Matt Selman

Matt Selman (born 9 September 1971)^[1] is an American writer and producer.

Matt Selman
Selman at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2010
Born	1971 or 1972 (age 52–53)
Occupations	Writer producer
Known for	The Simpsons
Spouse	Renee Ridgeley
Children	2
Website	twitter.com/mattselman

Early life

Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts.^[1] He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993.^[1][2][3]

Career

After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try to become a television writer. After two years of failed spec scripts he was eventually hired to write an episode of Seinfeld in 1996.

The Simpsons

In 1997, Selman joined the writing staff of The Simpsons, where he has remained, rising to the position of executive producer.^[4] He has written or co-written 28 episodes of the show, including "Natural Born Kissers" which the show's creator Matt Groening listed as his eighth favorite episode in 2000.,^[5] "Behind the Laughter", "Trilogy of Error", "Sky Police" and "The Food Wife". He also co-wrote the 2007 film adaptation of the show, as well as co-writing the video games The Simpsons: Road Rage, The Simpsons Hit and Run and The Simpsons Game.

Selman has won six Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the show, sharing them with the other producers.^[6] Selman received an Annie Award in 1999 for writing "Simpsons Bible Stories".^[7] He also won a Writers Guild of America Award in 2004 for writing the episode "The Dad Who Knew Too Little".^[8] In the episode, Homer's e-mail was said to be [e-mail]. Selman registered the e-mail and received thousands of messages after the episode aired.^[9] He responded to some of them in the character of Homer, but gave up when he forgot the password.^[10]

Of his writing of The Simpsons, Selman said: "The hardest thing is we have to try and make each episode as good as everything that's come before it. We have a legacy of greatness, and you don't want to be the person that ruins The Simpsons."^[11]

As of 2020, he is joint showrunner with Al Jean.

Other journalistic endeavors

Selman formerly wrote for Time.com's Techland "Nerd World" blog alongside Lev Grossman,^[12] and is also the creator and writer of the Icebox.com webtoon "Superhero Roommate."^[13] Selman also has written jokes for many animated movies. He appeared alongside Groening and voice actor Hank Azaria to judge on a The Simpsons-themed challenge on an episode of Top Chef: Masters in 2010.^[14][15]

Personal life

Selman is married to Renee Ridgeley^[16] and they have two daughters.

Credits

• Seinfeld (1996) – writer, program consultant
  • "The Wait Out"
• The Simpsons (1997–present) – writer, producer, story editor, supervising producer, executive producer
  • "Natural Born Kissers" (1998)
  • "Simpsons Bible Stories" (along with Tim Long and Larry Doyle) (1999)
  • "They Saved Lisa's Brain" (1999)
  • "Eight Misbehavin'" (1999)
  • "Behind the Laughter" (along with George Meyer, Tim Long, and Mike Scully) (2000)
  • "Lisa the Tree Hugger" (2000)
  • "Trilogy of Error" (2001)
  • "Simpsons Tall Tales" (2001)
  • "Jaws Wired Shut" (2002)
  • "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" (2003)
  • "All's Fair in Oven War" (2004)
  • "Pranksta Rap" (2005)
  • "Future-Drama" (2005)
  • "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" (2006)
  • "The Haw-Hawed Couple" (2006)
  • "Husbands and Knives" (2007)
  • "That '90s Show" (2008)
  • "Bart Gets a 'Z'" (2009)
  • "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" (2009)
  • "Flaming Moe" (2011)
  • "The Food Wife" (2011)
  • "The Day the Earth Stood Cool" (2012)
  • "Gorgeous Grampa" (2013)
  • "Covercraft" (2014)
  • "Sky Police" (2015)
  • "There Will Be Buds" (2016)
  • "The Great Phatsby" (along with Dan Greaney) (2017)
  • "Heartbreak Hotel" (along with Renee Ridgeley) (2018)
  • "The Clown Stays in the Picture" (2019)
  • "Treehouse of Horror XXXIII" (2022)
• The Simpsons: Road Rage (2001) – co-writer
• The Simpsons Hit and Run (2003) – co-writer
• The Simpsons Movie (2007) – co-writer
• The Simpsons Game (2007) – co-writer

References

1. Kahn, Joseph P. (June 10, 2008). "Names". The Boston Globe. p. 7B. Watertown native Matt Selman, 36...
2. Gross, Dan (February 28, 2008). "'Geator' takes a heart break". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 39.
3. Haralson, Jessica (April 25, 2008). "Meeting Marge at the Button: Revisionism Rules!". The Pennsylvania Gazette.
4. Kennedy, Gerrick D. (July 24, 2010). "Comic-Con 2010: 'The Simpsons' get 'Glee'-ful for upcoming season". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
5. Snierson, Dan (January 14, 2000). "Springfield of Dreams". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 26, 2007.
6. "Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search". Emmys.org. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
7. "Arts Beat". Dallas Morning News. November 8, 1999. p. 23A.
8. "'Translation,' 'Splendor' Honored". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. February 23, 2004. p. D-8.
9. "Simpsons fans get e-mails from Homer". BBC News. January 30, 2003. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
10. Leyden, John (July 14, 2008). "Homer Simpson's email address hacked". The Register. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
11. Dudley, Jennifer (May 15, 2003). "Hands Down". The Courier Mail. p. What's On 007.
12. "About Matt Selman". Techland.com. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
13. Botwin, Michele (June 16, 2000). "These Days, Web Sites Are Becoming Fairly Animated". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
14. Ramirez, Elva (May 13, 2010). "'Top Chef Masters,' Season 2, Episode 6: TV Recap". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
15. Walker, Tim (April 30, 2009). "A good day at the office for Gervais". The Daily Telegraph. p. 007.
16. "Matt Selman". IMDb. Retrieved January 28, 2018.

External links

• Nerd World Blog
• Matt Selman at IMDb