" /> Season eight featured several episodes in which focus was given to secondary characters and in which new issues were explored, such as divorce.<ref name=nohomers2>{{cite web |url=http://www.nohomers.net/showthread.php?t=53574 |title=Ask Bill and Josh 2 Q&A Thread |access-date=2010-07-26|publisher=NoHomers.net |date=2006-01-08 }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Marge Be Not Proud"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> 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,<ref name=port>{{cite interview |last=Oakley |first=Bill|interviewer=[[Rick Emerson]] |publisher =[[KRCW-TV]] |location=[[Portland, Oregon|Portland]] |date=2010-02-14 |work=Outlook Portland}}</ref> focusing on stories with real emotions and situations, as well as some [[wiktionary:off-the-wall|off-the-wall]] episodes.<ref name="NoHomers"/> Season three was their basis for [[Homer Simpson|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&nbsp;– drawn with real emotions, though admittedly amplified. This was exemplified in "[[Mother Simpson]]", "[[Lisa the Iconoclast]]", "[[Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily|Diddly-Dum-Doodly]]", and a couple others. In some of the less reality-based episodes, i.e. [[Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment|the Beer Baron one]]&nbsp;– usually [[John Swartzwelder|Swartzwelder]]'s, we'd treat this stricture with a certain amount of latitude."<ref name=duff/>

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.<ref name="Weinstein"/> 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.<ref name="Weinstein"/> "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; however, in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted.<ref name="Weinstein">{{cite video | people=Weinstein, Josh|date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Homer's Enemy"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>{{sfn|Turner|2004|pp=99–106}} By the close of the episode, Grimes, a hard working and persevering "real American hero,"{{sfn|Turner|2004|pp=99–106}} is relegated to the role of antagonist; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious.{{sfn|Turner|2004|pp=99–106}} Oakley says the episode was "hyper-[[Meta (prefix)|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&nbsp;— "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."<ref name=duff/> 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."<ref name="NoHomers">{{cite web|url=http://www.nohomers.net/showthread.php?t=51876&page=2|title=Ask Bill & Josh|publisher=NoHomers.net|date=2005-11-02|access-date=2010-07-31}}</ref> When the episode was first broadcast, many fans felt it was too dark, unfunny and that Homer was portrayed as overly bad-mannered.<ref name="Reardon">{{cite video | people=Reardon, Jim|date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Homer's Enemy"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> 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".<ref name="Weinstein"/> Weinstein also talks about a "generation gap"—the episode was originally panned by viewers, but has since become a favorite among fans who grew up with the show.<ref name="Weinstein"/>

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.<ref>Brooks, James L. (2004). "Bush vs. Simpsons", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite video | people=Weinstein, Josh|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Two Bad Neighbors"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Oakley stresses that "it's not a political attack, it's a personal attack!", and instead of criticizing Bush for his policies, the episode instead pokes fun at his "crotchetiness". Oakley described the episode as a companion piece to "Homer's Enemy", in that a character is juxtaposed alongside Homer and does not get along with him.<ref>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Two Bad Neighbors"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

They considered working on the show to be similar to working in a bubble due to the lack of interference from the Fox network's executives, as is commonplace on other shows.<ref name=simp/> 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."<ref name="NoHomers"/> Such was the network's limited input, when an executive suggested the staff introduce a new character to live with the Simpsons so as to "liven up the show",<ref>{{cite video | people=Groening, Matt|date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Smithcom>{{cite video | people=Smith, Yeardley|date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The episode, which marked the point at which ''The Simpsons'' surpassed ''[[The Flintstones]]'' for the number of episodes produced for an [[animated series]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1997/12/26/1997-timeline/|title=1997 Timeline|access-date=2007-03-13|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|first=Marlene|last=McCampbell|date=1997-12-26}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news | title= The Simpsons: 10 classic episodes | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/8449416.stm | work=[[BBC News]] | date= 2010-01-14 | access-date=2010-01-15}}</ref> 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 [[Broadcasting|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".<ref name=phobia>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill; Weinstein, Josh|date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Homer's Phobia"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

