Dan McGrath | |
---|---|
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Occupation | Writer/Producer/Stage Director/Tutor |
Years active | 1983–present |
Dan McGrath is an American television writer, educator and stage director. He is known primarily for his work as a writer/producer for several TV series including The Simpsons , Saturday Night Live , King of the Hill , Gravity Falls and Mission Hill .
He was nominated for an Emmy for his work on Saturday Night Live , and later won an Emmy for his work on The Simpsons . He was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for "Life: A Loser's Manual".
McGrath was raised in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Gerard McGrath, a machinist and electrician, and Eleanor McGrath, a homemaker. He is of Irish, Hungarian, and Scandinavian descent.
He attended Regis High School and Harvard University, where he studied Chinese and Japanese history and politics. He failed all his Japanese-language courses, but was active as a writer, editor and cartoonist at The Harvard Lampoon , where he was twice elected a vice president, and somehow managed to graduate with honors.
While at Harvard, Dan also designed computer games at MIT and co-founded (along with Bill Rauch, Lisa Latham, Amy Brenneman and Dean Norris) the notorious avant-garde theatre company The Kronauer Group, which later became the Cornerstone Theater Company.
He worked in hospitals, public clinics and emergency rooms for a number of years, and then moved onto Hollywood.
He is a founder and co-chairman of Tamaribuchi Heavy Manufacturing Concern.
Dan started his television career as a writer at Saturday Night Live , where he was a frequent collaborator with Adam Sandler and Chris Farley. He then joined the writing staff of The Simpsons , contributing things like "The Devil and Homer Simpson" and "Time and Punishment" (both co-written with Greg Daniels) and "Bart of Darkness".
Entertainment Weekly called the "Time and Punishment" segment "one of the most beautifully random moments in [The] Simpsons history". [1]
The A.V. Club called McGrath's "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" episode "pretty much comic gold from start to finish" and "utterly fantastic" and said it "features one of the greatest, most true-to-life depictions of a bender/drug binge in television history". [2]
They also said Dan's episode "Bart of Darkness" "is a hilarious episode that restricts a Simpsons' go-to—Bart as hell-raiser—and mines much of its humor from the cruelties of childhood." [3]
After getting fired twice from The Simpsons, he later worked on Mission Hill (where he wrote "I Married a Gay Man from Outer Space"). He also worked on Gravity Falls , The PJs , and a nearly decade-long stint at King of the Hill , contributing episodes like "Full Metal Dust Jacket" and "The Minh Who Knew Too Much". The A.V. Club called "The Minh Who Knew Too Much" episode "terrifyingly silly and haphazard". [4]
At Harvard he was a prolific stage director: he directed Richard III in a dining hall, using only the tables and chairs as a set, and he once covered the entire Loeb Main Stage in dirt for "Richard's Cork Leg". They are still cleaning up the dirt he left there from 1985. [5]
Recently Dan taught a course in "Comedy and Cultural Theory" at The Center for Fiction in Brooklyn.
He wrote (or co-wrote) the following episodes:
"Bart of Darkness" is the premiere of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 4, 1994. In the episode, Bart breaks his leg and becomes increasingly isolated. Spying on Ned Flanders from his room, Bart suspects that Ned has murdered his wife. The episode was produced during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which delayed production by a month, and it was originally going to be the season five finale and is largely a parody of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954).
Josh Weinstein 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; 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.
"Treehouse of Horror" is the third episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 25, 1990. The episode was inspired by 1950s horror comics, and begins with a disclaimer that it may be too scary for children. It is the first Treehouse of Horror episode. These episodes do not obey the show's rule of realism and are not treated as canon. The opening disclaimer and a panning shot through a cemetery with humorous tombstones were features that were used sporadically in the Treehouse of Horror series and eventually dropped. This is also the first episode to have the music composed by Alf Clausen.
"Treehouse of Horror IV" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the fourth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 28, 1993, and features three short stories called "The Devil and Homer Simpson", "Terror at 5+1⁄2 Feet", and "Bart Simpson's Dracula".
"Treehouse of Horror V" is the sixth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the fifth entry in the Treehouse of Horror series. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 30, 1994, and features three short stories: "The Shinning", "Time and Punishment", and "Nightmare Cafeteria".
