Brent Forrester

Last updated
Brent Forrester
Education Columbia University
Occupation(s)Writer, producer
Years active1992–present
Father James S. Forrester

Brent Forrester is an American writer and producer, who has written for 6 Emmy Award-winning television comedies. He wrote several episodes of the animated television sitcom The Simpsons between 1993 and 1997. He has worked as a writer on The Ben Stiller Show , Mr. Show with Bob and David , Undeclared , Super Fun Night and The Office . He served as head writer and executive producer on King of the Hill , Love , The Office and Space Force . Forrester has also written feature films.

Contents

Early life

Forrester, the son of physician James S. Forrester, grew up as a surfer in Malibu, California. As an undergraduate John Jay Scholar at Columbia University he worked on the university's student TV station, and returned to Los Angeles to begin a career as a TV writer. [1] At Columbia, he roomed with future Chattanooga mayor Tim Kelly in Carman Hall. [1]

Career

Forrester wrote for The Simpsons between 1993 and 1997. [2] He wrote the episodes: "Homer vs. Patty and Selma", [3] "Lemon of Troy", [4] the Krusty Burger segment of "22 Short Films About Springfield", [5] and "Homerpalooza". "Homerpalooza" was based on a story by David X. Cohen, although Forrester wrote the script. To do research for the episode, Forrester went to one of the Lollapalooza concerts, which ended up being a horrible experience. Several of the jokes in the episode are based on his experiences: cameras (including his own) were being seized and thrown in the garbage, there were numerous advertisements, several "sour faced teens", a real freak show and at one point a stranger approached Forrester and asked "how's it going, nark?" [6]

Forrester has also served as executive producer on King of the Hill , [7] and written for The Ben Stiller Show , Mr. Show with Bob and David [2] and Undeclared . He served as a writer and consulting producer on The Office . He has written seven episodes of the show including "The Merger" and "Business School" and directed the episode "Casual Friday". [2] He also directed a 2008 series of webisodes of the show, [8] and wrote the NBC.com web series In Gayle We Trust . [9]

He also wrote the screenplay for the 1996 film The Stupids . [10] Forrester is writing the film The Low Self Esteem of Lizzie Gillespie with Mindy Kaling, [11] and a sitcom pilot for Ron Howard. [12]

Forrester also voiced Leon the Drug Addict in the episode of King of the Hill "Junkie Business".[ citation needed ]

In May 2012, he became an executive producer for the final season of The Office. [13] In 2014, Netflix announced a two-season comedy series entitled Love co-created by director Judd Apatow, Paul Rust, and Lesley Arfin, with Forrester as executive producer. [14] In 2019–2020 Forrester is executive producer of Space Force directed by Greg Daniels and starring Steve Carell. [15]

Writing credits

The Simpsons written episodes

Forrester has written (or co-written) the following episodes:

Mr. Show written episodes

Forrester has co-written (with Dino Stamatopoulos) the following sketches from the following episodes:

Undeclared written episode

Forrester co-wrote (with Judd Apatow) the following episode:

The Office written episodes

Forrester has written or co-written the following episodes:

  1. "The Merger" (November 16, 2006) - Season 3
  2. "Business School" (February 15, 2007) - Season 3
  3. "Product Recall" co-written with Justin Spitzer (April 26, 2007) - Season 3
  4. "Did I Stutter?" co-written with Justin Spitzer (May 1, 2008) - Season 4
  5. "Business Trip" (November 13, 2008) - Season 5
  6. "Blood Drive" (March 5, 2009) - Season 5
  7. "Mafia" (October 15, 2009) - Season 6
  8. "New Leads" (March 18, 2010) - Season 6
  9. "The Search" (February 3, 2011) - Season 7
  10. "Work Bus" (October 18, 2012) - Season 9
  11. "A.A.R.M." (May 9, 2013) - Season 9

Love written episodes

Forrester has written or co-written the following episodes:

Directing credits

The Office directed episodes

Forrester has directed the following episodes:

  1. "Casual Friday" (April 30, 2009) - Season 5
  2. "New Leads" (March 18, 2010) - Season 6
  3. "Test the Store" (March 1, 2012) - Season 8
  4. "The Target" (November 29, 2012) - Season 9

