Josh Weinstein
Born 1966 · Age 59
American television writer and producer best known for his work on The Simpsons, Futurama and Disenchantment; frequent collaborator with Bill Oakley.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Washington, D.C.
Joshua Weinstein born to Rosa and Harris Weinstein; raised in Washington, D.C.
Met Bill Oakley (St. Albans School)
Became best friends and future writing partner Bill Oakley in eighth grade at St. Albans School, Washington, D.C.
Co-founded The Alban Antic (school humor mag)
Created the St. Albans School humor magazine The Alban Antic with Bill Oakley.
Matriculated at Stanford University
Began undergraduate studies at Stanford University (approx. 1984–1988 based on birth year).
Honorary member of the Harvard Lampoon (summers)
Worked with the Harvard Lampoon on parody publications over summers; later listed as an honorary member.
Editor-in-chief of the Stanford Chaparral
Served as editor-in-chief of the Stanford Chaparral (student humor magazine).
Worked as advertising copywriter in Washington, D.C.
Returned to Washington, D.C.; worked as a copywriter writing print ads (clients included IKEA).
Moved to New York City to write for Ha! network
Hired to write for a game show on Ha!; also wrote for a Denis Leary variety show; contributed to National Lampoon and Spy.
Wrote for NBC's Sunday Best (variety show)
An editor from Spy took Oakley & Weinstein to Los Angeles to work on the NBC variety show Sunday Best; the show was canceled after three episodes and they experienced a lengthy unemployment period.
Wrote numerous spec scripts
Wrote spec scripts for Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman among others while seeking TV staff work.
Wrote spec Seinfeld script; hired to write Simpsons episode
Oakley & Weinstein's Seinfeld spec impressed Al Jean and Mike Reiss; they were hired to write 'Marge Gets a Job' for The Simpsons (Conan O'Brien idea).
Joined The Simpsons writing staff permanently
After Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky left, Oakley & Weinstein joined The Simpsons staff as story editors in 1992 (third season).
First staff episode: 'Marge in Chains'
Assigned and wrote 'Marge in Chains' as staff writers (first draft based on research about women in prison).
Wrote Treehouse of Horror IV segment and multiple season 5 episodes
Credited on 'Terror at 5½ Feet' (Treehouse of Horror IV), '$pringfield', 'Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy', 100th episode 'Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song', and 'Lady Bouvier's Lover'.
Wrote season 6 episodes including 'Sideshow Bob Roberts' and 'Bart vs. Australia'
Co-wrote politically themed 'Sideshow Bob Roberts' (influenced by Watergate), 'Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy' and 'Bart vs. Australia' (provoked complaints from Australian viewers).
Co-wrote two-part 'Who Shot Mr. Burns?'
Penned the two-part event episode 'Who Shot Mr. Burns?', a major season cliffhanger originally proposed by Matt Groening.
Shared Emmy awards for 'Lisa's Wedding' (1995)
Weinstein shared awards for episodes including 'Lisa's Wedding' (credited to the show's producers).
Appointed Executive Producers / Showrunners (Seasons 7 & 8)
Oakley & Weinstein promoted to executive producers and showrunners for The Simpsons' seventh and eighth seasons, overseeing production and writers' rooms.
Married Lisa Simmons
Married journalist Lisa Simmons in a Jewish ceremony (New York Times wedding announcement July 2, 1995).
Produced '22 Short Films About Springfield' segment
As showrunner, arranged ambitious format-bending episodes; Weinstein wrote Comic Book Guy/Milhouse scene for this anthology episode.
The Simpsons wins Peabody Award
During season seven (run by Oakley & Weinstein) The Simpsons received a Peabody Award.
Stood down as showrunners after Season 8
Oakley & Weinstein left the showrunner role after two seasons to avoid diminishing the show's quality; credited as consulting producers on season nine.
Won Emmy for 'Homer's Phobia'
'Homer's Phobia' won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program while Weinstein was executive producer/showrunner.
Aired controversial 'Homer's Enemy'
Produced 'Homer's Enemy'—a divisive, 'push the envelope' episode that became controversial but later gained appreciation.
Produced final Simpsons episodes & consulting producer on Season 9
Produced held-over Season 8 episodes that aired in Season 9 including 'The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson', 'The Principal and the Pauper' and 'Lisa the Simpson' (Weinstein's final Simpsons involvement).
Created Mission Hill
Oakley & Weinstein created the animated series Mission Hill intended for young adults.
Shared award for 'Trash of the Titans' (1998)
Weinstein shared awards for the episode 'Trash of the Titans'.
Pitched Mission Hill to The WB; initial order 13 episodes
Pitch (1998) led The WB to initially order 13 episodes, then 5 more after first completion (total 18 ordered).
