The Simpsons Writing Staff Were Given A Special Privilege No Other TV Show Had

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In the "The Simpsons" episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" (February 9, 1997), Krusty the Clown (Dan Castellaneta) finds that his show's ratings are flagging. Namely, his show's animated segment, "The Itchy & Scratchy Show," is simply waning in popularity. The ultra-violent cat-and-mouse cartoon is still high-quality, but audiences seem to have become bored with the usual schtick. Lisa (Yeardley Smith) says out loud in dialogue that no series, no matter how good, can always retain its top spot in the popular consciousness. 

It doesn't take a very sophisticated viewer to sense that the writers of "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" were making a comment on "The Simpsons" itself. The show was already on its eighth season, and some fans were already beginning to think the series was long in the tooth. This is a hilarious thought in 2026, when "The Simpsons" is on its 37th season. 

In "Poochie," the satire eventually aims toward TV executives. A TV exec character named Roger Meyers, Jr. (Alex Rocco) suggests that "Itchy & Scratchy" be beefed up with a new character gimmick. He essentially forces the show's animators to create Poochie, an ultra-cool dog in sunglasses. The title of the show was changed as if a new Poochie-based era was beginning. As might be predicted, fans hated Poochie with a fiery passion. 

In 2022, the makers of "The Simpsons" took part in an oral history of "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show," conducted by the Hollywood Reporter, and the makers admitted that, yes, the show was a deliberate satire of Fox executives and the scourge of studio notes. Luckily, "The Simpsons" was such a ratings powerhouse, and had such a powerful producer behind it (James L. Brooks) that they earned the privilege of ignoring studio notes entirely. 

In the oral history, one of the "Simpsons" showrunners, Bill Oakley explained very clearly that the show had been attacking its corporate overlords from the start. He said: 

"In terms of 'You can't bite the hand that feeds you,' 'The Simpsons' has been doing that since day one. Fox did not give us notes on anything because they were not allowed to see the material, not allowed to come to the table reading. They were not allowed to do anything but broadcast the show when we delivered it on videotape."

It was actor Hank Azaria — who has played over 800 characters on "The Simpsons" — who pointed out that Fox's inability to interfere with the show was decided and mandated by the show's executive producer, James L. Brooks. Brooks, of course, is a TV legend whose career stretches back to the 1960s, and who created hit shows like "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Taxi." He carried with him a great deal of clout, and when Fox wanted to step in and monkey with Matt Groening's animated series, Brooks blocked them entirely. In Azaria's words: 

"Only Jim Brooks could have eschewed network notes completely, and he did right from the start. And that is one of the reasons why 'The Simpsons' became what it became. They were smart to bring in young writers who were just unleashed, and this episode is a great example." 

"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show," incidentally, was written by future "Futurama" co-creator David X. Cohen, who had been writing for the show since 1993. Josh Weinstein noted in the Hollywood Reporter history that about 75% of what Cohen wrote in his first draft made it to air. That's unusually high for a first draft in this business.

It was reiterated in John Ortved's 2009 book "The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History," that James L. Brooks deliberately forbade notes from Fox executives. It explained that Brooks knew what kind of authority he had in the TV business, and that he used that authority to shield "Simpsons" writers from the caprices of the moneymen. "For the writers, it was the Land of Milk & Honey," Ortved wrote. 

And, golly, "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" pulled no punches. Poochie has become a symbol of every half-baked, pathetic attempt by every TV executive everywhere to "hip up" a long-running TV series. Indeed, according to the DVD commentary track for the episode, Fox executives actually did feel that a new, hip character would juice-up "The Simpsons." It seems that the mere suggestion of such a thing inspired the "Simpsons" writers to pen an entire episode about how such juice-ups are terrible ideas, and that executives who suggest them are all dumb and out-of-touch. No, "The Simpsons" never got in trouble for the episode. James L. Brooks was likely still there, ready to hold up a shield, should it have been needed. 

David X. Cohen even offered a double commentary by giving the Simpsons a new family member in the form of a hip-talking, shades-wearing teenager named Roy (Azaria). Naturally, Roy's origin was never discussed. He merely entered the room as if he had always been a part of the series. Roy vanished from the show after that. He's one of the best one-off characters the show has ever seen. "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show," incidentally, was listed as the fifth-best "Simpsons" episode ever by /Film.