On Sunday, FOX will air an episode of The Simpsons scripted by Judd Apatow, which just so happened to be penned back in 1990 when the Knocked Up filmmaker’s career was in its infancy and the classic animated sitcom was still in its first season. Speaking to TV Guide, Apatow has discussed ‘Bart’s New Friend’, and how it finally became a reality after all these years:
“I was 22, a huge fan of The Simpsons, and hoping for a TV writing career,” states Apatow. “At the time I was a fledgling standup comic and people said, ‘If you want to write for sitcoms, you need to do spec scripts.’ Only six episodes of The Simpsons had aired at that point but I tried to copy the style and did a spec script where Homer gets hypnotized and thinks he’s a 10-year-old. He has such a great time being Bart’s friend that he doesn’t want to become an adult again. I sent it in — in fact, I sent it to all my favorite shows — and got no job offers… Then, all these years later, [Simpsons executive producer] Al Jean calls and says, “Hey, we’ll make it now!”
“I had talked about the script on stage in an interview at the L.A. County Museum and how I have always been fascinated with how difficult it is to grow up,” he continues. “In fact, everything I’ve done on film and TV is pretty much based on my Simpsons idea. [Laughs] I can’t shake it. Parts of that interview hit the press and I guess Al read about it. Better late than never… It’s a pretty rough script — when I reread it I wasn’t exactly glowing with pride — but Al and the staff did their Simpsons magic on it. The whole process blew my mind. Sitting at the table read, listening to Dan Castellaneta [Homer], Julie Kavner [Marge], Nancy Cartwright [Bart] and Yeardley Smith [Lisa] putting their brilliant spin on something I wrote back when I was a dreamer, was one of the greatest days of my life.”
‘Bart’s New Friend’ will air on January 11th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszH_jfuJoo8HCG1-lGjvfH2F&v=JoHXAqSnD5g&feature=player_embedded
Originally published January 7, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