====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."<ref name=mh/> They felt the showrunner should not stay for more than two seasons.<ref name=simp/> Due to the pressures of having to work on two seasons at once (writing season eight, whilst doing post-production of season seven), Oakley said that at least two episodes from season eight would ideally have been rewritten, had there been sufficient time,<ref name=nohomers2/> and that towards the end, they were "treading water".<ref name=port/> As they were working on [[post-production]] of season eight, they were credited as consulting producers for [[The Simpsons|season nine]], which was in its initial writing stages.<ref name="NoHomers"/> Oakley stated that they contributed "somewhere between 0 and .0001%" of the season, only attending the table readings of the scripts.<ref name="NoHomers"/> They produced three episodes held over from season eight, which aired as part of season nine: "[[The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson]]",<ref>{{cite video|people=Oakley, Bill|date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson"|medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> "[[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 (author)|Chris Turner]] describes "The Principal and the Pauper" as the "broadcast that marked [the] abrupt plunge" from ''The Simpsons''<nowiki>'</nowiki> "Golden Age", which he says began in the middle of the show's [[The Simpsons season 3|third season]]. He calls the episode "[one of] the weakest episodes in ''Simpsons'' history".{{sfn|Turner|2004|pp=41–42}} As such, they consider it the most controversial episode from their tenure as executive producers. He and Oakley advise viewers to treat "The Principal and the Pauper" as an "experiment". They surmise that the negative reception was partly due to the fact that it was not immediately apparent to viewers that this was such an episode (as opposed to, for example, "[[The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase]]"). They describe the ending of the episode as an attempt to reset the continuity and allow fans to consider the episode on its own.<ref>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.</ref> "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.<ref>{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa the Simpson"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

====Awards and critical reaction====
Weinstein won three [[Emmy Award|Emmy]]s for his work on ''The Simpsons'', and shared them with the other producers.<ref name="emmys"/> When Weinstein was the showrunner and executive producer, "Homer's Phobia" won the Emmy for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)|Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less)]] in 1997.<ref name="emmys">{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |title=Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search |publisher=Emmys.org |access-date=2009-02-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403022947/http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |archive-date=2009-04-03 }}</ref> 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]]".<ref name="OakleyMS">{{cite video | people=Oakley, Bill|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Mother Simpson"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> In 1996, during season seven, the show received a [[Peabody Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peabody.uga.edu/winners/PeabodyWinnersBook.pdf |title=George Foster Peabody Award Winners |access-date=2010-07-26 |publisher=Peabody.uga.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726163315/http://www.peabody.uga.edu/winners/PeabodyWinnersBook.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-26 }}</ref> Weinstein shared the awards for "[[Lisa's Wedding]]" and "[[Trash of the Titans]]" in 1995 and 1998 respectively.<ref name="emmys"/><ref>{{cite video | people=Mirkin, David|date=2005|title=The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa's Wedding"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/171022.stm|title=Emmy winners in full|access-date=2007-03-01|date=1998-09-14|work=BBC News}}</ref> 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)".<ref name="emmys"/>

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.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417748_2,00.html |title=The Family Dynamic |access-date=2010-07-26 |date=2003-01-29 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116010013/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C417748_2%2C00.html |archive-date=2007-01-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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]]".<ref name="IGN 2">{{cite web|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/101/1010515p1.html|title=The Simpsons Flashback: "You Only Move Twice" Review|author=Canning, Robert|website=[[IGN]]|date=2009-08-04|access-date=2010-07-14}}</ref> [[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"."<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/04/magazine/04SIMPSONS.html?pagewanted=all|title=How 'The Simpsons' Survives|work=[[New York Times]]|author=Scott, A. O.|author-link=A. O. Scott|date=2001-11-04|access-date=2012-04-11}}</ref> Weinstein considers the line "Too crazy for Boy's Town, too much of a boy for Crazy Town", from the episode "[[Treehouse of Horror VII]]" to be his favorite joke contribution to the show.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2012/02/simpsons_talent_share_their_fa.php?page=3|title=Best 'Simpsons' Moments: Castmembers Share Their Favorite Contributions to Celebrate the 500th Episode|work=[[OC Weekly]]|access-date=2012-05-05|date=2012-02-14|author=Du Vernay, Denise|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012025810/http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2012/02/simpsons_talent_share_their_fa.php?page=3|archive-date=2013-10-12|url-status=dead}}</ref> The two are popular amongst the show's fans,<ref name=duff/> 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]].<ref name=simp/><ref name=port/> In 2005 and 2006, they participated in two question-and-answer sessions on the fan [[message board]] NoHomers.net.<ref name="NoHomers"/><ref name=nohomers2/>