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troy McClure</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Troy McClure is a fictional character in the American animated series The Simpsons. He was originally voiced by Phil Hartman and first appeared in the second season episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". McClure is a washed-up actor who is usually shown doing low-level work, most notably hosting manipulative infomercials and questionable educational films. He appears as the main character in "A Fish Called Selma", in which he marries Selma Bouvier to aid his failing career and quash rumors about his personal life. McClure also hosts "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" and "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mirkin</span> American film and television writer, director and producer

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 comedian, and then moved into television writing. He wrote for the sitcoms Three's Company, It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show and served as showrunner on the series Newhart. After an unsuccessful attempt to remake the British series The Young Ones, Mirkin created Get a Life in 1990. The series starred comedian Chris Elliott and ran for two seasons, despite a lack of support from many Fox network executives, who disliked the show's dark and surreal humor. He moved on to create the sketch show The Edge starring his then-partner, actress Julie Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Oakley</span> American television writer and producer (born 1966)

William Lloyd Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans School; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon. He worked on several short-term media projects, including writing for the variety show Sunday Best, but was then unemployed for a long period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Reiss</span> American screenwriter

Michael L. Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a showrunner, writer, and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic. He created and wrote the webtoon Queer Duck; he has also written screenplays including: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Simpsons Movie and My Life in Ruins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judd Apatow</span> American filmmaker (born 1967)

Judd Apatow is an American director, producer, screenwriter and comedian, best known for his work in comedy films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), Funny People (2009), This Is 40 (2012), Trainwreck (2015), The King of Staten Island (2020), and The Bubble (2022).

"Homerpalooza" is the twenty-fourth and penultimate episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 19, 1996. In the episode, Homer is shocked to find classic rock is no longer considered cool. Hoping to earn "street cred", he joins the Hullabalooza music festival as a carnival freak. The episode's title is a play on the Lollapalooza music festival. It was the last Simpsons episode written by Brent Forrester and the last one directed by Wes Archer. Peter Frampton and musical groups Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, and The Smashing Pumpkins guest star as themselves.

"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", also known as "SimpsoncalifragilisticexpialaD'oh!cious" is the thirteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 7, 1997. When Marge becomes stressed, the Simpsons hire a nanny, a Mary Poppins parody named Shary Bobbins. The episode was directed by Chuck Sheetz and written and executive produced by Al Jean and Mike Reiss. It was the last episode for which Reiss received a writing credit. In 2014, Jean selected it as one of five essential episodes in the show's history.

"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. 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. However, Marge begins to get paranoid at her family's newfound love of Becky, and begins to think that she is seducing Homer.

"Half-Decent Proposal" is the tenth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 10, 2002. In the episode, Homer's snoring interferes with Marge's sleep. To earn money to cure Homer's snoring, Marge agrees to spend a weekend with Artie Ziff if he vows to not grope her as he did during their high-school prom date. While spying on Marge and Artie, Homer mistakenly thinks they are making out, so he leaves with Lenny to work on an oil rig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Married Marge</span> 11th episode of the 3rd season of The Simpsons

"I Married Marge" is the twelfth episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 26, 1991. In the episode, Marge worries that she may be pregnant again and visits Dr. Hibbert's office. While anxiously waiting at home, Homer tells Bart, Lisa, and Maggie the story of his and Marge's marriage and Bart's birth. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Jeffrey Lynch.

"Black Widower" is the twenty-first episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 9, 1992. The episode was written by Jon Vitti and directed by David Silverman. Kelsey Grammer guest starred as Sideshow Bob for the second time. In the episode, Sideshow Bob — Bart's new archenemy — returns, apparently in a romantic relationship with Bart's aunt Selma, but when Bart later realizes that Bob is planning to kill Selma, he prevents the attempted murder and Bob is sent back to prison. "Black Widower" finished 39th in Nielsen ratings for the week that it originally aired. Reviewers generally enjoyed the episode, and gave Grammer's portrayal of Sideshow Bob particular praise.