"Treehouse of Horror VII" is the first episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 27, 1996. In the seventh annual Treehouse of Horror episode, Bart discovers his long-lost twin, Lisa grows a colony of small beings, and Kang and Kodos impersonate Bill Clinton and Bob Dole in order to win the 1996 presidential election. It was written by Ken Keeler, Dan Greaney, and David X. Cohen, and directed by Mike B. Anderson. Phil Hartman provided the voice of Bill Clinton. This is the first Treehouse of Horror episode to be a season premiere.
Jim Reardon is an American animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, and film and television director. He is best known for his work on the animated TV series The Simpsons. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series and was credited as a supervising director for seasons 9 through 15. He has been described by Ralph Bakshi as "one of the best cartoon writers in the business".
"Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 18, 1993. In the episode, Bart, intoxicated from an all-syrup Squishee, mistakenly joins the Junior Campers, a Boy Scout-style organization. Homer and Bart join a father-son rafting trip which goes awry when they are stranded at sea.
Gregory Martin Daniels is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, adapting The Office for the United States, and co-creating Parks and Recreation and King of the Hill. Daniels attended Harvard University, where he befriended and began collaborating with Conan O'Brien. His first writing credit was for Not Necessarily the News, before he was laid off because of budget cuts.
"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" is the fourteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 9, 1997. In the episode, The Itchy & Scratchy Show attempts to regain lost viewers by introducing a new character named Poochie, voiced by Homer. The episode is largely self-referential and satirizes the world of television production, fans of The Simpsons, and the series itself. It was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Steven Dean Moore. Alex Rocco is a credited guest voice as Roger Meyers Jr. for the third and final time ; Phil Hartman also guest stars as Troy McClure. Poochie became a minor recurring character and Comic Book Guy's catchphrase, "Worst episode ever", is introduced in this episode.
Richard James Appel is an American writer, producer and former attorney. Since 2012, he has served as an executive producer and co-showrunner of Family Guy on Fox. He attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School. As an undergraduate, he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon.
Steve Tompkins is an American television writer. He attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon; he graduated in 1988. He has worked on such television shows such as The Critic, In Living Color, Entourage, The Bernie Mac Show and The Knights of Prosperity. He was also with The Simpsons, for its seventh and eighth seasons; after leaving he co-created The PJs, with Larry Wilmore and Eddie Murphy. He was also the executive producer on the Nickelodeon animated series Fanboy & Chum Chum and also voiced the character Janitor Poopatine.
The fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993, and May 19, 1994. The showrunner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes, with the season being produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs that were produced for the previous season. The season contains some of the series' most acclaimed and popular episodes, including "Cape Feare", "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", "Homer Goes to College", "Deep Space Homer", and "Rosebud". It also includes the 100th episode, "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song". The season was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and won an Annie Award for Best Animated Television Program as well as an Environmental Media Award and a Genesis Award. The DVD box set was released in Region 1 on December 21, 2004, Region 2 on March 21, 2005, and Region 4 on March 23, 2005.
Daniel Greaney is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and The Office. He was hired during The Simpsons' seventh season after writing the first draft of the episode "King-Size Homer", but left after season eleven. He returned to the Simpsons staff during the thirteenth season, and remains involved with the series into the present day.
Treehouse of Horror is a series of annual Halloween-themed anthology episodes of the animated sitcom The Simpsons. Also known as The Simpsons Halloween Specials, each episode typically consists of three separate, self-contained segments. Each segment involves the Simpson family in some comical horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting; plot elements operate beyond the show's normal continuity, with segments exaggeratedly more morbid and violent than a typical Simpsons episode. With 35 episodes as of 2024, each Treehouse of Horror episode is numbered in Roman numerals, one less than the respective season it is in.
"Treehouse of Horror XXVI" is the fifth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, the 26th episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials, and the 579th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Joel H. Cohen. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 25, 2015.
"Simprovised" is the twenty-first episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 595th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by John Frink. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 15, 2016, and includes a three-minute live-animated segment in which viewers were able to ask Homer Simpson questions.
"Treehouse of Horror XXVIII" is the fourth episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, the 28th episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials, and the 622nd episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by John Frink. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 22, 2017.
"Thanksgiving of Horror" is the eighth episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 670th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on November 24, 2019. The episode was written by Dan Vebber, and was directed by Rob Oliver.