===''Mission Hill'' and other work===
After Oakley and Weinstein left ''The Simpsons'', they created ''[[Mission Hill (TV series)|Mission Hill]]'' in 1997, a show about a hip, lazy, 24-year-old cartoonist named Andy French, and sold it to [[The WB Television Network|The WB]] for a fall 1999 debut.<ref name="NoHomers"/><ref name=dvd>{{cite news|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/18810/mission-hill-the-complete-series/|title=Mission Hill&nbsp;– The Complete Series|date=2005-11-29|work=DVD Talk|author=Rizzo, Francis}}</ref> They pitched the show in 1998 "as an animated series for young adults with a sophisticated, <nowiki>'</nowiki>''Simpsons''<nowiki>'</nowiki>-style sensibility." They aimed to make the show about realistic issues affecting young adults, which were too mature for ''The Simpsons''.<ref name=mh>{{cite news|title=That's Show Buzz&nbsp;– For the Guys Behind 'Mission Hill,' a Long, Hard Climb|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=1999-10-07|author=Waxman, Sharon|page=Style C1}}</ref> The network was impressed and initially ordered 13 episodes; they ordered five more once the first was completed.<ref name="NoHomers"/> 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."<ref name=mh/> The show was plagued by "public relations" difficulties, which meant it was "tarnished" from the start. A badly edited two-minute promotional video for the show, sent to advertisers in April 1999 for the annual [[Upfront (advertising)|upfront]]s, was poorly received. Oakley and Weinstein had been informed that the upfronts did not matter.<ref name=mh/> 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 (magazine)|Variety]]''.<ref name=mh/> Furthermore, the show was forced to change from its originally planned title of ''The Downtowners'' due to its closeness to an [[MTV]] show.<ref name=mh/> 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."<ref name=mh/> ''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.<ref name=duff/>

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,<ref name=mh/> 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".<ref name="NoHomers"/> The show's poor reviews and ratings of an average of 1.8 million led to its swift cancellation.<ref name=duff/><ref name=dvd/> Oakley concluded that the pair had been "very naive" with regard to producing the show,<ref name=mh/> 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".<ref name=duff>{{cite web|title=Oakley/Weinstein Interview |url=http://www.duffgardens.net/?go=interviews/OW |work=Springfield Weekly |access-date=2010-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130091210/http://www.duffgardens.net/?go=interviews%2FOW |archive-date=2007-11-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name=morph/><ref name="NoHomers"/><ref name=dvd/>