"Selma's Choice" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 21, 1993. In the episode, Selma decides to have a baby, inspired by her late aunt's advice that she not spend her life alone. She experiences what life with children is like by taking Bart and Lisa to the Duff Gardens amusement park, which does not go as planned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer vs. Patty and Selma</span> 17th episode of the 6th season of The Simpsons

"Homer vs. Patty and Selma" is the seventeenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 26, 1995. In the episode, Homer loses all his money in pumpkin futures and must turn to Patty and Selma for a loan. Meanwhile, Bart takes up ballet lessons, with an instructor voiced by actress Susan Sarandon.

"Principal Charming" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 14, 1991. In the episode, Marge asks Homer to find a husband for her sister Selma. Homer invites Principal Skinner to dinner after Bart gets caught vandalizing the school's lawn. Skinner's dinner with the Simpsons fails to go as planned when he instead falls for Selma's twin sister Patty.

"Homer Alone" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the fiftieth episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 6, 1992. In the episode, stress from household chores and her family's demands causes Marge to suffer from a nervous breakdown, so she vacations alone at a spa. She leaves Bart and Lisa with Patty and Selma; Maggie stays at home with Homer but leaves home looking for her mother, causing Homer to frantically search for her.

"A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 24, 1996. The episode features Troy McClure, who tries to resurrect his acting career and squelch the rumors about his personal life by marrying Selma Bouvier. Show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were fans of Phil Hartman and wished to produce an episode that focused on his character McClure. Freelance writer Jack Barth wrote the episode, and Mark Kirkland directed it.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 7 Season of television series

The seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons 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 four, including two hold overs that were produced for the previous season. The season was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program and won an Annie Award for Best Animated Television Program. The DVD box set was released in Region 1 on December 13, 2005, Region 2 on January 30, 2006, and Region 4 on March 22, 2006. The set was released in two different forms: a Marge-shaped box and also a standard rectangular-shaped box in which the theme is a movie premiere.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 6 Season of television series

The sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons 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. The show is set in the fictional city of Springfield, and lampoons American culture, society, television and many aspects of the human condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David M. Stern</span> American television screenwriter

David Michael Stern is an American television screenwriter. Among his first work in television was writing episodes of The Wonder Years in the late 1980s. He then proceeded to write several episodes of The Simpsons in the 1990s. In 2010, he developed the animated television series Ugly Americans. Stern is the younger brother of actor Daniel Stern, who served as the narrator of The Wonder Years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Rust</span> American actor, comedian and writer

Paul Rust is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred in the 2009 film I Love You, Beth Cooper and in the Netflix series Love.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Core Had a Huge Impact on Mayor Tim Kelly '89". Columbia College Today. 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  2. 1 2 3 Pressman, Matt (2009-02-12). "The Office: Tricks of the Comedy-Writing Trade". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on 2009-02-19.
  3. ↑ Mirkin, David. (2005) Commentary for "Homer vs. Patty and Selma", in The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  4. ↑ Groening, Matt (2005). The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Lemon of Troy" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  5. ↑ Weinstein, Josh (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  6. ↑ Forrester, Brent (2005). The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Homerpalooza" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  7. ↑ Nollinger, Mark (1998-01-16). "All hail the Kingmakers". The Courier Mail . p. 006. Archived from the original on 2024-11-06.
  8. ↑ Burke, Bill (2008-07-09). "'Office' supplies summer fun in Webisodes". Boston Herald .
  9. ↑ Slusser, Richard; Torrance, Kelly Jane (2009-09-16). "Arts Etc. Tuning In To TV - Webisodes premiere". The Washington Times . p. B06.
  10. ↑ Hartl, John (1996-08-31). "'Stupids' Has A Lot Of Stupid Violence". The Seattle Times . p. F7.
  11. ↑ "Kaling in movie mode". The Boston Globe . 2009-12-02. p. 16.
  12. ↑ "Fox Greenlights Ron Howard Pilot". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . 2010-01-28.
  13. ↑ "Dan Sterling & Brent Forrester Named Executive Producers On NBC's 'The Office'". Deadline Hollywood. 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Netflix Nabs Judd Apatow Comedy Series With 2-Season Order; Paul Rust & Gillian Jacobs To Star, Legendary TV To Produce". Deadline Hollywood. 16 September 2014.
  15. ↑ Rabinowitz, Dorothy (May 28, 2020). "'Space Force' Review: Out of This World Office" . Wall Street Journal.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.