‘Man Seeking Woman’ Creator Credits ‘The Simpsons’ for Current Comedies

Simon Rich – the creator, showrunner, and writer of FXX’s Man Seeking Woman – is only 30, but he has already written for Saturday Night Live and Pixar, in addition to the aforementioned series, and penned several books. In a recent interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Rich was asked what about contemporary comedy opened up a door for a unique show like Man Seeking Woman, and he almost immediately credited The Simpsons.

“I’m amazed by the number of incredibly funny and original shows there are on TV right now,” he said. “I’m sure the cause is a lot of factors as to why TV has gotten so good, and some are cultural, some are just a shift in commercial realities, but if I had to point to one thing, I would say it’s The Simpsons. I know that sounds simplistic, but I think 25 years ago, nobody had ever seen The Simpsons, and now, every comedy writer has seen The Simpsons, and as a result, comedy in America has gotten funnier. I’ve never been in a writers room before where somebody didn’t reference The Simpsons once an hour. I don’t know how you would ever write a good show without constantly trying not to rip off a specific Simpsons script. So if I had to point to one factor, it would just be the fact that every comedy writer in 2015 has seen between 50 and 200 episodes of The Simpsons.”

Closing out that thought, Rich added, “And, of course, people have access … to incredible entertainment, and I think that it’s elevated the culture. I think that internet access to great art, of course, is going to make everybody up their game a bit.”

This isn’t the only connection between Man Seeking Woman and The Simpsons. In addition to the former and syndicated episodes of the latter both airing on FXX, a famed Simpsons is also on the writing staff.

“Our season finale was written by my hero from The Simpsons, Ian Maxtone-Graham, and it’s unbelievably original,” Rich said.

[via Rotten Tomatoes]