From 2001 to 2002, the two served as [[consultants|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]]".<ref name="NoHomers"/> They produced ''[[The Mullets (TV series)|The Mullets]]'' for [[UPN]] in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|title=Prime Time from LA&nbsp;– UPN Gets Fresh Lineup&nbsp;– Network goes after younger viewers with a family comedy and a lot of bad hair|date=2003-07-25|work=[[Houston Chronicle]]|first=Mike|last=McDaniel|page=10}}</ref> Oakley and Weinstein have written and produced several [[television pilots]]. These include a [[CBS]] [[Comedy drama|dramedy]] entitled ''22 Birthdays'', ''Business Class'', a comedy for [[NBC]] about two traveling salesmen, ''The Funkhousers'', an off-the-wall comedy for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] about a close-knit family which was directed by [[Frank Oz]] and ''The Ruling Class'' for [[Fox network|Fox]], about a high school class who all got along, regardless of their social group.<ref name="NoHomers"/><ref name=create>{{cite web|url=http://blog.cre8con.com/speakers/ |title=Speakers |publisher=Portland Creative Conference |access-date=2010-07-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106003541/http://blog.cre8con.com/speakers/ |archive-date=2010-01-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbcpilotcasting-markvalleyzacharylevi,0,170842.story|title=NBC Books Mark Valley in 'Business Class'|work=[[Zap2it]]|date=2007-02-08|access-date=2010-07-23|archive-date=2011-05-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522042658/http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbcpilotcasting-markvalleyzacharylevi%2C0%2C170842.story|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1017198,00.html|title=Seann William Scott to Star in The Optimist for New Line Cinema|publisher=[[Time Warner]]|date=2005-01-12|access-date=2010-07-23|archive-date=2008-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118012126/http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1017198,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''Ruprecht'', a [[Santa Claus]]-related comedy for [[Disney]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Disney's 'Ruprecht' coming to town|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=2004-03-29|author=Kit, Borys}}</ref>

Weinstein was due to serve with Oakley as an executive producer on the Fox animated television series ''[[Sit Down, Shut Up (2009 TV series)|Sit Down, Shut Up]]'' in 2009, which was created by [[Mitchell Hurwitz]].<ref name="Cynthia Littleton and Michael Schneider">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.variety.com/VR1117985483.html |title=Fox greenlights 'Fringe'|author1=Littleton, Cynthia |author2=Schneider, Michael |access-date=2010-07-31|date=2008-05-11|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> The show, which was based on an [[Sit Down, Shut Up (2001 TV series)|Australian program]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tv.ign.com/dor/objects/14240969/sitdownshutup/videos/sitdownshutup_inv_hurwitz_030209.html|title=Sit Down, Shut Up TV Interview&nbsp;— WC 09: Mitch Hurwitz|website=IGN|access-date= 2009-04-18}}</ref> featured cartoon characters on live-action backgrounds.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://animatedtv.about.com/od/sitdownshutup/a/sdsu_qanda.htm|title=Sit Down, Shut Up&nbsp;— Q&A with Will Forte & Mitchell Hurwitz|work=About.com|author=Basile, Nancy|access-date=2010-01-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504183336/http://animatedtv.about.com/od/sitdownshutup/a/sdsu_qanda.htm|archive-date=2010-05-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, 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,<ref name=Oakleyexit>{{cite news| url=https://variety.com/2008/scene/markets-festivals/bill-oakley-exits-sit-down-shut-up-1117989064/|title=Bill Oakley exits 'Sit Down, Shut Up'|access-date= 2008-07-28|date=2008-07-16|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|author=Schneider, Michael}}</ref> before it was canceled after 13 episodes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/is-my-favorite-show-getting-cancelled/bubble-show-update-851.html|title=Is my favorite show cancelled?|author=Battaglio, Stephen|date=2009-05-17|work=[[TV Guide]]|access-date=2010-02-21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102042813/http://tvguidemagazine.com/is-my-favorite-show-getting-cancelled/bubble-show-update-851.html|archive-date=2010-01-02}}</ref> Weinstein returned to ''Futurama'', following its revival on [[Comedy Central]] in 2010, and served as a writer and co-executive producer on its [[Futurama season 6|sixth]] and [[Futurama season 7|seventh]] seasons.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www1.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/tv-reviews/futurama-tv-review-1004100374.story|title=Futurama TV Review|first=Barry|last=Garron|date=2010-06-23|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=2010-07-31|archive-date=2018-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103073144/http://www1.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/tv-reviews/futurama-tv-review-1004100374.story|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=strange>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22310362|title=Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein launches British TV show|author=Youngs, Ian|work=BBC News|access-date=2013-05-01|date=2013-04-30}}</ref> He wrote the episodes "[[That Darn Katz!]]", "[[Law and Oracle]]", "[[All the Presidents' Heads]]", "[[A Farewell to Arms (Futurama)|A Farewell to Arms]]", "[[Viva Mars Vegas]]" and [[T.: The Terrestrial]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/08/futurama-review-that-darn-katz-68.html|title=Futurama Review: "That Darn Katz!" (6.8)|work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|author=Gandert, Sean|access-date=2010-08-06|date=2010-08-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.craveonline.com/tv/reviews/170789-futurama-617-law-and-oracle|title=Futurama 6.17 'Law and Oracle'|author=Marnell, Blair|publisher=[[CraveOnline]]|access-date=2011-08-20|date=2011-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817020710/http://www.craveonline.com/tv/reviews/170789-futurama-617-law-and-oracle|archive-date=2011-08-17|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.craveonline.com/tv/reviews/171847-futurama-620-all-the-presidents-heads|title=Futurama 6.20 'All the Presidents' Heads'|author=Marnell, Blair|publisher=[[CraveOnline]]|access-date=2011-08-20|date=2011-07-29|archive-date=2012-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928104446/http://www.craveonline.com/tv/reviews/171847-futurama-620-all-the-presidents-heads|url-status=dead}}</ref> Weinstein shared another Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for the ''Futurama'' episode "[[The Late Philip J. Fry]]" in 2011, being nominated again the following year for "[[The Tip of the Zoidberg]]".<ref name="emmys"/> Individually, he received an [[Annie Award]] nomination for Writing in a Television Production for the episode "All the Presidents' Heads" in 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.annieawards.org/consideration.html |title=39th Annual Annie Nominations |publisher=[[Annie Awards]] |access-date=2011-12-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204131419/http://www.annieawards.org/consideration.html |archive-date=2009-12-04 }}</ref> and a [[Writers Guild of America Award]] nomination for Outstanding Animation for writing "A Farewell to Arms" in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-xpm-2012-dec-06-la-et-st-wga-awards-tv-nominations-20121206-story.html|title=Writers Guild of America announces TV nominations|date=2012-12-06|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2013-03-05|author=Villarreal, Yvonne}}</ref>