Mission Hill aired on The WB; promo controversy
A poorly received two-minute promo (April 1999) and lack of press pre-release led to low awareness; the series debuted fall 1999 and averaged ~1.8 million viewers leading to swift cancellation.
Birth of twins Molly and Simon
Weinstein and Lisa Simmons welcomed twins Molly and Simon (born 1999).
Wrote 'The Funkhousers' pilot
Wrote pilot 'The Funkhousers' (2001) for ABC, directed by Frank Oz (pilot not picked up).
Consulting producers on Futurama (first run)
Oakley & Weinstein served as consulting producers on Futurama (2001–2002), contributing jokes and story help (notably on 'That's Lobstertainment!' and 'Roswell That Ends Well').
Mission Hill later aired on Adult Swim & DVD released
After initial cancellation, the 13 completed Mission Hill episodes aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and, following Oakley & Weinstein lobbying, The WB released the series on DVD (date early-mid 2000s).
Created and produced The Mullets (UPN)
Created and executive produced the live-action series The Mullets for UPN (2003).
Multiple unsuccessful TV pilots
Co-wrote/produced pilots including 'The Ruling Class' (Fox), 'The Funkhousers' (ABC), and later '22 Birthdays' (CBS) and 'Business Class' (NBC); pilots were not long-running series.
Wrote Ruprecht screenplay for Disney
Wrote feature screenplay 'Ruprecht', a Santa Claus-related comedy for Disney (development reported 2004).
Participated in NoHomers.net Q&A sessions
Participated in two Q&A sessions with fans on NoHomers.net (2005 and 2006) engaging the early Simpsons fan community.
Entertainment Weekly recognition (era retrospectives)
Multiple Oakley & Weinstein episodes later singled out by Entertainment Weekly (2003 list referenced their episodes among series' best).
Wrote '22 Birthdays' pilot (CBS) and 'The Optimist' script news
Worked on pilot '22 Birthdays' (2005) and 'The Optimist' screenplay was announced with Seann William Scott attached for New Line (2005).
Created 'Business Class' pilot for NBC
Developed 'Business Class', a comedy about traveling salesmen for NBC (2007 development).
Set to executive-produce 'Sit Down, Shut Up'
Due to serve as executive producer on Fox's 'Sit Down, Shut Up' (animated on live-action backgrounds); Bill Oakley left over a contract dispute with Sony in 2008; Weinstein continued.
'Sit Down, Shut Up' airs and is cancelled
Weinstein remained on 'Sit Down, Shut Up' until the series was canceled after 13 episodes in 2009.
Nominated again for Futurama Emmys (2012 nomination noted)
Futurama episodes produced/written by Weinstein were nominated for Emmys again (e.g., 2012 nomination for 'The Tip of the Zoidberg').
Returned to Futurama revival (Comedy Central)
Rejoined Futurama's revival as writer and co-executive producer for seasons six and seven (2010–2013).
Annie Award nomination for 'All the Presidents' Heads'
Received an Annie Award nomination for Writing in a Television Production (2011) for Futurama episode 'All the Presidents' Heads'.
Won Emmy for Futurama 'The Late Philip J. Fry'
Shared Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for Futurama episode 'The Late Philip J. Fry' (2011).
WGA and industry recognition continued
Received industry nominations (Annie, WGA) and maintained steady credits in animation and TV production.
Writers Guild nomination for 'A Farewell to Arms'
WGA Award nomination for Outstanding Animation for writing 'A Farewell to Arms' (nomination listed 2013).
Co-created Strange Hill High (CBBC)
Co-created, produced and served as showrunner for CBBC's Strange Hill High (2013–2014), introducing American-style showrunner/writer's room to British kids' TV; used hypervynorama (puppetry + CGI).
Planned revival of '22 Birthdays' with Oakley for Bravo
Announced teaming with Bill Oakley to co-write and co-exec produce '22 Birthdays' as a Bravo pilot with Doug Liman and Dave Bartis attached.
Wrote for Gravity Falls (Season 2)
Served as a writer on Gravity Falls season two (2014–2016), co-writing nine episodes including pivotal arc episodes.
Worked on Danger Mouse
Contributed as a writer on the 2015 Danger Mouse series.
Co-developed Disenchantment with Matt Groening
Co-developed Netflix animated series Disenchantment and served as co-showrunner with Matt Groening (series launched 2018).
Guest appearance on Puppet History (YouTube)
Guest-starred as a contestant on the YouTube web series 'Puppet History'.
Appeared on Rate My Takeaway
Appeared in an episode of 'Rate My Takeaway' (YouTube) in August 2022, meeting host Danny Malin during his US tour.
Listed credits on Disenchantment through 2023
Continued credited as writer, showrunner, and executive producer on Disenchantment episodes through 2023.
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