Producers For Family Guy & The Simpsons Have A Little Problem With 'Community'

[Brian Damage]

Some of Hollywood’s leading animation showrunners are mad as hell at the TV Academy, and today they let them know about it. “Why should there be one rule for Community and another for Family Guy?” says The Simpsons producer Al Jean. “We just want equal treatment.” Written by Jean, the animation gang sent a letter today chastising the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for letting the NBC series be eligible “once again” for consideration in the comedy series, writing, animated program, and short-form animated program categories. Animated shows are not eligible for consideration in non-animated writing categories. Community is a non-animated show but had an episode last season that was animated and has an animated web series featuring the show’s characters.

“I don’t expect them to change the rules this year, but I hope that next year everyone would be able to do what Community did this year,” says Jean. The letter (see below) was signed by Jean and 51 others, including Simpsons creator Matt Groening, Simpsons producer James L. Brooks, American Dad and Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane and Futurama’s David X. Cohen. Jean put the letter together last week before sending it around to his fellow animation showrunners. Here’s the letter sent to TV Academy chair Bruce Rosenblum:

To Whom It May Concern:

Television Academy

We the undersigned animation showrunners and writers desire to address what we have regarded as a pernicious and unfair ruling by the Academy for the past 20 years, which we believe now, more than ever, should be redressed.

We have been told that animated program writers could not also submit their work for writing Emmys, for reasons we never understood, but supposedly pertaining to the purity of the branches.

This is why no one was more startled than we when last year “Community” was able to submit for comedy series, writing, and animated program, in the face of everything we had been told for two decades. We were told that for some reason, a one-time waiver was granted.

Imagine our surprise when this year we see “Community” once again eligible for comedy series, writing, animated program, and short-form animated program. This letter is in no way intended to be a slight on the terrific show “Community” but a request from us to enjoy the very same rights they now do. Clearly the Academy’s ban on submitting in multiple categories is being enforced in an arbitrary and unfair manner. We therefore request that we also be able to submit our programs for both animation and comedy series as well as in the writing category.

Respectfully,

Richard Appel, Mike Barker, Kit Boss, James L. Brooks, Stewart Burns, Steve Callaghan, Brett Cawley, Joe Chandler, David X. Cohen, Joel Cohen, Jim Dautrieve, John Frink, Tom Gammill, Valentina Garza, Stephanie Gillis, David A. Goodman, Dan Greaney, Matt Groening, Michael Henry, Mark Hentemann, Eric Horsted, Al Jean, Artie Johann, Stephen Kane, Ken Keeler, Brian Kelley, Jon Kern, Rob LaZebnik, Tim Long, Robert Maitia, Seth MacFarlane, Steve Marmel, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Patrick Meighan, Wendy Molyneux, Bill Odenkirk, Carolyn Omine, Don Payne, Michael Price, Eric Rogers, Michael Rowe, Jon Schroeder, Brian Scully, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, Rick Singer, Patric M. Verrone, Ali Waller, Josh Weinstein, Matt Weitzman, Jeff Westbrook, Marc Wilmore.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/06/simp...n/#more-288339

[robyrob]

they should definitely change the rules - its stupid and snobbish to ignore a program because it is animated.

[yankeesrj12]

So Community can be awarded for ONE episode of animation? Animation takes a lot of time and work, so something isn't right there.