In 2013, Weinstein co-created, produced and wrote the animated comedy-mystery series ''[[Strange Hill High]]'' for British children's channel [[CBBC (TV channel)|CBBC]]. For the series, Weinstein imported the role of the showrunner and the writer's room, used routinely on American television shows like ''The Simpsons'', but uncommon on British television. The show uses the animation technique hypervynorama, a mix of puppetry and CGI.<ref name=strange/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-04-24/simpsons-writer-to-create-new-animated-comedy-for-cbbc?ref=Article.RelatedNews|title=Simpsons writer to create new animated comedy for CBBC|work=[[Radio Times]]|access-date=2013-04-25|date=2013-04-24|author=Walker-Arnott, Ellie}}</ref> Weinstein will also team up with Oakley again to co-write and co-executive produce ''22 Birthdays'', the failed pilot they originally produced for CBS, as a pilot for [[Bravo (U.S. TV channel)|Bravo]]. [[Doug Liman]] and [[Dave Bartis]] will also be co-executive producers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-04/entertainment/sns-201204041420reedbusivarietynvr1118052284apr04_1_bravo-real-housewives-centers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411172215/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-04/entertainment/sns-201204041420reedbusivarietynvr1118052284apr04_1_bravo-real-housewives-centers|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 11, 2012|title=Oakley and Weinstein team up for "22 Birthdays"|access-date=2012-04-16|date=2012-04-04|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|first=Tatiana|last=Siegel}}</ref>

On September 17, 2021, Weinstein guest starred as a contestant on the YouTube web series, Puppet History.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

In August 2022, Weinstein appeared in an episode of [[Rate My Takeaway]] where he enjoyed a burger and fries over a chat with the host Danny Malin. Weinstein was a long time fan of the Youtube channel and when Malin was on a tour of the US they arranged the meet up.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hw5z44OqD8 | title=Having a Takeaway with THE SIMPSONS' Josh Weinstein | website=[[YouTube]] | date=23 August 2022 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Weinstein married Lisa Simmons, a [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] editor of ''[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]]'', in a [[Jewish]] ceremony in 1995.<ref name=marry/> They have two children, twins Molly and Simon, born in 1999.<ref>{{cite video | people=Weinstein, Josh|date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

