Josh Weinstein (born May 5, 1966)[1] is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons.

After they wrote episodes such as "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)", "Bart vs. Australia" and "Who Shot Mr.

[7] Weinstein did not land a job on a major comedy series, despite writing numerous spec scripts for shows such as Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman; he moved back home to Washington, D.C.[6] There, he worked as a copywriter for an advertising agency, writing print adverts for such clients as IKEA.

There were no openings on the staff at the time, but Oakley and Weinstein were hired to write the episode "Marge Gets a Job", based on an idea by Conan O'Brien.

Before they accepted this job, they were told that Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky were leaving The Simpsons, and then joined the writing staff on a permanent basis in 1992, in the third season of that show.

[13] They were initially quiet and felt "intimidated", being in the same room as "10 of the greatest minds in comedy", but eventually started pitching jokes with confidence.

[12] Oakley and Weinstein wrote several episodes for season five, penning the "Terror at 5½ Feet" segment of "Treehouse of Horror IV",[15] "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)",[16] "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy",[17] the show's 100th episode "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song"[18] and "Lady Bouvier's Lover".

[25] While deciding who the culprit was, Oakley and Weinstein pitched Barney Gumble because he was a character that could go to jail and it could change the dynamic of the show.

Dimwitted, loving, hyper-enthusiastic, creatively goofy, parody of the American father – drawn with real emotions, though admittedly amplified.

[34] The result was the character of Frank Grimes, a man who has had to work hard all his life with nothing to show for it and is dismayed and embittered by Homer's success and comfort in spite of his inherent laziness and ignorance.

In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; however, in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted.

[34][35] By the close of the episode, Grimes, a hard working and persevering "real American hero,"[35] is relegated to the role of antagonist; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious.

[36] On the DVD commentary, Weinstein considers this episode one of the most controversial of the seasons he ran, as it involves sharp observational humor which many fans "didn't get".

Even the crazy high-concept ones like "Two Bad Neighbors" and "Homer's Enemy" we managed to put on the air because honestly there were no network execs there to stop us.

"[9] Such was the network's limited input, when an executive suggested the staff introduce a new character to live with the Simpsons so as to "liven up the show",[40] the staff rejected the idea and instead created the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", inserting the one-time character Roy, with no explanation as to who he was, or why he was living with the family, as a reference to the executive's proposal.

"The Principal and the Pauper" was negatively received due to the sudden revelation that long-time character Seymour Skinner was actually an imposter.

They surmise that the negative reception was partly due to the fact that it was not immediately apparent to viewers that this was such an episode (as opposed to, for example, "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase").

The duo wanted to end on a good note—Weinstein stated that the episode "was meant to embody the humor, depth, and emotions of The Simpsons,"—and they were pleased with the result.

[54] A. O. Scott described their era as "reach[ing] a pinnacle of zany self-reference with "22 Short Films About Springfield" and "Simpsons Spin-off Showcase".

[9][31] After Oakley and Weinstein left The Simpsons, they created Mission Hill in 1997, a show about a hip, lazy, 24-year-old cartoonist named Andy French, and sold it to The WB for a fall 1999 debut.

A badly edited two-minute promotional video for the show, sent to advertisers in April 1999 for the annual upfronts, was poorly received.

Subsequently, as Weinstein commented to the Washington Post, "for seven months, the only impression people had of the show was based on a two-minute tape that looked terrible.

[10][57] Oakley concluded that the pair had been "very naive" with regard to producing the show,[6] and that it "would've been better on cable anyway because it would never have appealed to a broad enough audience due to the subject matter".

[10] The 13 completed episodes were later aired on Cartoon Network's adult swim block and the show garnered a worldwide cult following.

[9][59][60] They have written two feature film screenplays: The Optimist for New Line Cinema, in which Seann William Scott was slated to star as a man born with no unhappiness gene,[61] and Ruprecht, a Santa Claus-related comedy for Disney.

[62] Weinstein was due to serve with Oakley as an executive producer on the Fox animated television series Sit Down, Shut Up in 2009, which was created by Mitchell Hurwitz.

[67] Weinstein returned to Futurama, following its revival on Comedy Central in 2010, and served as a writer and co-executive producer on its sixth and seventh seasons.

[70][71][72] Weinstein shared another Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for the Futurama episode "The Late Philip J. Fry" in 2011, being nominated again the following year for "The Tip of the Zoidberg".

[74] In 2013, Weinstein co-created, produced and wrote the animated comedy-mystery series Strange Hill High for British children's channel CBBC.

[citation needed] In August 2022, Weinstein appeared in an episode of Rate My Takeaway where he enjoyed a burger and fries over a chat with the host Danny Malin.