==Credits==
*''Sunday Best'' (1991)&nbsp;– writer
*''[[The Simpsons]]'' (1992–1998)&nbsp;– writer, producer, story editor, supervising producer, consulting producer, executive producer, showrunner (all episodes with [[Bill Oakley]])
**"[[Marge Gets a Job]]"
**"[[Marge in Chains]]"
**"[[Treehouse of Horror IV]]" ("Terror at 5½ Feet" segment)
**"[[$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)]]"
**"[[Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy]]"
**"[[Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song]]"
**"[[Lady Bouvier's Lover]]"
**"[[Sideshow Bob Roberts]]"
**"[[Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy]]"
**"[[Bart vs. Australia]]"
**"[[Who Shot Mr. Burns?]]" (parts 1 & 2)
**"[[22 Short Films About Springfield]]" (Milhouse and Comic Book Guy scenes)
*''[[Mission Hill (TV series)|Mission Hill]]'' (1999–2002)&nbsp;– creator, writer, executive producer, voice of Toby Mundorf
**"[[Pilot (Mission Hill episode)|Pilot]]" (with Oakley)
*''[[Futurama]]'' (2001–2002, 2010–2013)&nbsp;– consulting producer, executive producer, writer
**"[[That Darn Katz!]]"
**"[[Law and Oracle]]"
**"[[All the Presidents' Heads]]"
**"[[A Farewell to Arms (Futurama)|A Farewell to Arms]]"
**"[[Viva Mars Vegas]]"
**"[[T.: The Terrestrial]]"
*''The Funkhousers'' (2001)&nbsp;– writer
*''Ruling Class'' (2002)&nbsp;– writer
*''[[The Mullets (TV series)|The Mullets]]'' (2003)&nbsp;– creator, executive producer
*''22 Birthdays'' (2005)&nbsp;– writer
*''Business Class'' (2007)&nbsp;– creator, writer
*''[[Sit Down, Shut Up (2009 TV series)|Sit Down, Shut Up]]'' (2009)&nbsp;– executive producer, writer
**"High School Musical Musical"
*''[[Strange Hill High]]'' (2013–14)&nbsp;– creator, showrunner, writer
*''[[The Awesomes]]'' (2013)&nbsp;– writer
*''[[Gravity Falls]]'' (2014–2016)&nbsp;– writer
**"The Love God"
**"[[Not What He Seems]]"
**"[[A Tale of Two Stans]]"
**"Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons"
**"The Stanchurian Candidate"
**"Roadside Attraction"
**"Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future"
**"Weirdmageddon Part 1"
**"[[Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls]]"
*''[[Danger Mouse (2015 TV series)|Danger Mouse]]'' (2016)&nbsp;– writer
*''[[Disenchantment (TV series)|Disenchantment]]'' (2018–2023)&nbsp;– writer, showrunner, executive producer
**"[[Disenchantment (TV series)#Episodes|A Princess, an Elf and a Demon Walk into a Bar]]"
**"Tiabeanie Falls"
**"Freak Out!"
**"The Pitter-Patter of Little Feet"
**"Bean Falls Apart"

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Turner |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Turner (author) |title=Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation |others=Foreword by [[Douglas Coupland]]. |edition=1st |year=2004 |location=Toronto |publisher=[[Random House Canada]] |oclc=55682258 |isbn=978-0-679-31318-2 |title-link=Planet Simpson }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* {{IMDb name|0430781}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Josh}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American screenwriters]]
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[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American screenwriters]]
[[Category:American comedy writers]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:American male television writers]]
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[[Category:American television writers]]
[[Category:Animation screenwriters]]
[[Category:Jewish American comedy writers]]
[[Category:Jewish American screenwriters]]
[[Category:Peabody Award winners]]
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Stanford University alumni]]
[[Category:St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni]]
[[Category:American showrunners]]
[[Category:Showrunners of animated series]]